How much head room for OCing HD6850?

[RavenSEAL]

I don't understand all this stuff:





I've read that the HD6850 itself requires somewhere around 30AMPS to run. If anyone can read this, how much headroom should i have for overclocking when you consider the fact that the HD6850 uses around 230-260W @ load?

The Antec power calculator puts me at around 330W being used, but I just want to get some opinions...I really won't be looking to push higher than 50-80MHz on both core and memory.

Card comes in the mail monday/tuesday, i'll post pics 🙂

[Now, i know this leans more toward the PSU forum, but i just feel like i'll get a bit more information here considering the fact that some folks here might have been in the same situation that i am, not to mention this forum has a higher flow of poster and more knowledge on overclocking. Thank you for letting it stay here awesome mods 😉 ]

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I ran mine at the same 950/1150 I am at now on my old PSU. It was an Antec Neo HE 550. Thats about all I can tell you, I am at a 650 PSU for Xfire down the road.

 

[happy medium]

Since your only using a dual core cpu, the skys the limit with that card. If you were overclocking a quad core I'd worry.

 

[Deanodarlo]

I may have misunderstood, but the 6850 uses nowhere near 230-260W. Perhaps approaching 260W+ total system load during normal gaming. That kind of power usage is a 6950/70.

The card itself uses about 80-130W during normal gaming to full load, about 11 amps max. Your powersupply can easily handle it plus overclock. It probably has a 12v rail all to itself (22A).

 

[daRkKon]

i would power everything but the card on the first 12v rail, and the card and maybe a hard drive or something on the second rail

this way if you split your 12v rails up since its listed you have two, you will have more than enough power plus overclock.

i am about to order the same card tuesday or wednesday this week and i have a 500w power supply but only a single 12v rail with 28 amps.
and im running a quad core

the 6850 is much more efficient than the 5850 and only uses 1 6pin connector as opposed to two

 

[thedosbox]

I've read that the HD6850 itself requires somewhere around 30AMPS to run. If anyone can read this, how much headroom should i have for overclocking when you consider the fact that the HD6850 uses around 230-260W @ load?

Ignore whoever told you that. There is no way a 6850 can draw that much power through the single 6-pin PCI-e connector + motherboard slot. And in fact, xbit's measurements indicate it doesn't (104.1 Watts = 9 Amps).

 

[happy medium]

Ignore whoever told you that. There is no way a 6850 can draw that much power through the single 6-pin PCI-e connector + motherboard slot. And in fact, xbit's measurements indicate it doesn't (104.1 Watts = 9 Amps).

Yes,even a overclocked/overvolted 6850 @ 1000 core only draws about 190 watts. It can draw more then the pci-e spec with 1 6 pin connector though,which is 150 watts.

 

[thedosbox]

It can draw more then the pci-e spec with 1 6 pin connector though,which is 150 watts.

Link please.

Here's mine - notice the system with a OC'd 6850 uses 60W more than the one with the stock card. Actual power usage of the card will be lower due to power supply efficiency.

A single 6-pin connector is only specced for 75W, so I assume your "150 watts" number includes the motherboard slot. If not, it's highly doubtful that a PSU would allow a single 6-pin connector to draw 100W over spec.

 

[daRkKon]

Yes,even a overclocked/overvolted 6850 @ 1000 core only draws about 190 watts. It can draw more then the pci-e spec with 1 6 pin connector though,which is 150 watts.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_power_does_6_pin_connector_provide

"PCI Express motherboard slots can provide a maximum of 75 watts."

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...raw&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

so both the slot from the motherboard combined with the pcie 6 pin connector would equal a max wattage of no more than 150.

the card itself i read on a few forums is rated around ~120watts max at current voltage settings for power draw, no way can it achieve higher than 150 watts unless somehow u could voltage tweak the motherboard slot to put more watts through although i wouldnt see any point at all and risk frying your mobo.

 

[dualsmp]

You'll never approach the limits of a 500w PSU with a 6850. The 6850 doesn't have huge power requirements and only requires one PCI-E 6-pin because it is an efficient design.

 

[3DVagabond]

@ daRkKon

the 75W for each connection (pcie/6pin) is only a rating. There is no hard limiter that will stop more power from being drawn through the connection if the device requires it.

 

[thedosbox]

@ daRkKon

the 75W for each connection (pcie/6pin) is only a rating. There is no hard limiter that will stop more power from being drawn through the connection if the device requires it.

It's true that PSU's will allow for greater than spec power delivery through their connectors, but electrical wires very much have a limit beyond which it is unsafe to go beyond. Overcurrent protection will generally kick in at some point to prevent this happening.

In this case, we're talking about a possible claim that 190W is being delivered through a connector specced for 75W.

 

[happy medium]

How much headroom?
not enough to beat a 136$ gtx460 at 880 core.

Ready RavenSeal? 🙂

 

[RavenSEAL]

not enough to beat a 136$ gtx460....at 880 core.

Ready Raven?

LOL, shouldn't you be adoring nVidia on that other thread while staring at that screen produced by an ATI GPU?

P.s. I got my HD 6850 for $140.

 

[daRkKon]

It's true that PSU's will allow for greater than spec power delivery through their connectors, but electrical wires very much have a limit beyond which it is unsafe to go beyond. Overcurrent protection will generally kick in at some point to prevent this happening.

In this case, we're talking about a possible claim that 190W is being delivered through a connector specced for 75W.

their talking about overvoltage protection, if you change your voltage in the bios how can that ever happen? every power supply should have overvoltage protection. plus, amd/ati wouldnt build a card that would go way over spec for a slot and a connector or else they would have put another 6 pin connector on there like they did 6870.

@Ravenseal

$140? new?

 

[happy medium]

LOL, shouldn't you be adoring nVidia on that other thread while staring at that screen produced by an ATI GPU?

P.s. I got my HD 6850 for $140.

Hey ,I'm on my laptop. 🙂 Intel graphics for the loss. 🙁

My other rig is in the process of being upgraded to a very highly overclockable card. I'm selling the 5750. 😛

 

[RavenSEAL]

their talking about overvoltage protection, if you change your voltage in the bios how can that ever happen? every power supply should have overvoltage protection. plus, amd/ati wouldnt build a card that would go way over spec for a slot and a connector or else they would have put another 6 pin connector on there like they did 6870.

@Ravenseal

$140? new?

Yes, I had $20 store credit from NewEgg+ $15 Coupon+$15 Rebate

 

[daRkKon]

Yes, I had $20 store credit from NewEgg+ $15 Coupon+$15 Rebate

HAHA! basturd! LOL (kidding if u cant tell the internet sarcasm)

i do want to see it in action, im ordering it on the last day the promotion is going on just to see if anything might pop up better pricewise 😀

u should see what the temp is running and if that design of that cooler is efficient and quiet because i do plan on overclocking

 

[RavenSEAL]

HAHA! basturd! LOL (kidding if u cant tell the internet sarcasm)

i do want to see it in action, im ordering it on the last day the promotion is going on just to see if anything might pop up better pricewise 😀

u should see what the temp is running and if that design of that cooler is efficient and quiet because i do plan on overclocking

I'll probably make a thread when i get it monday/tuesday with OCing results + Benchmarks.

 

[thedosbox]

their talking about overvoltage protection

Voltage regulation is different from overcurrent protection. Also, I assume you meant "they are".

I know of no BIOS that allows the voltage from a PSU connector to be changed.

amd/ati wouldnt build a card that would go way over spec for a slot and a connector or else they would have put another 6 pin connector on there like they did 6870.

Which is exactly my point.

 

[daRkKon]

Voltage regulation is different from overcurrent protection. Also, I assume you meant "they are".

I know of no BIOS that allows the voltage from a PSU connector to be changed.

Which is exactly my point.

i fix computers so language isnt exactly my highest suit ..but you get the point of what i was saying in that post so why not i am multitasking, excuse my further grammatical errors, i am human.

are you talking of my earlier post "amd/ati wouldnt build a card that would go way over spec for a slot and a connector or else they would have put another 6 pin connector on there like they did 6870." which.... amd/ati referring to where their factories that process their cards are, would add another connector on the card before they are shipped.. i dont know how you got changing settings in the bios for a psu connector. then again my logic can be hard to follow sometimes lol

I'll probably make a thread when i get it monday/tuesday with OCing results + Benchmarks.

very nice look forward to seeing them!

 

[MentalIlness]

Hey ,I'm on my laptop. 🙂 Intel graphics for the loss. 🙁

Go get'em happy.

 

[Deanodarlo]

In this case, we're talking about a possible claim that 190W is being delivered through a connector specced for 75W.

I'm not sure if a 6850 pulls 190W when overclocked and overvolted, but that amount doesn't just come from the single 75W connector. 75W comes from the actual PCI-E slot as well doesn't it?

So the official limit for a one connector 6850 is 150W, but I'd imagine it can take 200W since Sapphire released Trixx for their cards officially with a max voltage setting of 1.3v.

 

[biostud]

you also have to consider if it's worth to do a lot of voltage tweaking compared to how many (or few) extra fps you get.

 

[thedosbox]

I'm not sure if a 6850 pulls 190W when overclocked and overvolted, but that amount doesn't just come from the single 75W connector. 75W comes from the actual PCI-E slot as well doesn't it?

That is correct. I was responding to a post which implied the 150W only came from the connector.

So the official limit for a one connector 6850 is 150W, but I'd imagine it can take 200W since Sapphire released Trixx for their cards officially with a max voltage setting of 1.3v.

The official limit for a single PCIe connector is 75W, plus another 75W through the motherboard slot - i.e. 150W. Cards may be able to draw a little more than that before hitting the PSU's over current protection - or blowing up the motherboard.