Just upgraded to a HD7950

rod2000

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Dec 14, 2012
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So I just bought a HD7950 Gigabytehttp://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4367#ov

Before I install it ... I found on AMD site that the power requirements is a 500W power suppply ... while in Gigabyte site it says that it needs a 600W ..

so is it safe to install it on my current 500Watt power supply ? lol I dont have any more cash or credit in my wallet ....
 

liverpoolfc321

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Dec 13, 2012
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It's recommended that you have 600w, but you may be able to use 500w. Depending on the other components in your system I wouldn't risk it. Unfortuantely you'll have to buy another psu that's over 600w or 650w to make room for improvement. You could get one for a good price:
UK: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-corsair-builder-series-cx-cp-9020048-uk-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu
US: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

To sum it up, don't risk your whole pc, save up and upgrade!
 

jonjonjon

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Sep 7, 2012
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something else to consider.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-500-W-Power-Supply-Review/728
The second thing that we noticed on the label was the phrase “The +3.3 V & + 5 V & +12V1 & +12V2 combine power shall not exceed 431.5 W.” What? If you add this to the maximum power for -12 V and +5VSB we have a total of 450 W! So despite the product name, the label states in a format hard to be understood by the average user that this is in fact a 450 W power supply. As you know, we are completely against this kind of trick used by some manufacturers, and we honestly think that companies like this should be sued, as they are clearly trying to induce consumers to error. Nevertheless, for now we have to give Cooler Master the benefit of the doubt; let’s see during our load tests what is the real maximum power this unit can deliver.
 

DanteIsOnFire

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Sep 26, 2012
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Speaking about that card...is the vapor x really all that good? I was considering the 900mhz edition, or xfx. Have you tried overclocking it yet?
 

jacobsta811

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May 26, 2012
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There are some 500ish watt power supplies I would trust to run a 7950 just fine - for example the Seasonic 520 watt would probably be fine with it, since it has a single 40A 12v rail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094). On the other hand, your current power supply is pretty poor - with two 12v rails rather than a single powerful one, it might not blow up, but it could very well cause hard to trace crashes or glitches under heavy load.
 

ern88

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Jun 8, 2009
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Yup, I have 1100 and 1400. Works great!!!