Will the Radeon 7770 run on my computer?

[nunchuck]

So right now I have a stock dell 350w PSU and I THINK it has 25 amps on 12VA and 12VB rails (if that's how it's worded). I'm wondering if I can run this video card:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2060886&CatId=7387

on it without having to buy a new PSU.

The specs of my computer are:
Dell studio 540
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33ghz
500GB western digital hard drive
6GB DDR2 RAM
CD/DVD Drive
Stock dell 350w powersupply

Here is a picture a took of my power supply if it helps.

http://s1054.photobucket.com/albums/s486/rabbids111/?action=view&current=IMG_4512.jpg

 

[xtreme5]

wattage is enough but I suspect DELL psu's are really crap.

 

[Maxx_Power]

So right now I have a stock dell 350w PSU and I THINK it has 25 amps on 12VA and 12VB rails (if that's how it's worded). I'm wondering if I can run this video card:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2060886&CatId=7387

on it without having to buy a new PSU.

The specs of my computer are:
Dell studio 540
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33ghz
500GB western digital hard drive
6GB DDR2 RAM
CD/DVD Drive
Stock dell 350w powersupply

Here is a picture a took of my power supply if it helps.

http://s1054.photobucket.com/albums/s486/rabbids111/?action=view&current=IMG_4512.jpg

It should work. Your two 12 V rails as per your PSU are at 144 Watts and 216 Watts. Usually the lower Wattage rail is used to power the board+CPU, and the higher one for PCI-E and other things. Since the max of the two rails are listed as 300Watts combined, I suspect the power supply is an older group regulated power supply with all the 12V rails coming from one set of secondaries...

The TDP of the 7770 is 80 Watts, and that is split between being supplied by the PCI-E and the external power plug (PCI-E power).

I think you are safe. I have heard of the 7770 being ran on 300 Watt PSUs and lower, depending on the rest of the computer components.

Do you have a PCI-E power coming out of the PSU ?

 

[Maxx_Power]

wattage is enough but I suspect DELL psu's are really crap.

If I remember correctly from BadCaps forums, some LiteONs are actually pretty good.

 

[nunchuck]

It should work. Your two 12 V rails as per your PSU are at 144 Watts and 216 Watts. Usually the lower Wattage rail is used to power the board+CPU, and the higher one for PCI-E and other things. Since the max of the two rails are listed as 300Watts combined, I suspect the power supply is an older group regulated power supply with all the 12V rails coming from one set of secondaries...

The TDP of the 7770 is 80 Watts, and that is split between being supplied by the PCI-E and the external power plug (PCI-E power).

I think you are safe. I have heard of the 7770 being ran on 300 Watt PSUs and lower, depending on the rest of the computer components.

Do you have a PCI-E power coming out of the PSU ?

Yes I do have a PCI-E external power plug. If there is inefficient power to power the graphics card, will it damage the graphics card or the computer, or both?

 

[Maxx_Power]

Yes I do have a PCI-E external power plug. If there is inefficient power to power the graphics card, will it damage the graphics card or the computer, or both?

No, all PSUs certified for sale will have (should have) over current protection. There is also a safety margin (typically) for PSUs, so a 350W may deliver 10% more power than rated, although this varies by manufacturer and model to model.

If you have a PCI-E connector, then you are really safe to do this. Your PSU was designed to provide for a PCI-E card that requires additional power, and this 7770 only requires 5 watts more (per TDP) than allowed for PCI-E without additional power (PCI-E cards requiring additional power starts from 75 Watts TDP and UP, and the 7770 is 80 Watts, so it barely requires additional power).

 

[DavidY]

Memory Express has an Antec VP-450 power supply for $35 plus taxes and $5 shipping...$10 off....if the case can handle an ATX power supply.

Dave

 

[nunchuck]

No, all PSUs certified for sale will have (should have) over current protection. There is also a safety margin (typically) for PSUs, so a 350W may deliver 10% more power than rated, although this varies by manufacturer and model to model.

If you have a PCI-E connector, then you are really safe to do this. Your PSU was designed to provide for a PCI-E card that requires additional power, and this 7770 only requires 5 watts more (per TDP) than allowed for PCI-E without additional power (PCI-E cards requiring additional power starts from 75 Watts TDP and UP, and the 7770 is 80 Watts, so it barely requires additional power).

Thanks for the reply. I just noticed that this card is a special addition of the HD 7770, known as the Double Dissipation model, which has an additional fan. I'm not sure why it has 2 fans but I'm guessing it higher specs in some way, although I checked that the core clock and memory speeds same. What I'm wondering is if this card will consume more power than the regular (core) XFX HD 7770, which will be higher than the 80w of regular HD 7770.

 

[DavidY]

I don't agree with Maxx_power regarding all PSU delivering their stated wattage. Lotsa of the cheaper PSU often over rate their wattage. There were a few PSU's that didn't meet their stated wattage here: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/pc-components/3361550/group-test-43-psus-from-500-700-watt-tested/

As a minimum, a good PSU is often certified 80 Plus or better. Antec VP-450 is a rare exception....it's a good one that is not 80 Plus certified.

Dave

 

[Maxx_Power]

I don't agree with Maxx_power regarding all PSU delivering their stated wattage. Lotsa of the cheaper PSU often over rate their wattage. There were a few PSU's that didn't meet their stated wattage here: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/pc-components/3361550/group-test-43-psus-from-500-700-watt-tested/

As a minimum, a good PSU is often certified 80 Plus or better. Antec VP-450 is a rare exception....it's a good one that is not 80 Plus certified.

Dave

The OP posted a picture of the labels on the PSU. I checked the wattages per rail according to label, not based on the wattage model number, which can be overrated.

Also, it is a LiteON, one of the okay OEMs for PSU. LiteOn doesn't skimp on internal components.

80 Plus is a certification of efficiency, for which participation is voluntary. Efficiency is not the same as power output. For example, the Corsair 400CX is a very good PSU made by Seasonic, but Corsair did not submit it for 80 Plus certification, and thus cutting down the cost per PSU made. Every website reviewed the unit gave it good reviews, including the formidable Hardware Secrets. 80 Plus certification process is also used, abused and even faked:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Can-We-Trust-the-80-Plus-Certification/856
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Power-Supplies-With-Fake-80-Plus-Badges/1054

The Corsair 450VX is also an example, it is rated as a 450 watt power supply, but can deliver in excess of 500 watts, however, if Corsair marketed the product as a 500 watt power supply, it will not meet 80 Plus efficiency requirements, while marketed as a 450 watt PSU, it does. Therefore, Corsair chose to market it as a 450 Watt power supply unit. In this case, having the 80 Plus certification or not doesn't change the underlying product one bit, only the labelling.

 

[Maxx_Power]

Memory Express has an Antec VP-450 power supply for $35 plus taxes and $5 shipping...$10 off....if the case can handle an ATX power supply.

Dave

With Dells, it is not usually the case that constrains PSU upgrade paths. Some older Dells have a proprietary ATX Power Pinout that is different from a standard ATX Power Pinout to the motherboard. Usually a few pins are switched around. An unsuspecting user who plugs in a standard ATX Power Supply can fry the motherboard, usually leading to expensive repairs. For this reason, some brands (PC&C comes to mind) specifically made Dell compatible adapters or power supplies for Dell machines. You can't tell by looking, the plugs are physically identical, but the layout has been changed.

 

[Maxx_Power]

Thanks for the reply. I just noticed that this card is a special addition of the HD 7770, known as the Double Dissipation model, which has an additional fan. I'm not sure why it has 2 fans but I'm guessing it higher specs in some way, although I checked that the core clock and memory speeds same. What I'm wondering is if this card will consume more power than the regular (core) XFX HD 7770, which will be higher than the 80w of regular HD 7770.

A lot of manufacturers use their custom designed coolers to attract buyers. It is one of the very few things different manufacturers can do to distinguish their products. XFX has the DD thing for a while now, something first seen on MSI Hawk series, I think. It is just a variation of the cooler, nothing more. It is designed to convince those who think "more is better". The DD design sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't (see the recent Anandtech review, along with others that point out the DD design was done poorly on some of the HD7000 series). The old reason why one would choose XFX was because of their double life time warranty, something unique. Since XFX took away the double life time warranty, and I'm not sure they have any life time warranties in general any more, I guess they need something else to distinguish themselves, so goes the 2 fans thing.

The ASUS 7770, according to most reviews is the coolest, and quietest of the 7770s around. The fan is also PWM controlled (which usually gives finer control, but costs more than 2 or 3 pin fans to make). But ultimate choice is yours.

 

[nukemaster]

So right now I have a stock dell 350w PSU and I THINK it has 25 amps on 12VA and 12VB rails (if that's how it's worded). I'm wondering if I can run this video card:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2060886&CatId=7387

on it without having to buy a new PSU.

The specs of my computer are:
Dell studio 540
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33ghz
500GB western digital hard drive
6GB DDR2 RAM
CD/DVD Drive
Stock dell 350w powersupply

Here is a picture a took of my power supply if it helps.

http://s1054.photobucket.com/albums/s486/rabbids111/?action=view&current=IMG_4512.jpg

300 watts @ 12 volts.
I say hell yeah it will run it. Dell power supplies are NOT bad.

 

[nunchuck]

Best answer selected by nunchuck.