Hi, I have a very small self built system (built into an old Akai amp that was lying around). I am looking at getting an AMD HD6850 (the Gigabyte one) for relatively cheap second hand.
Because of the small case I got myself an Antec MT350 which is a small form factor 350W 80+ PSU, the PSU is roughly one year old. I am not interested in doing benchmarks (furmark, etc), and according to Anandtech's data a whole system with a 6850 should draw 256W under something relatively demanding such as Crysis. If I understand correctly this is the full system power draw (excluding monitor) at the plug, and this is for an overclocked i7 on a relatively power hungry x58 with 3 ddr3 dimms. It is also calculated using 120V, while I live in South Africa and we use 240V, under which I believe PSUs are even more efficient.
PSUs are also more efficient at mid-level loads than low loads, and my PSU at 250W (close to 70% loads) should be at least as efficient as Anand's big 1200W monster at such relatively low (20% loads) power draw.
My system is a much more modest q9400 on a g41 ASUS m-atx board with 2 ddr2 dimms and 1 1TB WD Black hdd. Way back in Anand's Lynnfield review he showed a q8400 system drawing roughly 170W under x264 bench while an i7 965 drew roughly 220W, so my system should draw between 40 and 50W less than the system used for benching the 6850, correct? Note that I run at stock. Even a q9650 system draws 24W less than the i7 965 under load so there is space to maneuver should I attempt a mild overclock.
Am I then correct in assuming that I will rarely draw more than say 220W and as such my Antec 350W psu should do fine? Anyone else have experiences with low wattage efficient PSUs and the 6850?
Note that I do not really game intensively and my main aim with the card is to future proof my system for the next 3 years or so. Will play the occasional Anno or FIFA or possibly even SC2 and other older games that I have lying around.
So will my PSU handle it and would it not put unnecessary stressing on the GPU?
Because of the small case I got myself an Antec MT350 which is a small form factor 350W 80+ PSU, the PSU is roughly one year old. I am not interested in doing benchmarks (furmark, etc), and according to Anandtech's data a whole system with a 6850 should draw 256W under something relatively demanding such as Crysis. If I understand correctly this is the full system power draw (excluding monitor) at the plug, and this is for an overclocked i7 on a relatively power hungry x58 with 3 ddr3 dimms. It is also calculated using 120V, while I live in South Africa and we use 240V, under which I believe PSUs are even more efficient.
PSUs are also more efficient at mid-level loads than low loads, and my PSU at 250W (close to 70% loads) should be at least as efficient as Anand's big 1200W monster at such relatively low (20% loads) power draw.
My system is a much more modest q9400 on a g41 ASUS m-atx board with 2 ddr2 dimms and 1 1TB WD Black hdd. Way back in Anand's Lynnfield review he showed a q8400 system drawing roughly 170W under x264 bench while an i7 965 drew roughly 220W, so my system should draw between 40 and 50W less than the system used for benching the 6850, correct? Note that I run at stock. Even a q9650 system draws 24W less than the i7 965 under load so there is space to maneuver should I attempt a mild overclock.
Am I then correct in assuming that I will rarely draw more than say 220W and as such my Antec 350W psu should do fine? Anyone else have experiences with low wattage efficient PSUs and the 6850?
Note that I do not really game intensively and my main aim with the card is to future proof my system for the next 3 years or so. Will play the occasional Anno or FIFA or possibly even SC2 and other older games that I have lying around.
So will my PSU handle it and would it not put unnecessary stressing on the GPU?
