Buying a new GPU.

[Silba]

Note: I do not want Nvidia and would prefer Sapphire over xfx/asus/gigabyte unless you can change my mind.


I'm looking to buy a new Ati/AMD GPU and I've got my eyes on this SAPPHIRE HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE which I really want I've spent all day reading reviews and looking at real life comparisons of this GPU to others and I've decided I definitely want this baby! But my Questions are:

Is my CPU good enough to keep up with this monster? Will it hold the GPU back?

Is 500w PSU enough? I've read up on it and apparently a lot of people have no problem with using a 500w PSU.
Does my PSU have the 2 extra power wires to power the GPU? If it doesn't how can I get them?
Here is what I'm talking about, hit ctrl+f and search for "75 watt"

What about my MOBO? Any problems with that?

£140 is the max I want to pay for a new GPU (I have found this GPU at £137 on amazon) and I will buy a better PSU if recommended to do so within good reason.

I mainly play games on my PC and can run most games like WoW and Skyrim on relatively high settings compared to most of my family and friends but of course I'm the only real gamer I know but I also know my system is WEAK right now and im just wondering if all I need is a new GPU to keep with the times.I'm not looking to run the best games on the planet with 54684 FPS. I just want a good upgrade.

If you guys don't think this GPU is right for me then which GPU would you recommend?


My system Specs:

Operating System
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit (Soon to be 64bit)
CPU
Intel Pentium E6500 @ 2.93GHz
RAM
3.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 266MHz (4-4-4-12) (Soon to be 6-8gb @ 1333MHz)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. EP41-UD3L (Socket 775)
Graphics
2243W (1920x1080@59Hz)
ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series (XFX Pine Group) (HD Radeon 4650) (Mine has 1gb RAM)
PSU
EZCool Silent 500Watt ATX PSU

 

[festerovic]

That card is a good match. In fact I wouldn't get anything more costly than that card due to bottlenecking from the CPU. But it's a pretty good matchup, and you should be happy with the results. You don't even need a new PSU.

 

[Silba]

That card is a good match. In fact I wouldn't get anything more costly than that card due to bottlenecking from the CPU. But it's a pretty good matchup, and you should be happy with the results. You don't even need a new PSU.

What about these wires then?

Does my PSU have the 2 extra power wires to power the GPU? If it doesn't how can I get them?
Here is what I'm talking about, hit ctrl+f and search for "75 watt"

 

[xtremegamer2da-max]

u ABSOLUTLEY should get a better processor than that a 6870 is a good choice though

 

[Silba]

u ABSOLUTLEY should get a better processor than that a 6870 is a good choice though

Could you explain why you think I need a better CPU? Ive never seen it go above 70% on my most demanding games. Which is good enough for me, It's always my ram and GPU holding me back.

 

[Memnarchon]

If I were you I would wait a week. According to MSI, HD7770 and HD7750 isnt far away. And maybe If you wait a few weeks more 7870 and 7850 will be an option too .

 

[Silba]

If I were you I would wait a week. According to MSI, HD7770 and HD7750 isnt far away. And maybe If you wait a few weeks more 7870 and 7850 will be an option too .
http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/AMD_Roadmap_7750_7770.jpg

Will they bump the price of the 6870 down? And how expensive and good are they compared to the 6870?

 

[Memnarchon]

Will they bump the price of the 6870 down? And how expensive and good are they compared to the 6870?

Sadly I have the feeling that this depends entirely to when nvidia shall answer. We need price wars so we can benefit from them .
I think that 7770 will perfom better than 6870 and it will have better price. But I am not sure.
One thing is for sure. Within 6 days we will know

 

[Silba]

Sadly I have the feeling that this depends entirely to when nvidia shall answer. We need price wars so we can benefit from them .
I think that 7770 will perfom better than 6870 and it will have better price. But I am not sure.
One thing is for sure. Within 6 days we will know

thanks alot for the info, ill wait for it to come out then wait a while for everyone to benchmark it and read up on some reviews and see what its like

 

[Memnarchon]

thanks alot for the info, ill wait for it to come out then wait a while for everyone to benchmark it and read up on some reviews and see what its like

You welcome Cant wait to see the reviews too ^^

 

[festerovic]

It usually takes a while for a price drop when the new models come out. So factor that in if you need something soon.

Re; the power connectors, most cards come with molex-PCIe 6 pin connector adapters included, 2 if they have 2 power connectors on the card. If not order some with your card.

 

[Silba]

It usually takes a while for a price drop when the new models come out. So factor that in if you need something soon.

Re; the power connectors, most cards come with molex-PCIe 6 pin connector adapters included, 2 if they have 2 power connectors on the card. If not order some with your card.

Thanks I've never bought a GPU before so I didnt know it would come with them or even the name for them... I've always made do with what was already inside my desktops

 

[festerovic]

In a worst case scenario they will give you the 2 molex = 1 PCIe connector. That would mean if you received two of these, they would require 4 free molex adapters from your PSU, is that going to work?

 

[festerovic]

Actually sapphire lists this on the accessories for the card you linked:

6 PIN to 4 PIN Power Cable x 2

That usually means 1 cable, and the other should be the regular PCIe 6 pin connector from the PSU. Your PSU already has 1 PCIe 6 pin power wire doesn't it?

 

[Silba]

Actually sapphire lists this on the accessories for the card you linked:

6 PIN to 4 PIN Power Cable x 2

That usually means 1 cable, and the other should be the regular PCIe 6 pin connector from the PSU. Your PSU already has 1 PCIe 6 pin power wire doesn't it?

I've just looked for myself, I don't see a single wire coming out of my PSU that turns into a 6pin anything.
Or even any free slots....


HMM How big is this connector we are talking about? i think i have a small one with 6 holes

 

[Memnarchon]

HMM How big is this connector we are talking about? i think i have a small one with 6 holes

The first one (left) is what it should like and the 2nd (right) one is what festerovic was talking about "they will give you the 2 molex = 1 PCIe connector"

 

[Silba]

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/pcie6.jpg

The first one (left) is what it should like and the 2nd (right) one is what festerovic was talking about "they will give you the 2 molex = 1 PCIe connector"

I've nothing like those black connectors coming from my PSU, The only connector I can see that is free is a 4pin white socket.

 

[festerovic]

do you have 4 molex free coming from the PSU? Two of the adapter cables would suffice if the amperage from the PSU is enough (I and others on this thread believe it's not sufficient). So In Theory it would work with 2 of those cables and enough free molex in your system.

 

[Memnarchon]

I've nothing like those black connectors coming from my PSU, The only connector I can see that is free is a 4pin white socket.

Only one? not even two? Well you might consider on changing psu too, unless there is one more 4pin somewhere and you can free it (like a 2nd dvd rom)

 

[Silba]

Only one? not even two? Well you might consider on changing psu too, unless there is one more 4pin somewhere and you can free it (like a 2nd dvd rom)

do you have 4 molex free coming from the PSU? Two of the adapter cables would suffice if the amperage from the PSU is enough (I and others on this thread believe it's not sufficient). So In Theory it would work with 2 of those cables and enough free molex in your system.

I've got 2 I just tested 2 which I thought were duds because they were split off of my fan and HDD, got my volt meter out and I measured 5v and 12v on both molex?(4 pin white socket) connectors.

So would that 6 pin socket plug into both of these and then be enough to power the 6870?

 

[Memnarchon]

I've got 2 I just tested 2 which I thought were duds because they were split off of my fan and HDD, got my volt meter out and I measured 5v and 12v on both molex?(4 pin white socket) connectors.

So would that 6 pin socket plug into both of these and then be enough to power the 6870?

I am afraid that its not possible. I dont know if festerovic can suggest a different solution but if you want to keep your current psu then:

1st. Go for 6850 http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1037&pid=497&psn=&lid=1&leg=0# it requires only 1 6pin.
2nd. Wait for HD7xxx that can use only 1 6pin. They will probably be superior to what 6xxx can offer with one 6pin.

Now if you want to change your psu then you can place a good psu (like a CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 which is a great value for money and able to power almost any single gpu for just 59$ or 39$ after MIR) and make a little patience for the new gpus to arrive ^^

 

[Silba]

I am afraid that its not possible. I dont know if festerovic can suggest a different solution but if you want to keep your current psu then:

1st. Go for 6850 http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1037&pid=497&psn=&lid=1&leg=0# it requires only 1 6pin.
2nd. Wait for HD7xxx that can use only 1 6pin. They will probably be superior to what 6xxx can offer with one 6pin.

Now if you want to change your psu then you can place a good psu (like a CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 which is a great value for money and able to power almost any single gpu for just 59$ or 39$ after MIR) and make a little patience for the new gpus to arrive ^^

_____________________________________________

Only one? not even two? Well you might consider on changing psu too, unless there is one more 4pin somewhere and you can free it (like a 2nd dvd rom)

Confused.com !

You said it would work with 2x 4 pin sockets, now it's not possible? Did I miss something ?

And damn! that PSU is a bit pricey... Now, about these connections. I see no reason for this not to work... If I power up another 250w power supply... couldn't I use that to power the GPU? Seems like a bit of a silly question to me as it is ONLY raw power being transferred with these sockets and no actual data... so it doesn't really matter where the power comes from? Or am I wrong?


Edit: another 250w PSU

 

[Memnarchon]

Confused.com !

You said it would work with 2x 4 pin sockets, now it's not possible? Did I miss something ?

And damn! that PSU is a bit pricey... Now, about these connections. I see no reason for this not to work... If I power up another 250w power supply... couldn't I use that to power the GPU? Seems like a bit of a silly question to me as it is ONLY raw power being transferred with these sockets and no actual data... so it doesn't really matter where the power comes from? Or am I wrong?


Edit: another 250w PSU

The thing is that your psu should have at least one 6pin connector which it doesnt. 6870 needs 2 x 6pins. And since 2 x 4pins = 1 x 6pin so you need 4 x 4pins. Well you can take the power from an other supply I guess but I dont know if they start givin different volts (like 11,9 the 1st and 12,1 the 2nd) what will happen.

Also 6850 is only around 13% slower than 6870. And it requires 1 x 6pin

Also the new 7xxx that have around 6870 performance should be able to work with only 1 x 6pin judgin by the low power draw of 7970/7950

 

[Silba]

The thing is that your psu should have at least one 6pin connector which it doesnt. 6870 needs 2 x 6pins. And since 2 x 4pins = 1 x 6pin so you need 4 x 4pins. Well you can take the power from an other supply I guess but I dont know if they start givin different volts (like 11,9 the 1st and 12,1 the 2nd) what will happen.

Also 6850 is only around 13% slower than 6870. And it requires 1 x 6pin
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6870/images/perfrel.gif

Also the new 7xxx that have around 6870 performance should be able to work with only 1 x 6pin judgin by the low power draw of 7970/7950

looks like I may have to wait for this 7xxx then or...

how about some of those ?

sureley that will work? it will give me the required 4x 4pin molex connections to hook up 2x 6pin molex connections

 

[Memnarchon]

looks like I may have to wait for this 7xxx then or...


http://www.xsfans.com/images/medium/0115_MED.jpg

how about some of those ?

sureley that will work? it will give me the required 4x 4pin molex connections to hook up 2x 6pin molex connections

I wouldnt try that, but I am not sure to give you a clear answer.
In the end maybe in 6 days we will see 7770 perform similary or better than 6870 requiring 1x6pin while havin the same price...
Just be patient for a few days .