Would 6870/6850 run in this?

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Dracconus

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Oct 17, 2011
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Hello all, I am trying to make sure that the power supply I just bought a few weeks ago (unfortunately past it's return policy at Altex) will be able to run an HD6850.
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Build Specs:
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Proc: AMD Athlon II x4 640 clocked @ stock 3.0Ghz
CPU Cool: Stock AMD cooler w/Single 92mm Fan
R.A.M: 3x2Gb 1333Mhz
HDD: 1x WD500Green 7200RPM / 1x 1Tb Seagate 7200RPM
Media: DVD Multi Recorder R DL Litescribe Re-Write capable
Case: Sentey Black Box v.2.1
Fans: 3x120 LED(Blue) / 2x120 NoLED / 1x80mm / 1x92mm Powered via USB (can disable if necessary.)
Mobo: MSI 870S-G46 Full Size ATX w/8Pin PSU Connection
PCI Card: None
E-Media: No card reader installed, or necessary (that's why they make media printers :p)
PSU: Antec 450 Basiq Model VP450
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PSU Current Ratings:
5v= 15A Max Load
+3.3v= 24A Max Load
+12V= 18A Max Load (This is the first 12 volt rail?)
+12V= 18A Max Load(I really had no idea this has two :eek: )
-12V= 0.3A Max Load
+5Vsb= 2.5A Max Load

*note* I would REALLY like to run a 6870, but I know that probably isn't possible.
The motherboard, PSU, and Video card will ALL be almost brand new (the psu has about 100 run hours on it, if that. the mobo has the same (installed at same time.)
I will be using the card for gaming, and am a quality enthusiast, so I'd like to get what I can out of the card. I'm going to be upgrading from a 4850 to this.
Purchase date will be within the day, to next two or three. A.S.A.P in other words.
Please help me determine whether this will be enough. Believe it or not, I'm not really the type of person to ever have comp issues, or questions, but as I just bought all these parts to "do up" the HP P6710F that this computer was...I'd like to know if I did so in vain.
I want to run a 6870, but a 6850 will do.
Thanks for any and all help
 
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That's fine I understand where your coming from.I was merely stating that your PSU is capable of delivering 360watts on the +12/v rail which is more than enough for running a 6870 with the rest of your system.

I think the question you want answered is actually not will the PSU run it but if capacitor aging has made the PSU lesser of a quality unit than it is/was.And the answer is no.100 hours is hardly any time.I've bought my PSU over a year ago and it's probably seen over 1000 hrs and it's still fine.Your PSU is practically still brand new.

Of course if you still think it's a problem then I suggest upgrading it whenever you can.Since their are no efficiency ratings for it on the chart itself I'm guessing it's below 80 plus...
Yes you can run a 6850 with that PSU.Antec makes quality PSU's.And I don't see why you can't run a 6870.

The total system power draw,in a test system,with a 6870 is around 300 watts.Your PSU can supply around 340 watts.Test systems are usually very beefy and will consume more power than the average user so it will consume even less.

Just to let you know if your using a HP case you might run into problems.Wether it be airflow or actual space.The 6870/6850 is a long card and it might not fit in those micro case's.
 

festerovic

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I have 6850 from Asus, its about 2 " shorter than the ref design. Research the length of the card from the manufacturer you want, they are all a little different. Also, some have fans that blow in the case, and some have fans that exhaust OUT of the case.

You may want a better PSU to run 6850/6870 since the draw for one card can technically run 225 watts (it has 2 PCI power @75 watts + PCIe bus @ 75 watts). It would only pull over 150 watts when you overclock it, seeing the reference design has a single PCI power connector on it.
 

Dracconus

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I'm not using the stock HP case anymore, matter of factly, EVERYTHING from that HP P6710f has been restocked except the stock CPU, 1 stick of 1333mhz ram, and the 1tb HDD.
The video card, motherboard, 2xram, case, fans, PSU, etc have all been custom purchases. I did it this way because the original was more than what I needed at the time, and was -400 bucks so that wasn't bad at all.
Total i've spent more than I normally would have building this, but it's been all upgrades year round.
Thanks for the replies, and sorry if I was in haste with my initial response, I know some forums don't update automatically, but I wasn't sure if this one got pushed of the front page or not.
 

Dracconus

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Please read the original post for all build information
Thanks.


If I get the 6850 It will be this one..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161384

6870 would be this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

This is not because of price, but because of reviews, These two have almost NO negative reviews out of hundreds, one can't argue with that as many years as I've been doing system building.

Anyways, any notification as to whether the 6870 I want will run with that PSU, and my equipment would be nice. And, please, read my specs on the current system before you say it will. I hate it when people just go "yah, yew can run that with that PSU"
I know that this PSU could run the card, I want to know if it can run that card in my CURRENT system.
Thanks.

Forgot to add, airflow in this case is NOT a problem, my temps are max 21c environment (tested at five points - it's a steady temp.) 31Max load on the processor, 23c direct contact thermal test on Middle stick or RAM, and 15c in the hard drive bay.
The PSU runs around 13-18 depending on usage.
Therefor I'm not really worried with the cooling solution of the card, Even my horribly cooled 4850 manages to stay at around 45c when overclocked and overvolted all the way to it's limit at 45% fan speed.
 
I said in my earlier post that it will work with a 6870.And I also said that with a "test system" the power draw is around 300 watts.Your system is very average therefore it will consume much less.

I just wanted to let you know if you didn't already that you have 3 sticks of RAM.So only 2 sticks are running in dual channel.
 

Dracconus

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Yeah, I'm well aware of the ram issue, but there's several reasons why I'm not really concerned with that (1 being that I'm going to bundle the GPU with ram, so that'll fix that issue.
I'm aware of what the test system pulls, but those are on test systems, they're under instantaneous loads that don't have capacitor aging in place. Granted I can/could easily replace the PSU before it goes out I'm wondering if I will be able to run this in this system for more than the thirty minutes a test bench would last, and whether it will do so efficiently.
Also, your response indicated that you were referring to the PSU's capability alone, not my builds, and what I'm going to be running the card alongside. You never mentioned whether you were being specific to what my psu could handle for the whole system, or whether it just "wouldn't have any problems theoretically." and that may have caused the misunderstanding between the two of us.
I would still like a few more inputs before I make this decision as in the last 27 years of life, and 12+ years of programming I've learned one thing, and that's to never base an opinion off what any one person says (no offense.)
 
That's fine I understand where your coming from.I was merely stating that your PSU is capable of delivering 360watts on the +12/v rail which is more than enough for running a 6870 with the rest of your system.

I think the question you want answered is actually not will the PSU run it but if capacitor aging has made the PSU lesser of a quality unit than it is/was.And the answer is no.100 hours is hardly any time.I've bought my PSU over a year ago and it's probably seen over 1000 hrs and it's still fine.Your PSU is practically still brand new.

Of course if you still think it's a problem then I suggest upgrading it whenever you can.Since their are no efficiency ratings for it on the chart itself I'm guessing it's below 80 plus bronze.Which means the power provided isn't clean and it's costing you extra money.

Your PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371045&Tpk=antec%20450
 
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Dracconus

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You are correct, that is my PSU.
I am not worried about the aging, as I already knew that wasn't an issue, I'm concerned with aging in the future, and the current setup being just too much.
So you're pretty certain that given my current setup (as a whole) I'll be able to run the 6870 for at least 6 months?
Also, on that note, when/if this PSU gives out, is there any concern that I need to have on it shorting anything else out given the protection types that it has?
 
That PSU will last you a lot longer than 6 months.But you should always change out the PSU every couple of years anyway if your using it with a high end system.

The protection types it has, protect it against "outside threats"(such as over voltage,blackouts,etc.).If the PSU fails theirs no telling what it can do to the system.It may just die or it can take other things with it.It is the same for every PSU.
 

Dracconus

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Gotcha, Well, I guess that I will test it, and see what happens, it's not like I can't pop my 4850 back in if something goes wrong.
I've got extra parts for everything, but if it fries something I'll be pretty pissed :p

I'm going to go ahead, and order the 6870, give it a throw in Heaven, and see how it does.
Thanks for the information, I never truly understood PSU's, and the multiple requirements/power sections of them till now TBH, and it's all thanks to you.
(Kinda sad that I've been building systems for years without that knowledge, but then again I always overshot on PSU's, so I guess it didn't really matter.)
 
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