7870 Power Consumption

[bigtalon]

Ok, So I am currently running a 9500GT 1gb Video card "Crappy I know XD," I have begun rebuilding my PC, Currently I have the following specs:

Motherboard: Intel DH67BL
Processor: Intel i3 2120
Video Card: 9500GT
PSU: Antec 450w
Ram: Corsair XMS3 8gb (2x4gb)

My question is this, With my current setup, Will I be able to upgrade to a Radeon 7870, Its currently on sale on Newegg for $209 as a year-end clearance, I thought this was a great price, but I was wondering if my PSU can handle it ??

I know the card has had problems with overheating, but I have a thermaltake case with 7 120mm fans in it, and I plan to adjust he video card fan settings, But I was wondering, Since I read it takes 250w of power just for the 7870, Would I be able to run this card with my current setup, or would I need to upgrade the PSU to handle it ? I figured with the i3 and only 8gb of ram I should be able to run the card just fine with my PSU, but I don't want to do it and end up not being able t run the video card

 

[bigcyco1]

Measured power consumption R7870

System in IDLE = 157W
System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 274W
Difference (GPU load) = 117W
Add average IDLE wattage ~10W
Subjective obtained GPU power consumption = ~ 127 Watts

You should be o.k. although i will admit i would not try it personally Radeon HD 7870 - On your average system the cards require you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit as minimum If you are going to overclock the GPU or processor, then we do recommend you purchase something with some more stamina. Source: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_radeon_hd_7850_and_7870_review,7.html

 

[bigtalon]

I haven't Overclocked the Processor, and don't plan to overclock the video card anytime soon, But as long as I don't overclock them, Would it be ok to run the Antec 450w VP450 ? I will eventually upgrade the PSU but I didn't plan on it now as I'm to broke haha, So as long as I don't overclock, I shouldn't have any issues is this true ?

 

[bigcyco1]

Yes you should be o.k. although i will admit i would not try it personally lol.I am to over catious with these sorts of things i like to be safe and not sorry.

 

[bigtalon]

Yes you should be o.k. although i will admit i would not try it personally lol.

LoL Why wouldn't you try it? That scares me to throw this out, The power supply runs at 80% Efficiency as well I just didn't think my power consumption was that high to warrant a new psu just yet

 

[bigcyco1]

LoL Why wouldn't you try it? That scares me to throw this out, The power supply runs at 80% Efficiency as well I just didn't think my power consumption was that high to warrant a new psu just yet

I am to over catious with these sorts of things i like to be safe and not sorry. It should be fine but i don't trust 100% it will be :lol:

 

[bigtalon]

I know the processor runs at 65 watts, and The video card at 127 Watts, so thats 192 Watts, for that.. With fans and everything else, I was figuring roughly 300-350 watts, as long as I keep my current specs, Would this be a close to accurate assumption ?

The PSU runs at 360 Watts, 450 - 20% "It runs at 80% Efficiency"

So would this be good enough atleast for a month or 2 until I can get a better psu ?



Also, What kind of harm could be caused by running with a PSU that isn't good enough to carry the load ? Could this cause damage to my video card or other devices ?

 

[bigcyco1]

The psu should be good enough if it's not you risk killing your rig that's worse case and not likley but possible

 

[Mohammad_Ali]

I would say you should upgrade your PSU and CPU then when the next gen of graphics cards come you could get one of those. I heard AMD will be releasing theirs in June.

 

[bigtalon]

I would say you should upgrade your PSU and CPU then when the next gen of graphics cards come you could get one of those. I heard AMD will be releasing theirs in June.

Why would I upgrade my CPU before Upgrading my GPU ? Like I said, I'm running a 9500GT Video CArd, and an i3 2120, The processor beats out the Video Card, and 9/10 games aren't CPU heavy there GPU heavy. So if I upgraded my CPU and not my GPU, my games would still run like crap, but if I upgrade the GPU then I will get alot better performance, as the CPU being an i3 is good to run almost every game, Even skyrim runs fine with minimal load times, but I have to have the graphics turned all the way down.

Also, the 7870 is on sale right now for $200, Thats the same price as a 7850, its a great time to upgrade the GPU XD

 

[bigtalon]

The psu should be good enough if it's not you risk killing your rig that's worse case and not likley but possible

Any good affordable PSU you could suggest ? Preferrably something in the $50 range

 

[bigcyco1]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

 

[iam2thecrowe]

You could always go for a gtx660, its performance trades blows with the 7870, better in some games, worse in others, but uses less power and only needs 1 6 pin pcie power connector. Im very happy with my gtx660. plus you get physx for the few games that use it. It should be fine with that psu and an i3, cwhich is quite a low power cpu.

 

[bigtalon]

You could always go for a gtx660, its performance trades blows with the 7870, better in some games, worse in others, but uses less power and only needs 1 6 pin pcie power connector. Im very happy with my gtx660. plus you get physx for the few games that use it. It should be fine with that psu and an i3, cwhich is quite a low power cpu.

Ya, but the 660 is over $300, Where as the 7870 is only $200, $100 cheaper for a card that outperforms 660 in some games, and is equal or slightly lower in other games..... I've looked online and I've seen people with more powerful rigs running the 7870 with a 450w psu, and the 7870 Card says it only requires a min of a 450w psu



Also According to a PSU Calculator, I am using up 327W of power with everything "including the 7870 Video Card" So That still leaves about 30w of unused power, For now would this suffice ?

 

[bigtalon]

Would this 500w PSU be good enough ?

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

I was told Corsair is far superior to Antec, and its 49.99 for the 500w

 

[bigcyco1]

Well whoever told you that has no idea what he/she is talking about because Antec nor Corsair make power supplies.If you'd like to know who manufactures a certain power supply, here are some charts and instructions that you can use to look it up: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page541.htm http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

 

[bigtalon]

Well whoever told you that has no idea what he/she is talking about because Antec nor Corsair make power supplies.If you'd like to know who manufactures a certain power supply, here are some charts and instructions that you can use to look it up: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page541.htm http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Well, After doing my own research, I found the PSU you suggest, had a 71% 5 star rating, Where as the Corsair only had a 50% 5 star rating, So I figured the Antec must be better, I purchased it and hope to have it wednesday

 

[bigtalon]

Best answer selected by Bigtalon.

 

[bigcyco1]

Well, After doing my own research, I found the PSU you suggest, had a 71% 5 star rating, Where as the Corsair only had a 50% 5 star rating, So I figured the Antec must be better, I purchased it and hope to have it wednesday

Great do not worry about newegg ratings they prove nothing check professional review sites in future such as these visit SilentPCReview, PCPer, AnandTech, HardwareSecrets, HardOCP, and jonnyGURU for in-depth psu reviews. Here is a handy chart of power supply reviews available: http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/738097-psu-review-database.html#post9426914 anyway good luck and enjoy!

 

[bigtalon]

Great do not worry about newegg ratings they prove nothing check professional review sites in future such as these visit SilentPCReview, PCPer, AnandTech, HardwareSecrets, HardOCP, and jonnyGURU for in-depth psu reviews. Here is a handy chart of power supply reviews available: http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/738097-psu-review-database.html#post9426914 anyway good luck and enjoy!

Yep, Thanks for all your help again! I have actually normally bought Antec anyways, I was just told by some people that Antec sucks, but I'm not to "savy" when it comes to PSU, I never realized how important they where

 

[bigcyco1]

Yep, Thanks for all your help again! I have actually normally bought Antec anyways, I was just told by some people that Antec sucks, but I'm not to "savy" when it comes to PSU, I never realized how important they where

The power supply just has Antec name on it it's built by seasonic it's confusing i know anyway you enjoy your 7870 and new power supply.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Ya, but the 660 is over $300, Where as the 7870 is only $200, $100 cheaper for a card that outperforms 660 in some games, and is equal or slightly lower in other games..... I've looked online and I've seen people with more powerful rigs running the 7870 with a 450w psu, and the 7870 Card says it only requires a min of a 450w psu

what? the gtx660 is the same price as the 7870, your thinking of the gtx 660ti. And if you read a more detailed review http://techreport.com/review/23527/review-nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-graphics-card/11 the gtx660 gives smoother gameplay. the 7870 has higher average fps in some cases, but has more frames rendered with high latency causing gameplay to not be as smooth.