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Picked up a 2900 pro, runs fine on a 450w psu.

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Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
he's not spending $1500 on top of the line merchandise, he's buying a 2900 pro because it's 2/3 the price of the 2900xt and gives nearly identical performance, the same reason that you and i were looking at them. I spent a lot of money on my system and I got a qualtiy psu. Same for you, and for many of us here for that matter. I also agree that in general it's not a good idea to go cheap on the psu. Antec makes decent psu's, however, and I think that it would be smarter for the OP to at least try the psu that he has before spending $75-$100 for a potentially needless upgrade.
Click to expand...

he has $1,500 of HW at risk ... balance that risk with "a potentially needless upgrade" 😛

Now if he planned to keep that 2900Pro at stock it might be fine ... but if he wants XT performance he will draw XT current ... and good luck to him with a underpowered PS.
AMD recommends 550W for a 2900xt ... tell THEM they are wrong.
😕
Click to expand...
All that I see on the OP's hardware is a 2900 pro and 4 hd's. you can't count the case since it obviously isn't impacted by the psu. say he spent 285 on the 2900 pro. we have no way of knowing he has 4 raptor X's or 1tb drives, or if he has a 40 gb pata, 80gb pata, 120 gb sata, and a 500gb sata, or perhaps some mix and match combo in between. that hardly qualifies as "$1500 worth of hardware".

Now, if we find out that he's running a Q6600 at 3.5 24/7 DC, has 4gb of ddr 3 and an asus striker extreme, I'm going to recommend that he get a psu like yours or at least an hx-series. On the other hand, if he's running a $45 skt 939 mobo with an x2 4200 and 2 gb pc 3200 "a couple of hours per day", then it's hard to justify the added expense of even the vx 450. In fact, he might be doing himself a favor by frying that mobo (or should I say moFO) 😉

 
Originally posted by: Azn
People do go overboard with power supplies. If you have quality power supply with ample wattage I wouldn't worry about it.

A fully loaded system with 2900xt eat less than 400watts at peak load.
Click to expand...

No, It's not ample wattage it's ample amperage on the +12v rail that matters. Unless you mis-spoke and I have a feeling you did. The OP has 22a on his combined +12v rails, sorry that ain't ample. That's considered to be just enough to run the 7900 series of cards.
 
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
he's not spending $1500 on top of the line merchandise, he's buying a 2900 pro because it's 2/3 the price of the 2900xt and gives nearly identical performance, the same reason that you and i were looking at them. I spent a lot of money on my system and I got a qualtiy psu. Same for you, and for many of us here for that matter. I also agree that in general it's not a good idea to go cheap on the psu. Antec makes decent psu's, however, and I think that it would be smarter for the OP to at least try the psu that he has before spending $75-$100 for a potentially needless upgrade.
Click to expand...

he has $1,500 of HW at risk ... balance that risk with "a potentially needless upgrade" 😛

Now if he planned to keep that 2900Pro at stock it might be fine ... but if he wants XT performance he will draw XT current ... and good luck to him with a underpowered PS.
AMD recommends 550W for a 2900xt ... tell THEM they are wrong.
😕
Click to expand...
All that I see on the OP's hardware is a 2900 pro and 4 hd's. you can't count the case since it obviously isn't impacted by the psu. say he spent 285 on the 2900 pro. we have no way of knowing he has 4 raptor X's or 1tb drives, or if he has a 40 gb pata, 80gb pata, 120 gb sata, and a 500gb sata, or perhaps some mix and match combo in between. that hardly qualifies as "$1500 worth of hardware".

Now, if we find out that he's running a Q6600 at 3.5 24/7 DC, has 4gb of ddr 3 and an asus striker extreme, I'm going to recommend that he get a psu like yours or at least an hx-series. On the other hand, if he's running a $45 skt 939 mobo with an x2 4200 and 2 gb pc 3200 "a couple of hours per day", then it's hard to justify the added expense of even the vx 450. In fact, he might be doing himself a favor by frying that mobo (or should I say moFO) 😉
Click to expand...

Sometimes it's more then the MB ... and no one likes to lose any HW component unexpectedly.

imo, the risk is too great to run a Overclocked GPU on a PS that is inadequate in every way and fails to meet the minimum spec of the Video card it powers. But then some people will run 87 octane gas in a V8 engine to "save money" and then brag about it.
😕
 
My 8800 Ultra blew my 500W PSU after a day of benchmarking and I don't have an excessive amount of system components.

I've now got a 750W Toughpower. :thumbsup:
 
Here are some tests that I ran with a few different configurations.

7600GS Results

2.15A
258W at the wallplate
~180W draw from the components

8800GTX Results

3.28A
394W at the wallplate
~292W draw from the components

2 x X1900XT Results (cards were run at 710/840 1.525/1.15/1.15/1.5V)

4.89A
586.6W at the wallplate
~440-470W draw from the components

I ran all of these configurations with 3DMARK06 and Orthos running. I measured the amps with a Fluke clamp-meter. The following components were used in the system:

E6600@3.6GHz 1.42V
3x Sanyo Denki 120mmx38mm fans (6.24W each)
2x Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 80mm (8.4W each)
AQX50Z Pump (8W)
X-Fi Fatality (~20W??)
7200rpm hdd (13W)
DVD Burner (25W??)

As others have mentioned, the 12V rail voltage is probably the most important factor. A quality 450W PSU would probably run an oced C2D and an 8800GTX but it needs a beefy 12V rail. It's better to go a little overkill on the PSU for the peace of mind.
 
So basically this thread proves what i think we all already knew: wattage isn't an issue; adequate amperage absolutely is important though.
 
Originally posted by: ManWithNoName
Originally posted by: Azn
People do go overboard with power supplies. If you have quality power supply with ample wattage I wouldn't worry about it.

A fully loaded system with 2900xt eat less than 400watts at peak load.
Click to expand...

No, It's not ample wattage it's ample amperage on the +12v rail that matters. Unless you mis-spoke and I have a feeling you did. The OP has 22a on his combined +12v rails, sorry that ain't ample. That's considered to be just enough to run the 7900 series of cards.
Click to expand...

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
 
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
 
Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
Click to expand...

Me too, which is why I have the PSU in my sig, has been rock stedy and very stable. 8 PIN FTW!
 
Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
Click to expand...

What quality power supply have 1 12 volt rail in the range of 30amps? May I ask?
 
Originally posted by: Azn
Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
Click to expand...

What quality power supply have 1 12 volt rail in the range of 30amps? May I ask?
Click to expand...

There are plenty Azn. He wasn't lying. I myself have an Enermax 460W with 36A on a single 12V rail. My bud has an Aspire with 35A on the single 12V rail. Yes, these are both single 12V+ PSU's.
 
Originally posted by: Azn
Originally posted by: ManWithNoName
Originally posted by: Azn
People do go overboard with power supplies. If you have quality power supply with ample wattage I wouldn't worry about it.

A fully loaded system with 2900xt eat less than 400watts at peak load.
Click to expand...

No, It's not ample wattage it's ample amperage on the +12v rail that matters. Unless you mis-spoke and I have a feeling you did. The OP has 22a on his combined +12v rails, sorry that ain't ample. That's considered to be just enough to run the 7900 series of cards.
Click to expand...

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

jhbball HAS a quality dual-rail unit (Antec Smartpower 450w) and his sustained/continuous amperage on the combined +12v rails still only equals 22a. So saying a power supply is a quality dual-rail still doesn't mean it will have adequate amperage.

Also, just for reference in case you look up his power supply, you don't add the seperate rails together to get the total amperage. You take the combined wattage on the +12v rails and divide by 12. The OPs for example is a dual-rail with one 17a rail and one 15a rail and they have a combined wattage of 260w. His sustained/continuous amperage on the +12v rail is NOT 32a. It's 260w divided by 12 = 21.6a rounded off = 22a.

 
Originally posted by: Azn
Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
Click to expand...

What quality power supply have 1 12 volt rail in the range of 30amps? May I ask?
Click to expand...
corsair hx 520 and 620 are both single 12v rail. they are 40a and 50a iirc.
 
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Originally posted by: Azn
Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
Click to expand...

What quality power supply have 1 12 volt rail in the range of 30amps? May I ask?
Click to expand...
corsair hx 520 and 620 are both single 12v rail. they are 40a and 50a iirc.
Click to expand...

Both the power supplies in the HX series 520/620 have 3 rails ....

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/hx.aspx

However their VX series 450/550VX power supplies have single rails of 33a/41a and their TX Series 650/750 also have single rails of 52a/60a .........

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/vx.aspx

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/tx.aspx


 
Originally posted by: ManWithNoName
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Originally posted by: Azn
Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
Click to expand...

What quality power supply have 1 12 volt rail in the range of 30amps? May I ask?
Click to expand...
corsair hx 520 and 620 are both single 12v rail. they are 40a and 50a iirc.
Click to expand...

Both the power supplies in the HX series 520/620 have 3 rails ....

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/hx.aspx

However their VX series 450/550VX power supplies have single rails of 33a/41a and their TX Series 650/750 also have single rails of 52a/60a .........

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/vx.aspx

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/tx.aspx
Click to expand...
no, corsair says that they are multiple rails but hx series are actually single rail. jonnyguru's test seems to imply only a single rail, and I remember reading in several different places that it is actually a single rail.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=28

 
Originally posted by: Spartan Niner
Originally posted by: nitromullet
You can quite easily buy a nice, quiet, powerful PSU for $100, why risk the rest of your components to save a few bucks on the PSU?

Some good recommendations:

http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1460
Click to expand...

Winnar.

The ignorance in this thread about power supplies is astounding, do yourselves a favor and go check out this link!
Click to expand...
thanks, this is what I was looking for! this is from spartan niner's link:

Corsair HX520W $99.69 @ Provantage
Modular
Seasonic OEM
Claims to have three +12V rails, but actually only has one (40A)
Suitable for SLI and Crossfire (not necessarily G80 or R600 and up)

 
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Originally posted by: ManWithNoName
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Originally posted by: Azn
Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Azn

That's why I said quality power supply. All quality power supplies have 2 12volt rail or more.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. SOME quality PSU's have multiple 12V rails but there are many that have just one beefy 12V. I'd rather have one 12V rail personally because than you don't worry about balancing the rails so you don't draw too many amps through one of them.
Click to expand...

What quality power supply have 1 12 volt rail in the range of 30amps? May I ask?
Click to expand...
corsair hx 520 and 620 are both single 12v rail. they are 40a and 50a iirc.
Click to expand...

Both the power supplies in the HX series 520/620 have 3 rails ....

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/hx.aspx

However their VX series 450/550VX power supplies have single rails of 33a/41a and their TX Series 650/750 also have single rails of 52a/60a .........

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/vx.aspx

http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/tx.aspx
Click to expand...
no, corsair says that they are multiple rails but hx series are actually single rail. jonnyguru's test seems to imply only a single rail, and I remember reading in several different places that it is actually a single rail.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=28
Click to expand...

Point taken and back in the corners of my grey matter I actually knew that. I was just going by the actual specifications from Corsair and didn't want to open that can of worms since a lot of people here are confused as it is. Probably 3/4 of the power supplies which are advertised as being mult-rail units derrive power from the same source and are not really multi-rail units at all. So this actually proves just what everyone is saying here, it's not the number of rails, or the wattage, but the amperage on the rails that counts. Wattage should really be a secondary consideration depending on your configuration.
 
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Originally posted by: Spartan Niner
Originally posted by: nitromullet
You can quite easily buy a nice, quiet, powerful PSU for $100, why risk the rest of your components to save a few bucks on the PSU?

Some good recommendations:

http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1460
Click to expand...

Winnar.

The ignorance in this thread about power supplies is astounding, do yourselves a favor and go check out this link!
Click to expand...
thanks, this is what I was looking for! this is from spartan niner's link:

Corsair HX520W $99.69 @ Provantage
Modular
Seasonic OEM
Claims to have three +12V rails, but actually only has one (40A)
Suitable for SLI and Crossfire (not necessarily G80 or R600 and up)
Click to expand...

If you get it here, you also get Free Shipping ........$99.99

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsai...loc/101/203270716.html


 
Originally posted by: bryanW1995
club it has it 89.99 shipped AR.
Click to expand...

Great. Good deal. Just trying to help.

Just looked at it though and you have to pay $9.00 shipping so = 98.99 after rebate. If you get it at Buy.com you don't have to screw around with the rebate and it's $99.99 up front.

Edit:

Ahh, now I see what you mean. You plan on claiming both the $10.00 and $9.00 rebates from Clubit on the same power supply? Do You think they'll let you do that?? They have different addresses so maybe it will work.
 
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