Another "Is this enough power" question...

[turbofandude]

Hello,

I am looking to upgrade to a unique graphics setup for Christmas this year. I have a GTX470 as my primary GPU now, and I'll be switching to a GTX670 as the primary, replacing my 8400GS as the secondary-monitor GPU.

I am running an old WD 7200RPM HDD, an OCZ Vertex 4 SSD, 8GB of DDR3 1600mHz RAM, and an i7 3770K (stock speeds - I don't over clock) - 3.50GhZ.

I have a 750W PSU (non-modular, I guess about two years old now). Will that be enough to run a GTX470 side-by-side with a GTX670? (Non-SLI)?

From what I've read, it should be fine, but I'd rather not spend the money without first having the prerequisites. Also, will it create a heat issue? Can I use just the GTX670 for both monitors without heat problems (like the 470 had). I run the stock cooler on the i7, and even when gaming, it gets no higher than 70-75 celcius.

Thanks in advance,
Collin Biedenkapp

 

[dsventimiglia]

The power is fine, but the single GTX 670 also would be fine, however stock cooler on a i7 not fine upgrade to a better cooler.
But anything below 80c is good, id still look at something like the Hyper tx3 evo 18$ at amazon

 

[Proximon]

It's not enough info. Just because a PSU claims to be capable of a certain amount of power means nothing. See the PSU guide linked in my sig.

"70-75C while gaming" is not acceptable at stock speeds. Upper 60s might be acceptable if the ambient temps are high. However, perhaps your method of measuring this is not right.
What are the core temps according to HWmonitor? You can leave it running while gaming and see the max temps after.

 

[turbofandude]

Hmm. I hate hearing that, but I'm beginning to fear it's true.

 

[Proximon]

Usually temp issues with stock Intel coolers are easy to fix. 75% of the time the pins are not fully engaged in the motherboard. If you can inspect the back of the board without removing it, you can confirm this easily.

 

[turbofandude]

What exactly would I be looking for?

 

[laststop311]

Is there an actual reason you need 2 separate gpu's to run 2 monitors? The gtx 670 is capable enough to run 2 monitors by itself. When you game only the gtx 670 will be used anyways as they are not compatible in sli.

With all the heat problems you seem to be having what I think you should do is get the gtx 670 and ebay off the gtx 470 and the 8400gs if its even worth anything. Now with the money you made from ebaying the 2 cards you no longer need you should buy some higher CFM case intake and exhaust fans or just extra fans if you have empty fan holes not being taken advantage of. Then upgrade the stock intel cooler with something else.

Highly recommend http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16500/thr-139/Indigo_Xtreme_Precision_Engineered_Thermal_Interface_ETI_Kit_for_Core_i5_LGA_1155_1156_-_Single_Pack.html?tl=g8c127s1707

instead of using thermal grease apply that when you are upgrading the stock intel cooler. it is the best TIM period.

 

[dsventimiglia]

Under load the I7 3770K can be a hot chip, many report an average temp of 80c but Proximon is correct the stock cooler is probably not mounted correctly. However get yourself a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO or similar and save your beautiful chip

 

[Proximon]

The plastic pins the cooler uses to lock into the board are shaped like arrows. If the head of the arrow is not all the way through the board, so that you can see the head on the other side, then the cooler is not fully installed.

Because so many people come to us with this exact issue, we like to recommend one of the coolers like the 212... it uses actual screws and so is harder to mess up.

The above recommended TIM is very good, but it's overkill. You are paying a big premium for an extra degree or two.