ATI 5750 with 430w PSU

what kind of enermax? model?
can you show us the link for it?

HD5750 is a low power card, so you will be fine with 430W.
But, we need more detail about your PSU...

You'll be just fine. The HD5750 doesn't use over 70 watts for normal gaming, and any name-brand PSU over 400W will be just fine.

Alright, thanks for the info guys.

I was at work and was unable to check the model of the PSU. I did install it yesterday and it works fine. Not as good as my GTS250, but the GTS is dying on me and I can't afford another one or wait for the replacement to get here!

I'm new to ATI cards, so I'll have to fiddle a bit with it to find the appropriate settings. Anyone know of a good site where I can find some information on how to tweak the 5750?

Thanks in advance for your answers, I really appreciate any help,
Chris

By tweak you mean overclock? Just stick with ATI's Catalyst Control Center. I wouldn't go too high either.

Made a mistake on the PSU. I had an Enermax but upgraded to a Thermaltake Purepower 430w about 6 months ago. Sorry about the misleading info I gave you guys. That'll teach me to post something like this from work!  

That's okay, thermaltake is even better compared to your Enermax...
You will be fine with HD5750 and 430W.  

Thermaltake better than Enermax?

We would need to know the exact model, but some of their 420-430W models have been extremely weak on +12V.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/332/9
quote - "The conclusion is that according to our methodology Thermaltake Purepower 430 W NP isn’t a 430 W power supply, but a 350 W model! We also could only pull 16 A from its +12 V output, while the label says the limit is 18 A."

helpful link:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=205763

Luckily he is talking a 5750. How stable was the system with the GTS 250? Full system specs?

^+1
Thanks for the info, pauldh...  
And yes, luckily the OP has HD5750, so he will be fine with his current PSU ..

If the system was FULLY stable with the GTS 250, agreed.

But, dealing with a somewhat unknown (and aging) PSU, not to mention a "dying GTS 250".... I'm leery to say all is fine. "Dying" could just mean freezing/crashing/stability issues (caused by an aging/weak PSU) and not a failing graphics card.

A lot of unknowns here... how loaded a system, how much +12V rating on his PSU, prior system stability?

Hi guys,

My system was stable with the 250 in it. Just to make sure it was the card, I tested in another system with a 6 months old 530w PSU and it was doing the same thing. A card having the same problem on 2 systems tells me a lot.


Here are my system specs

Pentium Dual Core E5200 2.5Ghz 2M 800mhz
P5KPL-AM SE Intel G31
Patriot 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz
Thermaltak Purepower 430 NP
LG DVD-RW
Western Digital 200 Gig EDI Hard drive
Western Digital 320 Gig SATA Hard drive
Western Digital 500 Gig SATA Hard drive
Win 7

Chris

That helps a lot. Good to know the GTS 250 was faulty and the system had been stable. Was this stability with all the drives connected? Did the card die out shortly after adding drives?

Honestly I'm not a big fan of that PSU and would push something like an Antec Earthwatts 380W MUCH further (27A combined +12V).

If you check the review linked above of your Purepower 430W NP, it's rated at 18A +12V and their testing could only squeeze 16A. That is very little +12V for three HDD's and your PCIe graphics card! I wouldn't plan on overclocking or adding a Quad core CPU. ;-)

Anyway, since you have already done it, just keep an eye out for random stability issues when the components call for more peak +12V than the PSU can deliver.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the great info!

I added everything when I did a major upgrade to my comp (added new board, new CPU, new drive, new GPU, NEW RAM) and everything had been connected and worked flawlessly for over 6 months.

On the light of what you told me, I will definitely upgrade my PSU with something better as I would like, in the near future, get another 5750 to link them.

Any suggestion besides the Antec you mentionned?

Thanks again,
Chris

OK, thanks. Good to know as one extra drive might have been the final straw.

I had a 430W Thermaltake sitting around here for a long time and the weak +12V rail kept me from using in each new build. I finally gave it away to replace a dead 300W. IMO it's better suited for a budget build with integrated graphics.

Loads of options for CrossFireX HD 5750. For starters, any good name-brand PSU with dual PCIe power conenctors should be fine. The thing is, with your system and dual 5750's you could even get away with less power supply if you are willing to use a molex to PCIe 12V adapter. I try to avoid adapters.

My own starting point for pulling off 5750 Crossfire is the Antec EA500, EA650, Corsair 550VX or 650TX, or Silverstone ES-500 linked below. All these have the two PCI-e power connectors you'll need with no adaptors, and at least 34A +12V rating. Puts you in the $55-90 range. If it was a loaded system I'd opt for the 650W models. Your dual-core even those two 500W should do. (I've even used the EA650 + two adapters for dual power hungry HD 4870's)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...