Corsair VX450W PSU with 6870?

[srynznfyra]

Hi
I'm running a Corsair VX450W PSU with this config at the moment:

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz (stock cooler) [no OC until better cooler + bigger PSU + warranty expired]
Corsair 1333MHz 2x4GB
Asrock P67 Extreme4
Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 [I know] 512MB
500GB Seagate 7200RPM SATAII HDD
DVD writer (PATA)
3xSATAII + 1xPATA (IDE) PCI RAID card
plus a few 120mm fans.

Everything's running fine, if a little hot/loud as my room regularly gets above 30 degrees, even at night (top of house, midsummer). However, when I have enough money I'm going to do a little upgrade of the video card; these are what I have my eyes on:

Sapphire / XFX Radeon HD 6850 1GB
XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB [2x 6pin]
EVGA Geforce GTX 460 SE [2x 6pin]

Would any of these cards put a strain on my PSU? I know Corsair is good quality (pretty sure this one's manufactured by Seasonic), and also that if I overload it the PSU should simply shut down and not kill anything (itself included). However I thought I'd check first. The one I'm most worried about is the 6870...seeing as it's the most powerful.

Also, as an aside, which one of these would provide the most performance per penny? I'm looking at the GTX 460 SE as it only costs £109 from scan.co.uk (That's a tenner more than my 9800GT cost a couple of years ago)

Cheers

PS. Why are the geforce cards called 'GTX' or 'GT'? I guess 'HD' signifies high definition, but GT sounds more like something they'd say on Top Gear (no, I don't watch Top Gear by choice ). I'm definitely not buying an nvidia if it stands for 'graphics turbo'

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

I wouldn't recommend it. AMD (the GPU maker of radeon 6870) recommends a 500W or more system. And I believe Nvidia recommends a 550W + PSU. None of which is "recommended"

 

[srynznfyra]

Hmm, looking at EVGA's site, the GTX 460 SE 'recommends' a 450W PSU. Hardwaresecrets.com did a thorough review of the VX450W and it turns out it can put alot more than its rated wattage / amperage (570W / 44A max, to be precise, at least the model they had; I know YMMV).

On the other hand, I did have a thermaltake 420W PSU that blew with a PhenomII X4 940, 4GB DDR2 and a 9800GT. Don't /really/ want that to happen again...

Maybe I'll get the 6850 then, as that should definitely be fine.

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/amd-radeon-hd-6000/hd-6850/Pages/amd-radeon-hd-6850-overview.aspx#3
^ Go to requirements

 

[srynznfyra]

Well, I'm pretty sure that's a very conservative estimate as all the reviews say it uses much less than that - even with high performance CPU etc. Would make sense as their profit depends on it (ie. more returns due to bad PSUs if their recommendation is lower). Besides, alot of people use low quality PSUs anyway so they have to account for that. Hardwaresecrets.com also said that Corsair could easily have branded the VX450W as 500W, and that it's an identical unit to the Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU.

(edit: notice how it says 'recommended' ;-))

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

and by recommended they mean "That PSU won't blow the EFF up even if it is crap because it is running at 500W"...I mean you can calculate your wattage here:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[srynznfyra]

That recommends a:

402W for GTX 460 1GB
364W for HD 6850 1GB
396W for HD 6870 1GB

Conclusion: I could get either of the three and not worry about power. However the 6870 is looking very nice in terms of performance per watt...

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

Thats not what you're trying to worry about...You know your PSU will handle it...but, what is the best card (since you can buy any of the 3).
ROUND 1:
the HD 6850 vs the 6870:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=291
Winner: 6870
ROUND 2:
The HD 6870 vs the GTX 460:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=313
Winner: 6870

Therefore: GTX 460 < HD Radeon 6850 < HD Radeon 6870
RADEON 6870 WINS!!!!!

 

[srynznfyra]

Yep, and the 460 looks pretty shoddy, seeing as it uses the most power to yield the least performance!

Off to save up for a 6870 then. That's if I can stave off the temptation of getting a 6850 first, lol

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

Well, if you get a 6850, you won't lose too much...they're about the same...only a few FPS lower on most games

 

[srynznfyra]

Alright, but it's a pretty long while yet before I get any graphics card so I'll see

 

[megamanx00]

You can use a 6870 with that PSU, but you will have to use a 6-pin to dual molex adapter. You have a quality PSU so yes it can handle a single 6870. If you're worried about it though just use a single 6850 which only requires one 6-pin connector. You could use a GTX 460, but I think that's pushing it a little as far as the PSU goes ^_^

 

[srynznfyra]

Hmm yeah, and the 460 is only 5 to 10 quid cheaper. I'll probably go with the 6850 then, cheers

(that's when the time comes of course, lol)