Corsair VX450 & ASUS EAH6950 2GB

[mchn]

Hello,

I'm wondering if my 3 year old Corsair VX450 will handle my new configuration, since I'm on a rather tight budget.
My main concern is the VGA - ASUS EAH6950 2GB. The various tests I've seen on the internet say it draws about 330W on full load. Now the PSU's 12V rail states it has 396W (33A).
Is it possible to measure my PSU's current 12V rail state - if it still can put out those 396W?
And what can be the results for my system if the PSU won't be able to handle it?

The other parts are an i5-2400 CPU, 2x4GB Kingston HyperX T1, Asus P8P67 PRO MB, 1 SATAII HDD, 5x 120mm + 1x 92mm fans.

 

[saint19]

Hi and welcome to Tom's forum.

You can try, but I suggest you get a bigger PSU. 600W or above, maybe you want add another 6950 for Crossfire in future.

 

[mchn]

I've thought about Crossfire, but I doubt I'll go for it. I like the Corsair 650W and 750W, but I'm trying to cut back on expenses as mentioned.

 

[saint19]

Then a 650W is enough for that rig. Here are two very good options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207007

 

[Zero_]

650W is plenty. But like you said, the Corsair is expensive.

Try this Antec EA650 on sale for just $50.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NBZAES?tag=banforbucga08-20&camp=213761&creative=393545&linkCode=bpl&creativeASIN=B004NBZAES&adid=1Z6TBHSECZVYSNE57Q6M&

 

[4745454b]

It should work, but you're cutting it really close. 66W/5A isn't much of a buffer. I'd run it, but replace the PSU as soon as you can.

 

[mchn]

I've always wondered how that "buffer" is measured? Is it a % of something or a flat number?

 

[mchn]

How about if I decide to step back and get the Radeon HD 6870, will the PSU be sufficient to power that one?

 

[4745454b]

? The buffer is total output - load/draw. If the PSU can output 396W and you are drawing 330, then you have a 66W "buffer".

If you can just barely power the 6950 dropping down to the 6870 might be a good idea. Yes your PSU can power it, and you'll have a larger "buffer".

 

[mchn]

I see. Well since my main concern is being able to play Diablo III casually with good video settings at 1920x1080 resolution and not paying too much, I guess the 6870 is a good option.
So, this review says a decent system based on ASUS EAH6870 draws about 360W under full load. And tom's hardware measured the card to operate at ~160W at full load. Good news?

P.S.: I don't intend to overclock anything.

 

[4745454b]

According to that the 6870 uses more power then the 6950 in your first post. You have a smaller buffer now then you did before. Are you sure about that 6950? I'm not going to argue with hard, but that 360 number seems a bit high. 95W for a CPU, 160W for the GPU, and other 50W for rest of system, and you should be at 300W(ish), not 360. If they were using a 125W CPU with an OC to bring it to 150W+, that would explain the difference. If your not OCing anything, then your current PSU should be more then fine.

 

[wolfram23]

I didn't even put a 450 in my girlfriends dual core and 5770 pc lol. It's got a Corsair 550CX.

But anyway... my thoughts have already been shared by others. You might want to consider the 6870 or a 560 (non Ti) plus at least a 550 to 650W PSU. If you can wait a bit I guarantee you'll find a sale on a good PSU (and of course shop around as much as possible).

 

[mchn]

There aren't much options or sales of quality hardware where I live (Bulgaria).
A 550W corsair costs about 125$ here (vs. 90$ in the U.S.; also our salaries are a lot smaller)
So I'd rather get a 6870 over a 6950, if it means I won't have to buy a new PSU (or any other part).

 

[Rade0n]

Hello,

I'm wondering if my 3 year old Corsair VX450 will handle my new configuration, since I'm on a rather tight budget.
My main concern is the VGA - ASUS EAH6950 2GB. The various tests I've seen on the internet say it draws about 330W on full load. Now the PSU's 12V rail states it has 396W (33A).
Is it possible to measure my PSU's current 12V rail state - if it still can put out those 396W?
And what can be the results for my system if the PSU won't be able to handle it?

The other parts are an i5-2400 CPU, 2x4GB Kingston HyperX T1, Asus P8P67 PRO MB, 1 SATAII HDD, 5x 120mm + 1x 92mm fans.

Hi,
I am running my Asus HD6950 DCII 2GB on Corsair vx450, runs fine, absolutely no problems

My config-
Q9300 OC to 3.4 Ghz @1.256v
4GB DDR2-800 OC to 910Mhz 5-5-5-15 tRD10
FSB at 454
8 x 120mm CM Silent fans @ 40% speed
1 x 500GB Harddisk
1 x DVD-RW drive

As per the review on Jonny Guru (about vx450)

Quote
"The VX450W has more power on the +12V than most 500W units and some 600W units and the build quality is probably better than half of the units on the SLI Certified list of power supplies. "

As per Hardware secrets

Quote
"Conclusions
If we could summarize this power supply in just one word it would be “wow!.” Together with Antec EarthWatts 500 W this is the best power supply up to 500 W we have ever seen, bringing the best cost/benefit ratio for the average user building a mainstream PC with a good video card, graduating Summa Cum Laude in our tests. You will bring home a relatively inexpensive power supply that even though is sold as being a 450 W unit can deliver up to 570 W at 48º C – in fact Corsair could have easily labeled this power supply as a 500 W unit, but they preferred to stay on the safe side.
As we mentioned, this product is identical to Antec EarthWatts 500 W, but using better capacitors – it was really good to see Japanese capacitors on an entry-level product –, a better-looking housing (black vs. standard grey), a better cooling system (120 mm fan vs. 80 mm fan) and more power plugs (six peripheral power plugs vs. three; six SATA power plugs vs. three). But Antec EarthWatts has as a big advantage coming with two video card power cables. In fact this is the only problem with this product from Corsair: if you want to use two video cards in SLI or CrossFire modes you will need to use an adapter to convert a standard peripheral power plug into a 6-pin auxiliary video card power plug. Being in fact a 570 W product, it can easily feed two video cards."

So, it is actually a 570 watt PSU disguised as a 450w PSU.

You can go through the reviews for more details.

My Overclocked system has no trouble running under full load on furmark (tested for 2 hours nonstop). Only the HD6950 DCII is not overclocked.

I feel as long as you dont OC your HD6950 DCII, you will be fine on Vx450.

 

[ThreatDown]

Its a solid psu, but still running that beefy card on it is cutting it a bit close.

 

[mchn]

Thanks for the feedback, Rade0n!
I've looked at various reviews and I'm now pretty sure my PSU can handle a 6950. I might go for the slightly weaker 6870, which requires less power

 

[Rade0n]

Thanks for the feedback, Rade0n!
I've looked at various reviews and I'm now pretty sure my PSU can handle a 6950. I might go for the slightly weaker 6870, which requires less power

You are welcome
Do post here which GPU you bought and your experience with it

 

[4745454b]

Keep in mind that a new VX450 might be able to handle it, but one thats already seen 3yrs of use might not. Depends on how clean your power is. The more its had to work, the less it will handle that 6950.

 

[FALC0N]

Hi,
I am running my Asus HD6950 DCII 2GB on Corsair vx450, runs fine, absolutely no problems

My config-
Q9300 OC to 3.4 Ghz @1.256v
4GB DDR2-800 OC to 910Mhz 5-5-5-15 tRD10
FSB at 454
8 x 120mm CM Silent fans @ 40% speed
1 x 500GB Harddisk
1 x DVD-RW drive

As per the review on Jonny Guru (about vx450)

Quote
"The VX450W has more power on the +12V than most 500W units and some 600W units and the build quality is probably better than half of the units on the SLI Certified list of power supplies. "

As per Hardware secrets

Quote
"Conclusions
If we could summarize this power supply in just one word it would be “wow!.” Together with Antec EarthWatts 500 W this is the best power supply up to 500 W we have ever seen, bringing the best cost/benefit ratio for the average user building a mainstream PC with a good video card, graduating Summa Cum Laude in our tests. You will bring home a relatively inexpensive power supply that even though is sold as being a 450 W unit can deliver up to 570 W at 48º C – in fact Corsair could have easily labeled this power supply as a 500 W unit, but they preferred to stay on the safe side.
As we mentioned, this product is identical to Antec EarthWatts 500 W, but using better capacitors – it was really good to see Japanese capacitors on an entry-level product –, a better-looking housing (black vs. standard grey), a better cooling system (120 mm fan vs. 80 mm fan) and more power plugs (six peripheral power plugs vs. three; six SATA power plugs vs. three). But Antec EarthWatts has as a big advantage coming with two video card power cables. In fact this is the only problem with this product from Corsair: if you want to use two video cards in SLI or CrossFire modes you will need to use an adapter to convert a standard peripheral power plug into a 6-pin auxiliary video card power plug. Being in fact a 570 W product, it can easily feed two video cards."

So, it is actually a 570 watt PSU disguised as a 450w PSU.

You can go through the reviews for more details.

My Overclocked system has no trouble running under full load on furmark (tested for 2 hours nonstop). Only the HD6950 DCII is not overclocked.

I feel as long as you dont OC your HD6950 DCII, you will be fine on Vx450.

You pretty much nailed it. VX450 is a near flawless PSU. It has no drawbacks as a power supply. Its only flaws are cosmetic. And its power rating in way below what it can actually output.

Its an amazing unit. It will handle that system with no trouble.

It

 

[FALC0N]

I see. Well since my main concern is being able to play Diablo III casually with good video settings at 1920x1080 resolution and not paying too much, I guess the 6870 is a good option.
So, this review says a decent system based on ASUS EAH6870 draws about 360W under full load. And tom's hardware measured the card to operate at ~160W at full load. Good news?

P.S.: I don't intend to overclock anything.

Then there is absolutely no problem. The only question of any sort is whether the VX450 would hold up against an overclock. At stock speeds, your system wouldn't even phase it.

That test system in your link is an overclocked I7 920. The cpu alone in that setup will draw almost 200 watts at that speed.

When both the cpu and gpu were OC'd, it still didn't break 400. Your fine.

 

[FALC0N]

I suggest upgrading since I saw many cases where problems were caused by under-powering system and people were having trouble detecting the cause.

Not with this power supply they didn't. You don't need to upgrade mchn. Not at stock speeds.

People are obsessed with huge power supplies because so many don't live up to their rating. Couple of years ago, cooler master was selling a psu they rated at 600 watts. When tested by two reputable and independent PSU testing labs, it died at 400. Thats not uncommon. And coolermaster isn't usually a bad product.

The Corsair VX450 is the exact opposite. Its underrated. It can pull 550 watts and has done so consistently in tests by independent labs. And I mean thorough test with heat and crossloading and voltage stability. Its was OEM's by seasonic who made the exact same unit for Antec, who sold their version as a 500 watt. And the Corsair had Japanese Caps whereas the Antec didn't. And thats par for the course with Corsair. Their quality and value is second to none.

Were this almost any other PSU, I might be more conservative. But we know exactly what you have there and it is no slouch.

 

[4745454b]

But we know exactly what you have there and 3 years ago it is no slouch.

Fixed.

 

[FALC0N]

But we know exactly what you have there and 3 years ago it is no slouch.

Fixed.

Fix your own post, not mine.

Its a Seasonic built, 550 watt PSU with Japanese caps and a 5 year warrantly labeled as 450 watt unit.

And to quote the hardware secrets review:

In fact this is the only problem with this product ............. you will need to use an adapter to convert a standard peripheral power plug into a 6-pin auxiliary video card power plug. Being in fact a 570 W product, it can easily feed two video cards.

And that review he linked to earlier showed that very card and the cpu overclocked and even then it didn't break 400 watts.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/11/16/asus_eah6870_video_card_review/8#Power%20Consumption

The other test was done with the card at stock and the cpu overclocked and it only used 350 watts. Yank the cpu overclocking and thats a 300 watt setup. Well within the reach of a three year old corsair.

 

[4745454b]

So he'll be fine for two more years?

It lacks one of the plugs he'll need for the 6950. As I've already said, he'll be fine to use adapters and get it working, but I'm not sure how much longer I'd trust it. Things don't last forever and they do break, EVEN THE BEST OF THINGS. Buy the 6950, use the adapters, but I'd keep an eye out for a new PSU. One that has the plugs you need. (plus more power, better efficiency, etc.)

 

[FALC0N]

So he'll be fine for two more years?

It lacks one of the plugs he'll need for the 6950. As I've already said, he'll be fine to use adapters and get it working, but I'm not sure how much longer I'd trust it. Things don't last forever and they do break, EVEN THE BEST OF THINGS. Buy the 6950, use the adapters, but I'd keep an eye out for a new PSU. One that has the plugs you need. (plus more power, better efficiency, etc.)

He did emphasize that he was on a budget. And its unlikely that a failing corsair takes the system with it anyways. So just replace it if it breaks.

Thats one advantage of getting a PSU like that one. When its 3 years old, you can use it with confidence. Its no guarantee, but a brand new PSU can blow up too.