Is an Antec VP-450 enough to power a 7950?

[futurefields]

Hardwaresecrets gave it a good review saying it can easily put out 500 clean watts. Currently running my 6850 no problems.

I'm debating between 7870 and 7950 if I have to get a bigger power supply as well I will just stick with the 7870 and live with medium settings on some games.

 

[Durvelle27]

what are the other components ?

 

[Greenlepricon]

I think that's pushing it. If you have a low power system and won't overclock, it's possible but I'm not sure that I would be comfortable with that myself. It's well within the range of the power output of most pc's, but that headroom is nice so nothing goes wrong. I'm running mine on a 600w psu and it's doing great, but I don't know how much lower I would go.

 

[Rvenger]

I wouldn't.

 

[Face2Face]

I would. It's plenty.

 

[raghu78]

Hardwaresecrets gave it a good review saying it can easily put out 500 clean watts. Currently running my 6850 no problems.

I'm debating between 7870 and 7950 if I have to get a bigger power supply as well I will just stick with the 7870 and live with medium settings on some games.

No ANTEC VP450 is not sufficient. It has only 360w output on both the 12v rails combined.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371045

You can see the side label in the image gallery.

The minimum PSU for a HD 7950 would be a ANTEC NEO 520W with 40A on +12v rail.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371030

If you want to buy a PSU which can accomodate a 300w card in the future get the Seasonic 620w PSU which comes with 48A on +12v rail and a 5 year warranty

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151096

 

[futurefields]

It should be enough for a 7870 though right?

 

[raghu78]

It should be enough for a 7870 though right?

Do you already have the ANTEC VP-450. also what CPU do you have ?

 

[Meghan54]

Hardwaresecrets gave it a good review saying it can easily put out 500 clean watts.

Easily is a matter of conjecture. Sure, Gabriel got the power supply to put out more than it was rated, but that was it being well overloaded and was meant to show it can exceed its rating, but not something you'd want to do or expect to do with that ps on a regular basis. The components used internally aren't exactly up to that task on a long term basis.


Instead, I'd look towards the Antec Neo Eco 520W for that sort of output. Seasonic built, a solid power supply that is, as of today, darned near as cheap as the VP-450---running $49.99 with its promo code.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371030

Much more capable unit, better built, etc.

 

[toyota]

It should be enough for a 7870 though right?

please respond to the very first reply here.

what are the other components ?

 

[futurefields]

Current rig:

Asrock z77 pro4
I5 2500k w/ hyper 212+
Sapphire 6850
8gb ddr3-1600
500gb WD 7200rpm
Single optical drive
Antec 300

I might just stick with the 6850 until I can upgrade the psu along with the gpu. Its just that I am going to 1080p soon and don't want to give up my locked 60fps with vsync enabled on Diablo 3.

I have a hunch the VP-450 is a solid unit though, I feel like it could handle the 7870 fine.

Do I risk damage to the card or just the psu? If psu blows then ill know need a new one

 

[Durvelle27]

sometimes when a psu blows it takes everything with it WARNING

 

[futurefields]

Lol aren't I funny

"Come guys why can't I run this 400$ gpu on a 35 dollar power supply"

 

[RussianSensation]

toyota knows I would do it. The 7950 consumes about 145-157W at load.

That 2500K is stock. The PSU can handle it. It's only if you start OCing the 7950 + OCing the 2500K, then it becomes a problem.

I ran i7 860 @ 3.9ghz (99% load in Seti@Home all 8 threads) and GTX470 @ 760mhz (Folding@Home) and my 520W took it like a champ for 1 year, and before that 1 year abuse with HD4890 in MilkyWay@Home 99% GPU load and games. I like to take my PSUs to the max to see just how good they are.

I would even pair an HD7970 GE with that 450W power supply. An entire system with 7970 GE + Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition (3.30GHz) uses about 360W.

And we know that 3960X consumes way more power than a 2500k. That tells me 2500K + HD7970 is going to be 300W or so, a cake-walk.

 

[blastingcap]

stock 2500k is what, 95W TDP, the 7950 with a mild overclock and no overvolting will still be under 200W, leaving you with 65W for LEDs, case fans, HDDs, SSDs, optical drives, CPU fan, motherboard, RAM, sound card or other such things if they pull from the 12v rail. If you don't have a lot of HDDs/SSDs/optical drives you're probably okay.

The cushion you need to account for aging capacitors can be found partly in the fact that it is unlikely that every single component peaks at the same time.

And for the record I have run a stock 7970 and stock 3570K on a 450W power supply. Granted it was a pretty badass 450W power supply (Rosewill Capstone Gold) with 37 amps on the 12v rail (444W), but still. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182066

 

[RussianSensation]

I am still trying to wrap my head about the PSU aging process. Is there any website that actually tested it? My 520W went through:

Q6600 @ 3.4ghz + 8800GTS 320mb (both 99% loaded most of the time)
Core i7 860 @ 3.9ghz + 4890 OC (99% load loaded both)
Core i7 860 @ 3.9ghz + GTX470 @ 760 (99% loaded both)

Still kicking 5 years after being loaded almost every day!

 

[toyota]

I am still trying to wrap my head about the PSU aging process. Is there any website that actually tested it? My 520W went through:

Q6600 @ 3.4ghz + 8800GTS 320mb (both 99% loaded most of the time)
Core i7 860 @ 3.9ghz + 4890 OC (99% load loaded both)
Core i7 860 @ 3.9ghz + GTX470 @ 760 (99% loaded both)

Still kicking 5 years after being loaded almost every day!

you have a very high end psu made with top of the line parts. the OP has an entry level psu made with much cheaper parts and is only rated to make its power at much lower temps. his psu would degrade significantly faster than yours under heavy loads and higher temps. and yours could easily exceed its rated capacity when new where his might not even make it its rated capacity in real world conditions even when new.

 

[RussianSensation]

Did any review ever test how much in % terms or stability wise do power supplies degrade with time? Still would be an interesting review.

That Antec VP-450 appears to have been manufactured by FSP. That's not a budget manufacturer toyota. That's actually a very good company, 5th largest PSU vendor in the world.

It handled 449W of power @ 47.2*C, while being loaded 186W from each 12V rail. This Antec unit looks way underrated. It's more like a 550W, not a 450W. ~February 2012 Review. But wait a second, there is more.

Overloaded Stress Testing
553W of power at the PSU level (731W at AC outlet) @ 48.5*C ==> 264W from each 12V rail!!! This this is a monster. It's more like a real 600W+, not a 450W PSU.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487/9

A user Papas (Pg. 4) said he is running Q9550 + GTX560Ti without problems on this unit. The peak power of a 560Ti is just 3W lower than an after-market 7950, while we know Q9550 is a lot more power hungry than a 2500K is.

It looks like with more research a 7950, even OC to 1150mhz+, should not be a problem on this unit. A single 7950 uses under 160W and this PSU handled 186W x 2 at stock on 12V and 264Wx 2 in Overload testing. It looks rock solid and should be able to handle even an HD7970 OC without a sweat. Wow, this may the best under $35 PSU on Newegg. This thing might even power 2x HD7950s, for real. I learned something new today

 

[hokies83]

LoL i got one of those on my test bench to test rads fans Mbs pumps etc lol.

Id never use it on my Real System tho i always try to get the best... to go in my system..

 

[RussianSensation]

LoL i got one of those on my test bench to test rads fans Mbs pumps etc lol.

Id never use it on my Real System tho i always try to get the best... to go in my system..

Ok but look at your system and look at OP's system. You have to look at things in context. That's like someone saying: "I have 4x GTX690s. There is no way I'd use a $100 PSU to power them, obviously." Also, getting the "best" the PSU is extremely subjective. There are at least 4-5 "best" PSUs right now.

Quality wise, the top PSUs are a blur beyond Seasonic 1000W and yet charge a huge premium for who knows what.

- Seasonic Platinum 1000W for $220

vs.

- ENERMAX Platimax EPM1200EWT 1200W - $310
- PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk III Series PPCMK3S1200 1200W - $350
- CORSAIR AX1200i 1200W - $380
- COOLER MASTER RSF00-SPM2D3-US 1500W - $400
- PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200W Server-grade - $400
- EVGA SuperNOVA NEX1500 Classified - $450

The Seasonic Platinum 1000W has some of the most stable voltages and lowest amounts of ripple out of any PSU ever tested. So for the other units, you are paying for more power, maybe 10 year warranty, and brand name/marketing and gimmicky features. It's not like videocards where if you spend more, you tend to get more fps.

$220

$380

The Antec VP-450 is a good PSU. It's rated at Tier 2B which is good enough for a 7950, and it has proven to be able to handle 550W of power real power @ near 50*C. It will easily manage a 200W videocard.

 

[hokies83]

Heh the ax1200i is the best Psu on the market right now..

But i have a regular Ax1200..

Ill Snag a Ax1200i soon as i see one for the right price somewhere..

 

[RussianSensation]

That's debatable. The EVGA NEX1500 Classified Power Supply gives you 10 Year Warranty, software voltage control, ability to switch between single or multiple rails, has individually sleeved cables that Corsair charges extra for IIRC, Sanyo Denki Ball Bearing fan, 16x 6+2pin PCIe, and is probably made by Etasis, which is server-grade PSU.

But in the real world, will either the AX1200i or this EVGA or any of the other ones actually outperform a $220 Seasonic Platinum or the regular AX1200? They cost way more. That's what I am saying, beyond an amazing PSU, the other ones are like 0.1% better for nearly hundreds of dollars more. $450 1500W PSU is a waste of $ if you ask me unless you need to run 4x GTX690s or something and an i7-3960@ 5.0ghz. Otherwise a solid 1000W Platinum XFX or Seasonic or Corsair AX unit is likely indistinguishable.

 

[hokies83]

I still say the AX1200i Is better...

But we will not know till Jonnyguru gets his hands on the Evga.. So far the AX1200i is the best PSU hes ever reviewed.

But anywho the out come would not mater.. Cause i only Buy Corsair PSUs for my main rigs lol..

 

[RussianSensation]

I still say the AX1200i Is better...

But we will not know till Jonnyguru gets his hands on the Evga.. So far the AX1200i is the best PSU hes ever reviewed.

But anywho the out come would not mater.. Cause i only Buy Corsair PSUs for my main rigs lol..

Corsair doesn't build the PSUs. It's all about the OEMs behind them: Seasonic, Flextronics that Corsair uses for the internals. The entire AX-Gold line is actually built using Seasonic X-series, besides your 1200 model which I think is built by Flextronics.

Anyway this Antec VP-450 unit is a beast. I think the OP is good to go for buying an HD7950 with it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

That's debatable. The EVGA NEX1500 Classified Power Supply gives you 10 Year Warranty, software voltage control, ability to switch between single or multiple rails, has individually sleeved cables that Corsair charges extra for IIRC, Sanyo Denki Ball Bearing fan, 16x 6+2pin PCIe, and is probably made by Etasis, which is server-grade PSU.

16x 6+2-pin PCI-E power connectors is SICK! I suppose that's for those EVGA classified boards with 7 PCI-E x16 slots, filled with video cards.