Can my PSU handle a 4870

DeathToHumans

Junior Member
Jul 29, 2008
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Hey Guys.

I want to upgrade my graphics card to a HD 4870, but first i need to know if my psu can even handle it. I have an LC-Power LC6560T V2.0 - 560 Watt. It has 2 6-pin PCI-Express plugs and two twelve volt lines with sixteen amps on each line. The rest of my system is.

CPU: Intel e8400 @ 3,6 Ghz 1.2500 volts.
MotherBoard: MSI P-35 NEO 2.
RAM: Four sticks of 1gb. 800 Mhz Kingston Value.
HHD: Two Samsung drives.
Optical Drive: One DVD burner.
Case: Antec Nine Hundred.

So will the power supply be able to pull it all with a 4870?


Thanks already.
Dan Pedersen.
 

JPB

Diamond Member
Jul 4, 2005
4,064
89
91
I would venture a guess and say....not likely.

Got a link to that PSU ?
 

dakels

Platinum Member
Nov 20, 2002
2,809
2
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560 watt, 2 PCI-e connectors with 32amps on 12v each... everything I have heard and read tells me that is fine.

review 1
review 2
review 3

I'm sure there are people here that can attest to running the 4870 with a 500-600w PSU with your specs.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
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Originally posted by: dakels
I'm sure there are people here that can attest to running the 4870 with a 500-600w PSU with your specs.
So what? 32A is less than many 400W PSUs, and less than every decent 500W.

I'd say: not for long.
 

JPB

Diamond Member
Jul 4, 2005
4,064
89
91
Originally posted by: dakels
560 watt, 2 PCI-e connectors with 32amps on 12v each... everything I have heard and read tells me that is fine.

review 1
review 2
review 3

I'm sure there are people here that can attest to running the 4870 with a 500-600w PSU with your specs.

He said 16 amps on each 12+. Not 32.
 

dakels

Platinum Member
Nov 20, 2002
2,809
2
0
Originally posted by: JPB
Originally posted by: dakels
560 watt, 2 PCI-e connectors with 32amps on 12v each... everything I have heard and read tells me that is fine.

review 1
review 2
review 3

I'm sure there are people here that can attest to running the 4870 with a 500-600w PSU with your specs.

He said 16 amps on each 12+. Not 32.

that's what I meant of course... 16x2. 32 amp per line doesn't even make sense...

Anyways at 18amp per 12v you should have more then enough juice for a 4870.
 

spittledip

Diamond Member
Apr 23, 2005
4,480
1
81
Originally posted by: s44
Originally posted by: dakels
I'm sure there are people here that can attest to running the 4870 with a 500-600w PSU with your specs.
So what? 32A is less than many 400W PSUs, and less than every decent 500W.

I'd say: not for long.

I'm with this guy.

First, you don't actually know how much power is on the 12v b/c you need to know the watts on the 12v to get the total amps when the 12v is dual. You can't just add the two 12v lines together to get the total number of amps.

Secondly, do you know if the psu is a quality one? Does it have quality components inside, or is it a cheap-o? I could not find any quality reviews on the unit, so unless you can recognize these caps, you are taking a risk. I bet my money that it is a POS PSU.

Even if the 4870 only requires 32 amps on the 12v, you might not even be getting those through this PSU. And even if it is sold with enough amps on the 12v, if the unit is crap, it will probably fail and knock out some of your other components when it goes down.

Get a better PSU before you get that card.
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,529
3
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Originally posted by: Cancer12
I'm running it on the Corsair 520 with no problems.

Your quality Corsair 520 is in a whole different league than this guy's "LCPower whatever." That PSU probably came with his case...it's a throw-away unit.

I would not run a monster card like a HD4870 on a no-name 500-watter. As has been said, it's probably got lower real-world ratings than a 400 watt quality PSU.

I would not risk frying a $275 card and the rest of the system for lack of a decent PSU that can be had for roughly $100 or so.
 

firewolfsm

Golden Member
Oct 16, 2005
1,848
29
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What are you running now? If you're already running an older, high power card, we know it can handle it. If it's budget, then I'll leave the rest of the discussion to them.
 

DeathToHumans

Junior Member
Jul 29, 2008
5
0
0
Thanks for the replies. Like some of you said, it isn't worth the risk of frying the whole system, so i have decided to get af Corsair TX750W, that way i can also go crossfire later on. Thanks for the help.