EVGA 9400 or 9500 for photo & graphics work

[J421]

EVGA 9400 or 9500 for photo & graphics work

On the EVGA site they reference that the 9500, which has the 32 processing paths requires, or is recommended to have a minimum of 350 watts power supply. The 9400 is, however, recommended to have a minimum of 300 watts power supply.

I am not a gamer. I would be dealing with 2D photos, music sequencing and notation and perhaps, some 3D modeling or playing of previously created animation or the like. Not really heavy duty gaming.

I wonder if the lower power supply necessities of the 9400 would be easier on my system as a whole. I have the assumption that mostly static graphics would not need a plethora of processing streams. EVGA seems to have a good reputation and make stable video boards. The 9500 and 9400, at newegg are only $10 or so different in price, so that would not be a determining factor.

The 1 Gig ram versions would probably be better for me. At least based on older assumptions of video cards for 2D graphics. The speed of video card on board processing (hz & mhz) would not seem to be too significant.

I have the impression that the extra half gig of ram is of value and the lesser power consumption stress would also be of value.

You guys are leagues ahead of me in the evaluations of these points and principles. Would it seem that the newer generation board factor of the 9500 be of greater benefit ? Or would, perhaps the factors and functions of the 9400 and its lower power consumption be as or more workable than the 9500 ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[yh125d]

those cards probably use like 50-60w fully loaded. unless you have a high power quad, tons of ram and drives/fans, you should be fine with a 300w

 

[J421]

yh125d, you look ominous as a Gorilla, I must say. So would there be a factor of the 9500 needing the potential of an additional 50W for some significant reason ?
Does anyone know if the various hardware factors on /with the 9500 make it a more desirable card than the 9400, for my purposes and specifically the apparent additional electrical usage of the 9500 ?

 

[vj8usa]

Why are you only considering those two cards? Are you building a new system, or upgrading an existing GPU? Will the applications you use even benefit from a new GPU? I can almost guarantee you won't need 1GB of VRAM, at any rate.

 

[MarcVenice]

Try a passive cooled NVS 290 from Nvidia or PNY. Some functions in PS are cuda-enabled. It could be that the 9400gt or 9500gt can do the same thing, but I simply don't know.

 

[J421]

vj8usa and MarcVenice, thanks. I started with my considering of those two cards upon other?s recommendations. EVGA seemed to be a preferred company. Also a factor of economies and purchasers awards, etc. But I am very open to other suggestions.

The usage would be photo, graphics, musical sequencing and perhaps some eventual 3D model viewing. Plus the wish for dual monitors. It had, at least in years past, been a stable and accepted datum that the more ram on the video card the better.

Gaming and the processing functions on a video card to service that which games require is not my point of attention.

Economy, in this case, obviously is. I would be acquiring a new GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard, new ram and a new Sata drive and backups. So it is less of an upgrade than a new build in an existing case and new, good quality, but not huge power supply. It is a MAGNUM500 power supply that seems to say 386 W max.

This is part of the point of the question of the value of the 9500 over the 9400 since EVGA says that the 9500 requires the extra 50 watts minimum;

J

 

[sgrinavi]

According to Nvida both cards use 50w. max

9400GT

9500GT

Click the specifications tab

As long as your PSU is not ancient you will probably be fine with either one.

EDIT:

I would seriously reconsider that Magnum PSU - 15a on the 12v rail is pretty low and 2 SATA drives is nothing any more.

100% 2.0mm Aluminum chassis
Magnetically shielded UV cables Rear LCD display with temperature alarm, wattage output and 12v output monitor.
Silent design
LED voltage output meter
Active PFC
Modular cables
24/20 Pin ATX Adapter
500 or 600 watt versions
Powers up to 8 peripherals
Powers 2 SATA drives
watts @ 25°C ? 500w
watts @ 40°C ? 450w
watts @ 50°C ? 300w
Amps +12v @ 15A
Amps +5v @ 30A
Amps +3.3v @ 34A
DBA: +/- 5-10 DBA
Dimensions: W:154 x H: 86 x D: 180 (excluding radiator)

 

[J421]

Sgrinavi, thanks. It was clear as a bell on the EVGA site that EVGA recommended minimum 350 for the 9500 and 300 for 9400.
I prefer not to dig it out and find it. But your reference to the 50 W for each is of value. Even more value is the factor of the PSU. I bought the Magnum 500 half a year ago, so there is no returning it. BUT (but) I could very well use two power supplies, could I not ?

I have used a system of 3 SCSI drives, the SCSI card, two ATA type drives, one CD rom, etc. now I would use one sata 1TB drive and a 1TB external, probably with its own power supply. Keep the SCSI card for an external scanner, drop the SCSI drives, Keep the ATA drives one as a boot up ATA dedicated 200 gig. The other the same with the Windows 2K OS on it, but in the closet in case of crash of the first ATA 200 gig.

That is the plan, with that GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard. And, it would appear now the EVGA 9500 with 1Gig, because it is slightly newer. And Hmmm, two power supplies.

What think ye ?

 

[sgrinavi]

Originally posted by: J421
Sgrinavi, thanks. It was clear as a bell on the EVGA site that EVGA recommended minimum 350 for the 9500 and 300 for 9400.
I prefer not to dig it out and find it. But your reference to the 50 W for each is of value. Even more value is the factor of the PSU. I bought the Magnum 500 half a year ago, so there is no returning it. BUT (but) I could very well use two power supplies, could I not ?

I don't get it either, 50w is 50w, I would not hesitate to go with the 9500. Using 2 PSUs is not really an option, there are grounding and sync issues that are for someone much smarter that me to tell you about. There are some very VERY smart guys over in the PSU forum that would be able to tell you exactly how to, or why not, to do it. (or, probably, tell you that I'm full of poop and your PSU is fine)

Originally posted by: J421
I have used a system of 3 SCSI drives, the SCSI card, two ATA type drives, one CD rom, etc. now I would use one sata 1TB drive and a 1TB external, probably, 3i6h i6e o3n po345eupply, probably. Keep the SCSI card for an external scanner, drop the SCSI drives, Keep the ATA drives one as a boot up ATA dedicated 200 gig. The other the same with the Windows 2K OS on it, but in the closet in case of crash of the first ATA 200 gig.

That is the plan, with that GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard. And, it would appear now the EVGA 9500 with 1Gig, because it is slightly newer. And Hmmm, two power supplies.

What think ye ?

I like to keep my OS's on my fastest and most reliable drive, you can partition off a smaller segment for your OS. Your ATA drive would make a good scratch drive for photoshop. Are you still using win2k? does that handle 1TB drives?

In anycase I would go ask the guys in the general hardware section about the best way to arrange that stuff, there are some real pros there

 

[J421]

I will go to the PSU forum. thanks for your quite intelligent responses. I will go with the 9500 if there is not that much difference in power usage. You are right about the most reliable drive for OS booting. Yes, Win2K SP4 was the OS in use. But you may have a real point in the 1TB potential limitations in Win2K. I will check into that.

'Still don't know why EVGA would very clearly state the minimum for 9400 as 300W and the minimum for 9500 as 350W, but then again. and perhaps the last point. For my non gaming purposes, if I just went with the 9400, would I miss anything that the 9500 has to offer ?