5850 Power Supply

[NinjaDude03]

Hey guys, yesterday I posted a question about the GTX 460. I was told that the 5850 was a much better card for only a couple bucks more, but to use it I need to upgrade my PSU. So I'm wondering what power supply to get. The card requires a 500 W power supply and I need more to power everything else. So what supply should get? Should I stick with the GTX 460 or the 550 Ti and just forget the 5850? I'm a total PC noob so I'm sort of lost here

 

[vilenjan]

Hey guys, yesterday I posted a question about the GTX 460. I was told that the 5850 was a much better card for only a couple bucks more, but to use it I need to upgrade my PSU. So I'm wondering what power supply to get. The card requires a 500 W power supply and I need more to power everything else. So what supply should get? Should I stick with the GTX 460 or the 550 Ti and just forget the 5850? I'm a total PC noob so I'm sort of lost here

Current ATI/AMD card are a bit more efficient than Nvidia counterparts. a 5850 consumes as much power a stock 460GTX, a 560Ti is faster, but consumes more power.

A 460GTX is a shorter card, so that could make a difference as well depending on your case.

Either way, a you will want a PSU with at least 40A on the 12v rail or maybe a pair of 25A 12v rails.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017

Good PSU right there for a great price!

 

[ko888]

A single reference clocked GeForce GTX 460 has a Maximum Graphics Card Power 160 Watts. This means the card will draw up to a maximum of 13.3 Amps from the +12 Volt rails.

A single reference clocked Radeon HD 5850 has a Maximum board power of 151 Watts. This means the card will draw up to a maximum of 12.6 Amps from the +12 Volt rails.

A minimum of a 450 Watt or greater system power supply with a minimum +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amps or greater is recommended for either one of those single graphics card configurations. The power supply must also have at least two 6-pin PCI Express Supplementary power connectors.

Select from reputable power supply name brands such as Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, XFX.

You haven't specified a budget or whether you want a modular power supply unit.

 

[vilenjan]

ko888, not gonna be mean, but shooting for the bare minimum in never a good idea. Yes a 450W PSU with about 30A on 12 rail will probably work, but cutting it that close means that the PSU will work hard most of the time, reducing its overall lifespan. Also Msot 450W or lower PSU only have a single PCI-e connector, so he would have to use a molex to PCI-e adapter with those PSUs.

My system loads around 50%-60% on my PSU, some might say this is wasted, but most PSU are most efficient at around 50% load, and I hope to get a long life out of mine since I dont stress it.

 

[jb6684]

Here's a list that shows some recommended PS sizes for specific cards....

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Too many people under estimate the importance of a strong, quality power supply. Choose one from Corsair, Antec TP, or Seasonic...
650watts will work for any single GPU system.
850Watts will work for all but the highest end dual GPU systems.

A good power supply will out last the usefulness of a build, may be two builds. So, plan ahead 650watts min size...

 

[NinjaDude03]

my budget right now when considering the GTX460, GTX 550 Ti or the 5850 and the PSU is perhaps at MAXIMUM $250. I would prefer not to get past the $225 mark but I also want to avoid cheap brands. That OCZ 600W that you linked me to looks really nice and within my budget but is it compatible with my setup?

Sorry for not posting my specs before. This is what I have right now (AKA crap)

AMD 880G motherboard
AMD Athlon II X4 635
1TB SATA HDD (don't know what brand)
4GB DDR3 RAM (again, unspecified brand)
ATI Radeon HD 4250 integrated graphics
Super Multi DVD Drive w/ Burner
And a crappy 250W power supply

My RAM and my processor is fine for now but I want to upgrade to a Radeon HD 5850 and a modular PSU.

 

[ko888]

ko888, not gonna be mean, but shooting for the bare minimum in never a good idea. Yes a 450W PSU with about 30A on 12 rail will probably work, but cutting it that close means that the PSU will work hard most of the time, reducing its overall lifespan. Also Msot 450W or lower PSU only have a single PCI-e connector, so he would have to use a molex to PCI-e adapter with those PSUs.

My system loads around 50%-60% on my PSU, some might say this is wasted, but most PSU are most efficient at around 50% load, and I hope to get a long life out of mine since I dont stress it.

I only specified the minimum requirement so that the OP doesn't purchase something below it and wonder why the system doesn't work properly. I already knew that a power supply's maximum efficiency is reached at 50% load.

 

[jb6684]

That's a little thin for a GPU & PS but, REBATEs will make up the difference:

GPU, $158... GTX 460..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391

Power Supply: $50... 600watt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019

or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

 

[NinjaDude03]

Do you guys think that is will work?

GPU: Pretty much the same as you suggested jb6684 but cheaper because it is the 768MB version. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390

PSU: another antec.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

ASUS and Antec are pretty reputable brands aren't they?

 

[jb6684]

Those will work. But the 1Gb card would be better and it's only $3 more after REBATE....

 

[NinjaDude03]

Best answer selected by NinjaDude03.

 

[NinjaDude03]

Alright, thanks for all your help guys!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey