Can this 450w PSU run the GTX 670? (pic inside) plus Rail advice for a noob?

[dave_100]

hi guys
new here so hope I'm posting in the right place

I'm interested in the gtx 670 graphics card but only have a 450w psu, and am unsure if that is enough, especially when it comes to the rails/ amps

here is a screenshot of the psu:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=35aufl1&s=8

Any thoughts? If this wont be sufficient, what graphics card would you recommend that is as close as possible in grunt, but easier on the power?

thanks
Dave

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Depends what other stuff is in the system for total power consumption. What type of CPU? Is it overclocked? What kind of card is in there now?

A 670 will rarely pull more than 200w, and that's if it's overclocked a bit:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217-15.html

The GTX 960 is a newer card with a more efficient GPU design, which would only pull ~100w under heavy use. It performs about the same as the 670.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960,4038-8.html

Anyway, if you system is fairly bare-bones otherwise (stock-clocked CPU, 1-2 HDDs, no massive collection of fans or water cooling running off of the same PSU) a quality 450w unit should be able to deliver sufficient current to power a 670. (A poor quality unit would catch fire.)

I am not convinced that the FSP450-60APN is a quality power supply, but that's due to ignorance on my part. Perhaps somebody more familiar with the brand will chime in.

 

[dave_100]

Depends what other stuff is in the system for total power consumption. What type of CPU? Is it overclocked? What kind of card is in there now?

A 670 will rarely pull more than 200w, and that's if it's overclocked a bit:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217-15.html

The GTX 960 is a newer card with a more efficient GPU design, which would only pull ~100w under heavy use. It performs about the same as the 670.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960,4038-8.html

Anyway, if you system is fairly bare-bones otherwise (stock-clocked CPU, 1-2 HDDs, no massive collection of fans or water cooling running off of the same PSU) a quality 450w unit should be able to deliver sufficient current to power a 670. (A poor quality unit would catch fire.)

I am not convinced that the FSP450-60APN is a quality power supply, but that's due to ignorance on my part. Perhaps somebody more familiar with the brand will chime in.

Thanks for the quicky reply, that is super...i5-3470, 8gb ram, 2 HDDs and 1x SSD. Nothing overclocked.

Okay sounds good, I just keep reading about rails and amps and it isn't that clear. I have an AMD 6850 in there at the moment and that has 2x pci-e power connectors

Any further advice welcomed.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for the quicky reply, that is super...i5-3470, 8gb ram, 2 HDDs and 1x SSD. Nothing overclocked.

Okay sounds good, I just keep reading about rails and amps and it isn't that clear. I have an AMD 6850 in there at the moment and that has 2x pci-e power connectors

Any further advice welcomed.

That other stuff is probably ~120w under full (and I mean FULL) load. Although the way to be sure would be to get a Kill-A-Watt and run Prime95 for a little bit to stress the system.

A 6850 only consumed about 150w, tops. (More like 120, probably.) So you know your PSU can deliver that. Which makes the 960 a "safe" option that will more than likely work fine.

If your PSU is a single-rail design, it'd probably be okay with the higher-power-draw 670. But like I said - not familiar with the brand/reputation.

What's the price of the 670 you're looking at? Is the 670 plus a new 600w PSU still cheaper than a $200 GTX 960?

 

[dave_100]

thanks, am thinking second hand from ebay which would be £100 for the gtx 670 / £153 for the gtx 960- big difference....I guess I'd hope my PSU that I have would cope with the gtx 670- maybe someone can interpret the stickers on my PSU to advise? as I think its dual rail rather than single rail, even though I'm not sure what that even means?!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

thanks, am thinking second hand from ebay which would be £100 for the gtx 670 / £153 for the gtx 960- big difference....I guess I'd hope my PSU that I have would cope with the gtx 670- maybe someone can interpret the stickers on my PSU to advise? as I think its dual rail rather than single rail, even though I'm not sure what that even means?!

Each rail is like a separate sub-power supply. Your PSU has two rails (12v, 18A), which can each provide up to 12x18=216w of power to a device.

A single-rail PSU would deliver all 432w (36A) of power on a single 36A 12v line, which sounds cooler.

Multiple rails are supposedly safer, and you can "get away" with using thinner gauge wiring (which is in turn more flexible and easier to route, as well as being cheaper) because you know it won't ever have to push all of the PSU's current over a single wire. However, the GTX 670 is going to have multiple auxiliary power connectors, and you're going to want to make sure that both plugs are connected to both rails. (Which may mean messing around with Y-connectors or something, depending on which other connectors your PSU has and how many.)

It's not a big deal, just a few wires and some trial and error. But stuff like that is why a lot of enthusiasts want single-rail PSUs - because it's simpler conceptually, and a bit more idiot-proof.

There's a misconception that single-rail PSUs are built better, since they have to be able to deliver all that power to a single point. But most multi-rail PSUs have that same single rail inside, and just split it up and add an amp-cutoff circuit for each rail.

 

[dave_100]

thanks, okay I think I will go with your suggestion of the gtx 960. it costs a little more but will run cooler, use less power so will definitely be okay with my psu, it will hopefully have more resale value in the future, and I don't need to be an electrician to install it.

Thanks again, after hours of research this week you have helped me settle on a card!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Heh, good.

Sorry, but the only way to know if your PSU would power the 670 would be to try it and succeed/fail. Like I said, it might, just depends on how the PSU is feeling. The 960 is basically a sure thing.

Good luck.

 

[MrTeal]

You'll probably have one rail to the CPU on that PSU, and the other rail will power everything else. Your MB, GPU and HDDs will all be on the same rail, but that should be ok. You can only pull 360W combined from the 12V rails of that PSU, so while you'd probably be ok with a 670 it will be cutting it close for a PSU of that build quality.
As Dave said a 960 would probably be a better bet with that kind of power budget.