A few questions about the XFX ATi HD 5770..

[realrhyno]

Hey all,

So I have been doing some research on the card and I'm a little confused with what I am reading in a review. In a review in states, that the card needs a minimum of 500 watt power supply and 40 amps on +12 volt rails. Well I have a couple quotes from the review and wondering if anyone of you guys can help me out.

"The card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 40 Amps available on the +12 volts rails."

and I believe they overclocked the card to "...Core 950MHz, Shade 950MHz, and Memory 5,620MHz"

Now, if I don't overclock the card or use the card in a high-end system, am I still required to have 40 amps on the +12 volt rails? I currently have a 550w power supply with a total of 36 amps on the +12 volt rails. I don't have any hardware in it that's very demanding of power. So therefore in my case it's really not a high-end PC. I appreciate your help guys.

 

[apache_lives]

thanks to a few manafactuers making PSU's with rubbish for components they overrate the PSU's requirements - a good decent branded 450w would power it but that depends on what else is in the system - list your specs, or better yet use the power supply calculator (google it)

 

[realrhyno]

CPU - AMD Phenom(tm) 8550 Triple-Core Processor (3 CPUs), ~2.2GHz

RAM - 2046MB RAM

HDD - 305 GB

GPU - BFG Nvidia Geforce 9600GT Overclocked

OS - Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.lh_sp2rtm.090410-1830)

Motherboard - Asus M2N78-LA

It's really the only thing I can give you right now. I know it's not the greatest PC, but yeah.

 

[szymek]

It will run perfectly. Really. If your 9600gt is fine then 5770 will be good, too.

 

[realrhyno]

If anyone else has opinions also I would really appreciate it. Just trying to get as many answers as possible so I know for sure. =]

 

[jennyh]

It will be fine. I've ran a lot more power hungry cards on a lot lower spec psu's with no problems.

 

[realrhyno]

Okay, thank you.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The general rule of thumb is a high quality 500 to 550 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can easily power a system with any single video card made. A high quality 700 to 750 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can power a system with two video cards operating in dual mode. There are a few exceptions like the new ATI Radeon HD 5XXX series cards which use less power due to their energy efficiency.

High quality 500 to 550 watt power supplies normally have 12 volt rail(s) rated at 40 amps or more.

High quality 700 to 750 watt power supplies normally have 12 volt rail(s) rated at 60 amps or more.

Please note that I specifically mention high quality power supplies. The cheap, low budget psu's of questionable performance and value cannot compare to the high quality models. Their wattage and current (amps) are typically exaggerated. High quality power supplies use heavy duty components while low budget psu's use cheap components. That why high quality power supplies consistently earn high marks in technical reviews. They are reliable, stable, and come with a 5 year warranty.

The +12 volt rails supply power to many different components. The video card is just one component. Actual requirements depend on your configuration and use.

If you are a gamer and only have one video card you will probably use a maximum of about 300 watts while playing a games. Gaming requirements are much lower than the stress tests used in technical reviews.

Based on the information you provided you should be okay.

 

[realrhyno]

I really appreciate the help. Thank you

 

[tvccs]

I wanted to ask if you went ahead and got the 5770 and if it fit/worked...I am assuming the motherboard is in an HP system. My son is looking to upgrade a new HP system with that board and a new power supply and I'm trying to verify it will fit. Thanks very much.