CAN it be done!!!

[oddel321]

HD 500G|SEAGATE ST3500418AS

DVD ROM LITE-ON|iHDS118-04 18X

MEM 2Gx2|ADATA AX3U1600GB2G9-AG R

CPU AMD|PH II X4 955BE 3.2G AM3

VGA XFX|HD-577A-ZNFC HD5770

MB GIGABYTE|GA-MA790GPT-UD3H

CASE CM|RC-310-BWN1-GP BK


PSU is-
Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC

I've heard some pretty good reviews on the PSU.Im going to run the radeon 5770 on it while I wait for the prices on the 5850's to drop so I can crossfire them.My question is, is the EA 650w good enough to run x2 and how much can I OC my cpu/gpu's when I do go them?

 

[oddel321]

When I posted run x2 I meant run x2 5850's

 

[jyjjy]

It would probably be ok but you are pushing it a bit I think. If you want to OC I would go for a 750w.

 

[shineon2010]

The TDP of the 5850 is about 150-160W, that should be fine. You still might think about bumping up to a 700-800 watt psu though!

 

[oddel321]

Thanks for the quick respone. I appreciate it, happy to know I dont have to return it and get another one

 

[oddel321]

Ok, I just realized that to crossfire you need certain pins and etc.Im totally dumbfounded when it comes to this.

500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)

Now I guess i need two 75 6 pins pci express and to crossfire and need four 75-6 pin pci express does the earthwatt have that?

 

[Rustyy117]

you dnt need all the 6 pins to come directly from the PSU, you can use a molex to 6 pin adapter which will come free with your GPU.

I'm guessing the 650W Earthwatts comes with atleast 2 x 6 pins, so you would use 1 PSU 6 pin on each 5850 and then 1 molex to 6 pin on each card.

 

[jyjjy]

The EA650 lists 1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin
So you would have to use 2 adapters which means you would need to have four 4-pin molex connectors free(possible as it comes with 6 and most drives are SATA now.)

 

[oddel321]

Can you break that down a little bit for me jyjjy.What adapters and etc would I have to get ( totally confused ) do I have to buy a new PSU

Edit- Sorry for all the questions, this is my first computer build and all this new lingo is new to me

 

[jyjjy]

You would need 2 of something like this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189120
Often the cards will come with one, possibly even 2. You can usually see if it does by looking at the pics on newegg. As you can see it takes two 4-pin molex connectors(they used to power cd/dvd/hard drives) and turns them into 1 6-pin PCIe connector. So you need 4 free and your PSU comes with 6 of them. Since the advent of SATA they aren't used much. The last time I built a computer I only need to use one to power a case fan.

 

[TheAlin25]

Hy guys what do you think does An ATI hd 4670 gigabite 512gddr3,,,Amd athlon64 x2 7750,,,asus m2n-mx se plus,,,3gigs off ram 600 or 800mhz,,raidmax RX500 W real power and a hard of 160GB plus other vents dvd drive............etc DO you think this would be a good computer for playng my games and i mean like crysis, gta4 stalker not full graphics and resolution but medium or higher depends on the game. PLEASE reply cuz I want to build this pc.thank you oo one more thing is it capable to run pcsx2?thanx.

 

[oddel321]

So basically I have 12 of these pins. A molex takes 4 of them and since I would crossfire two 5850's I would use 8 and have 4 pins leftover for fans and any aftermarket cooler things correct?

 

[notty22]

Upgrade the psu to one that has rated power,native pci-e power connectors. One less thing for you to doubt should you have to troubleshoot your system, after the fact.
imho.

 

[Rustyy117]

So basically I have 12 of these pins. A molex takes 4 of them and since I would crossfire two 5850's I would use 8 and have 4 pins leftover for fans and any aftermarket cooler things correct?

Yes, you can always daisy chain molex connecors to each other, if you run out of PSU connectors. Just don't worry about it, it will be fine

@Notty22 The PSU he has is more than capable of running the hardware he wants to run. Nothing wrong with using molex to 6 pin adapters.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Fir twin 5770's, you only need two 6 pin connectors:

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5770/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5770-system-requirements.aspx

450 Watt or greater power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)

For the 5870, you only need twin 6 pin connectors

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5870/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5870-system-requirements.aspx

500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)

Only the 5970 requires twin 8 pin connectors

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5970/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5970-system-requirements.aspx

650 Watt or greater power supply one 75W 6-pin and one 150W 8-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (850 Watt with two 75W 6-pin and two 150W 8-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)

\As you can see here:

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/connectors.php?ProdID=27650

The EA-650 has one 6 pin and one 6+2 pin making it more than adequate for 1 single 57xx or 58xx card

I can't tell from ya post of you are building new or upgrading an existing box. If upgrading, and going to XFire, ya might take a chance with the adapters since this PSU has both over voltage and over current protection. However twin GFX will put strains on any PSU with regard to maintaining stable voltages. So if seriously overclocking, you'll want a hi quality PSU with enough headroom such that the widely varying voltage pull on those 12v rails, doesn't result in substantial swings on the 5 and 3.3 volt rails.

If overclocking those twin GFX cards too, you'll want to move some serious air through the case, and with the aftermarket CPU pulling hot air off your OC's CPU, I'd want a full tower case. Here's some Case / PSU options:

Antec 1200 / Antec CP-850 PSU ($244)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335367

HAF 932 / Corsair 850HX ($340 w/ red LED's / $350 w/ Blue LED's)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090007%2050001333%201054808289&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=N82E16811119213%2CN82E16811119160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

The choice between the two gets down to aesthetics and cost. The cases (each has pluses and minuses) and PSU's (both get a 10.0 performance rating on jonnyguru.com) are evenly matched though the Antec PSU has an edge in the quiet" department which helped it make the EC list here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_PSUs

In the midtower arena

Again the Antec 900 / EA-650 set comes as a combo for $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129064

The corresponding pairing is the HAF 922 / Corsair TX650 which are $209 but atm, there's 430 worth of MIR's resulting in a cost to you after the rebate checks arrive of $190

 

[oddel321]

I appreciate the time you put into the post Jack, unfortunately I have already ordered all the parts ( building a new CPU on a 700ish budget) so I was stuck having to get that PSU.Now with the 650 the description says I should be able to xfire 2 5850's.But in regards to overclocking its iffy.If you were me would you attempt OC'ing the CPU/Video cards. I did order some extra 2500r 120mm case fans total of 3. I guess I would need to find a good cooler for the CPU and for the video card if I try.Do you have any suggestions on some that arent to expensive and more on the value side?

 

[jyjjy]

I would say OC the CPU, not the video cards. Unless you have a 2560x1600 monitor I can't imagine why you would need to OC the cards anyway. What is your resolution anyway? Do you really need two HD5850s? One HD5850 OCed should be fantastic for 1920x1200 and below.

 

[oddel321]

Actually at the moment I can only afford a single 5770.I will be using a monitor resolution of 1680x or so.And and totally off topic, I thought that
a buddy of mine was going to give me a free extra copy of windows 7 but he unable to now.I dont have the 200 dollars to buy the full retail.Could I buy windows XP for 80 or so dollars then at a later time when I get a bit more money back together do the cheaper windows 7 upgrade?

 

[jyjjy]

You can get win7 for $105 on newegg;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
The HD5770 should be very good for 1680x1050.

 

[oddel321]

WOW, jyjjy so I dont have to buy vista or xp or the full retail? You literally just saved me a 100 dollars.I was just about to checkout on tiger direct with the XP before thinking about clicking on this post!Thank you so much for your help jyjjy I appreciate all the help you have given me in the last week I really do appreciate it and sincerely mean it.Take care good man

 

[oddel321]

Best answer selected by oddel321.