Radeon hd 7870 on 460 watt psu?

[yuzuru]

i want to buy radeon hd 7870 for my pc..but my psu is 460 watt and has mutiple 12v rails..i dont know if my psu can afford 7870..my psu is cooler master eXtreme Power Plus 460W and my psu amperage of rails is at link

http://www.coolermaster.com/upload/product_feature/ExtremePowerPlus460_PCAP_PCAR-2.jpg

so what do you think guys..can my psu can afford 7870??

(Soryyy! for my bad english , im asian)

 

[Sunius]

How many PCIe connectors does it have?

 

[Maxx_Power]

i want to buy radeon hd 7870 for my pc..but my psu is 460 watt and has mutiple 12v rails..i dont know if my psu can afford 7870..my psu is cooler master eXtreme Power Plus 460W and my psu amperage of rails is at link

http://www.coolermaster.com/upload/product_feature/ExtremePowerPlus460_PCAP_PCAR-2.jpg

so what do you think guys..can my psu can afford 7870??

(Soryyy! for my bad english , im asian)

The power consumption of the 7870 (as a TDP figure) is 175 Watts, and actual measured value is 140 Watts, see:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7850-and-7870-review/6

So, you should be absolutely fine powering this card with your PSU.

You MIGHT need a molex 4 pin to PCI-E 6 pin adapter if your 7870 has 2 PCI-E power ports.

 

[Maxx_Power]

FYI: It might interest you to know that this PSU is not really a 460W, because it can't actually deliver its stated load at 460 Watts, it is more of a 430 Watt PSU, see:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-460-W-RS-460-PMSR-A3-Power-Supply-Review/550/7

Also, the 2x 12V rails have the Over Current Protection set at 19A, so you can actually get all that 18A per rail to power your 7870, if the other rail isn't taxed (since the other rail is powering the ATX12V).

 

[yuzuru]

it has 1 6pin PCIe connectors

 

[yuzuru]

FYI: It might interest you to know that this PSU is not really a 460W, because it can't actually deliver its stated load at 460 Watts, it is more of a 430 Watt PSU, see:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-460-W-RS-460-PMSR-A3-Power-Supply-Review/550/7

Also, the 2x 12V rails have the Over Current Protection set at 19A, so you can actually get all that 18A per rail to power your 7870, if the other rail isn't taxed (since the other rail is powering the ATX12V).

so can this psu run it safe or i will need to get another psu?

 

[Maxx_Power]

so can this psu run it safe or i will need to get another psu?

You SHOULD be able to run it.

But don't worry! If the PSU isn't enough to power the card, it will just shut down safely. Hardwaresecrets tested this feature.

 

[yuzuru]

You SHOULD be able to run it.

But don't worry! If the PSU isn't enough to power the card, it will just shut down safely. Hardwaresecrets tested this feature.

that make me feel better,but i need to confirm it ..becoz some people have problem when their psu cant afford their graphic card

 

[Maxx_Power]

that make me feel better,but i need to confirm it ..becoz some people have problem when their psu cant afford their graphic card

You would be safer with a GTX660 Ti, which has a "maximal graphics power" of 150W, 25W less than the 7870.


EDIT: Nevermind about the 660Ti, according to Toms review, it actually uses MORE power than the 7870.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-benchmark-review,3279-16.html

What are the rest of your computer components, CPU, RAM, Board, HDD/SSD, etc ?

 

[yuzuru]

You would be safer with a GTX660 Ti, which has a "maximal graphics power" of 150W, 25W less than the 7870.


EDIT: Nevermind about the 660Ti, according to Toms review, it actually uses MORE power than the 7870.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-benchmark-review,3279-16.html

What are the rest of your computer components, CPU, RAM, Board, HDD/SSD, etc ?

intel core i3 2100 3.10 ghz
my ram is 6 gb the 4 gb is from kingmax, i dont know the 2 gb is what brand
pegatron corporation 2AC2 motherboard
i don know my hdd brand but it is 1TB and and ssd 100gb,another 11gb hdd
my current graphic card is gigabyte radeon hd 7750

 

[Maxx_Power]

intel core i3 2100 3.10 ghz
my ram is 6 gb the 4 gb is from kingmax, i dont know the 2 gb is what brand
pegatron corporation 2AC2 motherboard
i don know my hdd brand but it is 1TB and and ssd 100gb,another 11gb hdd
my current graphic card is gigabyte radeon hd 7750

Ahh okay. The CPU is low powered, and the mobo seems like an OEM pegatron board based on H61 chipset. And you don't have a lot of other stuff in the computer. This gives me more confidence that your PSU will power a 7870. For reference, at the Toms review I linked to earlier, the total system power for a loaded 7870 in a system that draws more power than yours was only 312 watts max, so your system will be a lot less than this. I think your PSU will be fine powering a 7870.

 

[yuzuru]

Ahh okay. The CPU is low powered, and the mobo seems like an OEM pegatron board based on H61 chipset. And you don't have a lot of other stuff in the computer. This gives me more confidence that your PSU will power a 7870. For reference, at the Toms review I linked to earlier, the total system power for a loaded 7870 in a system that draws more power than yours was only 312 watts max, so your system will be a lot less than this. I think your PSU will be fine powering a 7870.

thx for your help i think i gonna buy it,, or you can suggest another gpu for my pc

 

[Onus]

Avoid CM PSUs. Most of them (especially at the low end) have liar labels and aren't good for their claimed wattage. That one has protection circuits, some either don't, or they claim they have them but that too turns out to be a lie.

 

[yuzuru]

Avoid CM PSUs. Most of them (especially at the low end) have liar labels and aren't good for their claimed wattage. That one has protection circuits, some either don't, or they claim they have them but that too turns out to be a lie.

so i need to change psu ..so confused

 

[Maxx_Power]

so i need to change psu ..so confused

What he/she is saying is right, but you don't need to change PSUs. The Cooler Master brand has been known for years (if not decade or more) to make crappy cut cost PSUs. Although according to Hardwaresecrets, the PSU you have is OKAY, just not great compared to the competition. That's why you see Cooler Master PSUs being sold for (usually) cheaper than the competition.

If you were to buy a new PSU today, DO NOT buy a Cooler Master. Since you already have one, use it first.

 

[Maxx_Power]

thx for your help i think i gonna buy it,, or you can suggest another gpu for my pc

If you are set on getting a 7870, get a Ghz edition, like this one:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131467

Go for reference designs, they have power consumption values (due to VRM design and clock speeds) identical to what is reviewed. The non-reference designs (MSI Lightening, ASUS DirectCU, etc) are good too, but most frequently they are more power hungry than reference.

The other one I'd suggest is the 660 Ti, specifically the EVGA one:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130809

BUT, it may be too long for your case, check the length-wise clearance first.

I'd go with a 7870, and save 50 bucks. The performance difference between the 660 and 7870 is <20% on average (not counting the Ghz edition, according to Toms review), which means the extra 50 dollars you spend on a 660 Ti is not buying an equivalent amount more performance.

 

[yuzuru]

What he/she is saying is right, but you don't need to change PSUs. The Cooler Master brand has been known for years (if not decade or more) to make crappy cut cost PSUs. Although according to Hardwaresecrets, the PSU you have is OKAY, just not great compared to the competition. That's why you see Cooler Master PSUs being sold for (usually) cheaper than the competition.

If you were to buy a new PSU today, DO NOT buy a Cooler Master. Since you already have one, use it first.

i think i will go for sapphire radeon hd 7870 ghz edition becoz i found a store that sell it only 250 dollar..thx for your help maxx_power

 

[Maxx_Power]

i think i will go for sapphire radeon hd 7870 ghz edition becoz i found a store that sell it only 250 dollar..thx for your help maxx_power

No problem. Enjoy!

 

[yuzuru]

Best answer selected by yuzuru.