I recently have had the opportunity to upgrade my graphics card through my friend's employee discount (works at PNY) and I could get GPU's for pretty much dirt cheap. My PCU isn't great, but its not worth upgrading considering that I would probably put more into the PCU than the GPU itself.
My PCU is 550 watt, has two 12v rails - one at 28 amps and the other at 20amps - and is +80 bronze.
Here is a link for all of the information:
http://hecgroupusa.com/home/hec550tb/
Currently I am running a GTX 550 Ti that is overclocked. I have no problems whatsoever with the PSU. The 550 Ti has a TPD of 116 watts and 9.7 amps.
Here are some GPU's I can get:
GTX 660 Ti - 150 watts and 12.5 amps
GTX 670 - 170 watts and 14.2 amps
GTX 770 - 230 watts and 19.2 amps
GTX 780 - 250 watts and 20.8 amps
Note that all power ratings are based on the card's TPD and that I have no intention to overclock or reach the TPD with the new card.
So my questions are:
1. Which card should I get? (I am looking for the best card that my PSU can safely handle)
2. Do I have to worry about the dual rails? If so, how do I wire the GPU to ensure that it is receiving enough power?
3. Some of the cards require 8 pin connectors. Can I buy a converter to convert 6 pin to 8 pin and does it matter which of the two 6 pins I convert?
4. I also have no idea how to tell which wires are on which rails so I don't know if I would be wiring it correctly of not.
Last note: I am running a i7 2600 CPU w/ 10% OC, 8 gb RAM, 1TB HD, Blu Ray, 2 case fans, 1 CPU fan, motherboard, and wired keyboard and mouse. I would estimate that it draws about 220 watts at full load.
Thank you for reading.
My PCU is 550 watt, has two 12v rails - one at 28 amps and the other at 20amps - and is +80 bronze.
Here is a link for all of the information:
http://hecgroupusa.com/home/hec550tb/
Currently I am running a GTX 550 Ti that is overclocked. I have no problems whatsoever with the PSU. The 550 Ti has a TPD of 116 watts and 9.7 amps.
Here are some GPU's I can get:
GTX 660 Ti - 150 watts and 12.5 amps
GTX 670 - 170 watts and 14.2 amps
GTX 770 - 230 watts and 19.2 amps
GTX 780 - 250 watts and 20.8 amps
Note that all power ratings are based on the card's TPD and that I have no intention to overclock or reach the TPD with the new card.
So my questions are:
1. Which card should I get? (I am looking for the best card that my PSU can safely handle)
2. Do I have to worry about the dual rails? If so, how do I wire the GPU to ensure that it is receiving enough power?
3. Some of the cards require 8 pin connectors. Can I buy a converter to convert 6 pin to 8 pin and does it matter which of the two 6 pins I convert?
4. I also have no idea how to tell which wires are on which rails so I don't know if I would be wiring it correctly of not.
Last note: I am running a i7 2600 CPU w/ 10% OC, 8 gb RAM, 1TB HD, Blu Ray, 2 case fans, 1 CPU fan, motherboard, and wired keyboard and mouse. I would estimate that it draws about 220 watts at full load.
Thank you for reading.