Is a 500W PSU enough for this rig?

[dmoney1980]

CPU: AMD Phenom II x 4 960T
GPU: Radeon 6970 2gb
8GB DDR3
1 7200 rpm HDD, 1 SSD, 1 DVD burner
4 case fans

I'm building a pc for a friend of mine with the parts listed above. He's on a budget, and I happen to have a 500w OCZ modular psu laying around. What do you guys think?

 

[Zacc]

I'd go for a 600W

 

[lehtv]

It'd probably work, but cutting it a bit close especially if you intend to unlock the two extra cores on the 960T. OCZ isn't the best quality either, though their newest ZS and ZT units are alright. I'd sell the PSU or keep it as backup. If you have nothing against mail in rebates, XFX 550W and XFX 650W are pretty much the best value units right now.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=59615&vpn=P1550SXXB9&manufacture=XFX
Do you also have the other parts just laying around, or are you buying them used, or are you buying new components?

 

[sandorski]

Running with 500w in the Rig in my sig. It's going to depend largely on the quality of that Power Supply. I have no idea how that one stacks up though.

 

[dmoney1980]

It'd probably work, but cutting it a bit close especially if you intend to unlock the two extra cores on the 960T. OCZ isn't the best quality either, though their newest ZS and ZT units are alright. I'd sell the PSU or keep it as backup. If you have nothing against mail in rebates, XFX 550W and XFX 650W are pretty much the best value units right now.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=59615&vpn=P1550SXXB9&manufacture=XFX
Do you also have the other parts just laying around, or are you buying them used, or are you buying new components?

I'm picking up the cpu, mobo, case, and ram at microcenter. I plan on picking up a gpu here

 

[lehtv]

Well in that case don't buy a 6970. Buy 7870 or 7850. They use much less power than 6970, ensuring that you don't need a new PSU. Compare.

If microcenter don't have 7800 series, buy the graphics card from elsewhere. In fact even if they did have them, it might be more economical to buy online.

 

[dmoney1980]

Well in that case don't buy a 6970. Buy 7870 or 7850. They use much less power than 6970, ensuring that you don't need a new PSU. Compare.

If microcenter don't have 7800 series, buy the graphics card from elsewhere. In fact even if they did have them, it might be more economical to buy online.

Yes, that would be ideal but his ceiling is around $700 for everything (all hardware plus OS). I figured $250 is the max he could spend on a videocard, unless we get him a cheaper mobo and skip the SSD. I was planing on picking up a unlocked 6950 here

 

[lehtv]

7850 is $260, requires only one PCIe 6-pin and will OC to 7870 speeds without enough of an increase in power consumption to worry about. I'm sure that extra $10 is worth it. 6950 isn't even sold anywhere.

How much would you be paying for each of the rest of the parts?

I'd also recommend looking into an Intel i3 setup. Consumes much less power than AMD X4.

 

[dmoney1980]

7850 is $260, requires only one PCIe 6-pin and will OC to 7870 speeds without enough of an increase in power consumption to worry about. I'm sure that extra $10 is worth it. 6950 isn't even sold anywhere.

How much would you be paying for each of the rest of the parts?

I'd also recommend looking into an Intel i3 setup. Consumes much less power than AMD X4.

yeah that sounds like a better investment. Get a 7850, use my 500w psu, and OC the GPU a bit to get to damn near GTX 570 performance!

 

[sbaradaran]

yeah that sounds like a better investment. Get a 7850, use my 500w psu, and OC the GPU a bit to get to damn near GTX 570 performance!

An overclocked 7850 (1150mhz Core, 1450mz memory) will beat a GTX 570 and start to encroach on a GTX 580.

It all depends on how much your 7850 can overclock. I've seen some reference boards not able to break (1000, 1250).