XFX 5870 good choice?

[sammyboy2]

Thinking of getting this card but I wont be purchasing it for a few weeks until i get some money saved up or until i think of a better card, budget is around £200, i could spend more on a better card but my CPU may bottleneck or PSU not support the 8pin for the 6970. Wondering on peoples opinions, good card? worth the money? better card for the money?

Also Im taking in to consideration the release of new cards soon.

AMD ATHLON X3 450
ALIPINE 650W PSU

I want pretty good gaming results and be able to play some games in high detail, CPU is not the best but this was the first PC i built and i thought it was a good CPU at the time but now i see i should have spent a little more on a phenom x6 or so.

Thanks all

 

[diec4st]

Crap PSU : unknown manufacturer, probably low +12V rail rating (can't even find it on google lol), only has 1x pci-e power connector (5870 needs 2) and probably can't take the load of any decently powerful GPU.

 

[sammyboy2]

heres the link, its cheap yes but ive been using it for a few weeks now and it keeps cool and does the job and at the end of the day if the PSU fails under normal circumstances il get the money refunded and buy a better PSU. http://www.amazon.co.uk/650-WATT-supply-Alpine-Silent/dp/7135799410/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330285996&sr=1-3

 

[diec4st]

heres the link, its cheap yes but ive been using it for a few weeks now and it keeps cool and does the job and at the end of the day if the PSU fails under normal circumstances il get the money refunded and buy a better PSU. http://www.amazon.co.uk/650-WATT-supply-Alpine-Silent/dp/7135799410/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330285996&sr=1-3

Can you look on the PSU itself for the +12V rating? Should be either something like +12V 30A or +12V1 15A +12V2 15A ...

 

[sammyboy2]

It is +12v 36A.

 

[diec4st]

It is +12v 36A.

Well that should be enough for a 5870. Just make sure some adapters are supplied with the card as the PSU only has 1 power connector and the cards needs 2. I really hope it doesn't blow up under load and kills your motherboard though.

 

[vrumor]

It is possible that if your PSU blows cause its terrible, it can take out all of your hardware with it.

 

[sammyboy2]

My motherboard has ASUS Anti-Surge Protection, it is a M5A78L-M/USB3

 

[diec4st]

It is possible that if your PSU blows cause its terrible, it can take out all of your hardware with it.

Exactly, this is why it is recommended to never go cheap on a PSU. You should have bought something like

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

which would EASILY power a 5870, not require any adapter and give you peace of mind

 

[sammyboy2]

My motherboard has ASUS Anti-Surge Protection, it is a M5A78L-M/USB3

 

[diec4st]

My motherboard has ASUS Anti-Surge Protection, it is a M5A78L-M/USB3

as I said, it may be perfectly fine but if something happens, don't say we didn't warn you

 

[sammyboy2]

I ordered the PSU off amazon, when i got it it was bent slightly at the power supply switch, should i ask for a refund and buy another better one?

 

[diec4st]

I ordered the PSU off amazon, when i got it it was bent slightly at the power supply switch, should i ask for a refund and buy another better one?

If you can get a full refund, of course!

 

[sammyboy2]

right il do that right away, i can get a refund until tuesday, thank goodness

 

[diec4st]

Any 500W unit from Corsair, Antec or Seasonic will be plenty for a 5870. Some other brands are fine too but I just stated the 3 I trust the most. Do you already have the 5870? Because a 6870 (slightly less powerful than a 5870) can be had new for 140$ after MIR and would be a good fit for your CPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561

would be my suggestion

 

[sammyboy2]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-750W-Power-Supply-Rails/dp/B002Q8HFEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1330290783&sr=1-1

Would that be good enough to power my system and a 5870/6870 or possibly the new 7800 series?

 

[diec4st]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-750W-Power-Supply-Rails/dp/B002Q8HFEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1330290783&sr=1-1

Would that be good enough to power my system and a 5870/6870 or possibly the new 7800 series?

Never heard of that brand, I don't think it's better than the previous one.

What about this? From Amazon UK as well

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMPSU-600CXV2UK-Builder-Power-Supply/dp/B0050AFU46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330291269&sr=8-1

That PSU would be able to power any of the 6000 or 7000 series cards. Since your CPU is not that great I wouldn't bother going for anything better than a 7850 (which is supposed to cost 220$). I still think a 6870 would be better suited for you, though.