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MSI Radeon HD 6970 Lightning Ed.

B

bgHunter

Junior Member
My system

CPU: Amd Athlon II x4 651 3Ghz
RAM: 4Gb 1333Mhz 2 modules
HDDS: 1x 250Gb 7200rpm SATA, 1x 150Gb 5400rpm SATA
MoBo: ASRock A75M-HVS Fm1
Fans: 1x 92mm 1200rpm
Monitor: HP L2208w 1650x1080 res
GPU: EVGA GTX 550 ti (right now)
PSU: Fractal Design Integra 400w

Problem
I've decided to buy an MSI Radeon 6970 Lighning, my question is: Do I have to get a new PSU?

My PSU right now has 1x 6+2pin and 1x molex>6-pin, with the 6970 you get a 6-pin>8-pin connector,, that makes it 2x 8-pin connectors. The card requies 2x 8-pins.

The PSU has a 12V-rail of 2x 17A and 400 watt and 80+ bronze.
Of course it's "safer" to get a new PSU but do I have to?
 
2 problems i see....

1) Why are you buying an older generation card when you could have a nicer HD 7850, 7870, or 7950 card for around the same price.

2) That 6970 is a power hog and you would definitely need a better power supply.

You could get a HD 7850 or 7870 that would work with your power supply and run faster, cooler, and less money.
 
daveybrat said:
You could get a HD 7850 or 7870 that would work with your power supply and run faster, cooler, and less money.
Click to expand...

Not cheaper, not cheaper anywhere, any time. I get an unused one for 80$ from a friend of mine which he bought, but never used due to loss of interest.

Then I guess I'll get a new PSU, what about Cooler Master GX 550W 80+ Bronze? Is it of good quality? :hmm:
 
The present setup takes > 300W power.

With the Radeon HD 6970 card instead of the GTX550ti, power requirement will jump to ~ 450W.

Allowing for PSU derating due to aging, suggest getting at least a 550W PSU with a single +12V rail.
 
bgHunter said:
Not cheaper, not cheaper anywhere, any time. I get an unused one for 80$ from a friend of mine which he bought, but never used due to loss of interest.

Then I guess I'll get a new PSU, what about Cooler Master GX 550W 80+ Bronze? Is it of good quality? :hmm:
Click to expand...

Well that changes everything. For $80 you are getting an absolute steal!

No, i wouldn't go with a CM 550Watt personally.

I'd go with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371031

Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Excellent power supply that gives you a solid 48Amps on the 12V+ line.
 
Darn, it's not for sale here in Sweden.
Is Cooler Master GX 550W 80+ Bronze okay, is it worth getting? It's quite cheap (I'm kinda low in money as of right now) and seems to be enough to power the 6970. But if I HAVE to get another one, I can squeeze my budget a little bit more.
 
bgHunter said:
Darn, it's not for sale here in Sweden.
Is Cooler Master GX 550W 80+ Bronze okay, is it worth getting? It's quite cheap (I'm kinda low in money as of right now) and seems to be enough to power the 6970. But if I HAVE to get another one, I can squeeze my budget a little bit more.
Click to expand...

Yes, the GX series uses a single 12V rail. And seeing as how the 450Watt model has 35Amps on that rail, the 550W Bronze model will be more than sufficient.

Good luck! 🙂
 
meeshu said:
The present setup takes > 300W power.

With the Radeon HD 6970 card instead of the GTX550ti, power requirement will jump to ~ 450W.

Allowing for PSU derating due to aging, suggest getting at least a 550W PSU with a single +12V rail.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll get a new PSU whenever possible if that's what I have to do, probably in a week or two. 🙄
 
daveybrat said:
Yes, the GX series uses a single 12V rail. And seeing as how the 450Watt model has 35Amps on that rail, the 550W Bronze model will be more than sufficient.

Good luck! 🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you! It'll be a plesure to finally run games such as CoD Black Ops 2 and BF3 on Ultra settings, without major fps-drops!
 
You know, I'd be willing to bet that PSU could handle the 6970 just fine, as long as you don't overclock anything. It's got two 12V 17A rails, as long as you draw one of your 8-pin powers from each rail it should be fine. Max power is 336W combined on both rails. The 6970 has a TDP of 250W.

Not to mention, the rest of the system draws power off the 3.3V and 5V rails, so it should be irrelevant. The 3.3V and 5V rails combined only do 120W... 120+250 is still less than 400W. Cutting it close, and you're running into efficiency issues, but if you're just gaming and not stress-testing, then you shouldn't be running at 100%.
 
Suggested 550W PSU's with known quality components and good performance.

XFX Core Edition 550W Pro

Rosewill Capstone 550M <- suggest using power filter also if using this unit

Seasonic G-550

Silverstone Strider Gold ST55F-G

Kingwin AP-550W <- suggest using power filter also if using this unit


If you having difficulty obtaining a PSU, the principal brands to look for are Seasonic, XFX, Corsair, Silverstone.
 
I'm not clear about how your case cooling is setup, though a single 92mm fan does not look very good...

I had the same exact card and IME it ran hot. In an Antec P180 case, with 2 rear exhaust & 1 front intake fans (800-1200rpm 120mm Noctua fans), I had to downclock by 30-40MHz or it would crash in almost any games. This is in stark contrast to the previous HD5850 which allowed me to run just one case fan and passively cool the CPU.

In addition the PSU (with other posters I agree), you need to look at your case cooling and ensure it is adequate as well.

Regards.
 
Don't buy it! Sell it to me!

Lol, joking. That's a nice graphics card in terms of quality and gaming power. Though when talking about power consumption it can eat up a lot.

Still a great graphics card (one I'd like to have!). If you can grab it for 80$ that's a STEAL!
 
Phrost Phantom said:
Don't buy it! Sell it to me!

Lol, joking. That's a nice graphics card in terms of quality and gaming power. Though when talking about power consumption it can eat up a lot.

Still a great graphics card (one I'd like to have!). If you can grab it for 80$ that's a STEAL!
Click to expand...

Yeah, you bet it is! 😛
 
Eureka said:
You know, I'd be willing to bet that PSU could handle the 6970 just fine, as long as you don't overclock anything. It's got two 12V 17A rails, as long as you draw one of your 8-pin powers from each rail it should be fine. Max power is 336W combined on both rails. The 6970 has a TDP of 250W.

Not to mention, the rest of the system draws power off the 3.3V and 5V rails, so it should be irrelevant. The 3.3V and 5V rails combined only do 120W... 120+250 is still less than 400W. Cutting it close, and you're running into efficiency issues, but if you're just gaming and not stress-testing, then you shouldn't be running at 100%.
Click to expand...

Thats great! I'll atleast try it, I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen? The PSU should have a safety-shut down if it overloads or whatever.
And yes, I only game.
 
meeshu said:
Suggested 550W PSU's with known quality components and good performance.

XFX Core Edition 550W Pro
Click to expand...

I could buy that one, but some of the comments and reviews says that it crashed after a week or a month, so I'm a little sceptic, but If you say it's of good quality, I'd give it a shot!😉
 
aaksheytalwar said:
The gx series is crap. A lower watts corsair will bash it.
Click to expand...

So will the CX-series from Corsair be better to buy?
Here are some PSUs in the same price range in Sweden:

XFX Core Edition 550W 80+ Bronze Non-Modular
Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Modular
Fractal Design Integra R2 500W 80+ Bronze Non-Modular
Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Non-Modular

Those are almost exactly 80$ aswell, might be expensive in other countries but it's cheap here.

Any thoughts?🙄
 
bgHunter said:
So will the CX-series from Corsair be better to buy?
Here are some PSUs in the same price range in Sweden:

XFX Core Edition 550W 80+ Bronze Non-Modular
Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Modular
Fractal Design Integra R2 500W 80+ Bronze Non-Modular
Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Non-Modular

Those are almost exactly 80$ aswell, might be expensive in other countries but it's cheap here.

Any thoughts?🙄
Click to expand...

No offense to anyone here, but go over to JonnyGuru and start an account and ask advice. Most of the PSU editors from the better sites around hang out there and talk PSU's. You won't get better advice anywhere else on the web.
 
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