Thinking of getting an HD 6950, is the PSU enough?

[ChrisRey3156]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2141213

Above is a link to the SB build I will be getting. The PSU will be an Antex Earthwatts 500W. Will that power my system with the HD 6950, or should I just go with the GTX 470 or HD 5870? My budget is around $800 so id rather not have to get a more expensive PSU and just settle with a "weaker" gpu.

 

[Skurge]

Uh, just so you know. The 470 and 5870 both use more power than the 6950.

 

[ChrisRey3156]

I really had no idea, in that case is the PSU still good enough?

 

[Skurge]

Im don't know that much about PSUs, so maybe the other members can contribute, but 500W is recommended for a 6950 and antec usually make high quality PSUs, so I assume it would be good enough.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Yes that psu will be fine enjoy

 

[toyota]

there is no need for buying a 6950 to play at 1440x900. just get a gtx460 for that res unless you are getting a bigger monitor. and personlly I would go with a stronger psu if you get the 6950. an Antec earthwatts 500w would be borderline with any overclocking and it would not really cut it.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

You're fine; that's a good PSU.

there is no need for buying a 6950 to play at 1440x900. just get a gtx460 for that res unless you are getting a bigger monitor. and personlly I would go with a stronger psu if you get the 6950. an Antec earthwatts 500w would be borderline with any overclocking and it would not really cut it.

The only way it wouldn't cut it is with a hefty overclock, unlocking, and voltage tuning on his components. Overclocking on stock volts or no overclocking at all and he'll be safe.

The 460 really uses about the same.

Despite resolution there are always games that can use more GPU power. Besides that fact, you read his other thread but did you fail to see that he is thinking of getting a 1080p monitor? Yeah, more GPU power certainly couldn't hurt.

 

[happy medium]

6950 + 500 watt quality psu & 1900x1080 res. = all good.

 

[ChrisRey3156]

thanks for the info guys! Appreciate it!

 

[Jacky60]

there is no need for buying a 6950 to play at 1440x900. just get a gtx460 for that res unless you are getting a bigger monitor. and personlly I would go with a stronger psu if you get the 6950. an Antec earthwatts 500w would be borderline with any overclocking and it would not really cut it.

Get a beefy PSU if you intend having a pc for gaming for more than a year or two. When you want to push the system a bit further ( you're self building so a bit of overclocking shouldn't be too intimidating ) you'll have room to grow and one inadequate psu will just be a handicap very soon. I'd get a PSU to comfortably overclock your cpu to 4.5GHZ (sandybridge) AND run 6950 crossfire. It may take a bit of saving to build but a system like that with room for another 6950 (a 6950 will cost half what it does now in a years time) will mean you don't have to buy any new hardware for three plus years (apart from 6950). A 750watts psu (please check as I'm tired) should be enough if you want to grow your system but $30-$40 xtra will be well spent. I'd get a crossfire/sli capable board too. Upgrades like this are infrequent so don't skimp on the psu it can go into any new build and a crossfire capable mobo will mean you can crush any pc game (within reason) for the next couple of years. 6950 xfire is really fast and unless you're retired you're likely get richer not poorer.

 

[bryanW1995]

antec psu's are great, I have an ea 430 and ea 650, both have been perfect for years on DC with highly OC'd quads running 24/7.

edit: @jacky60: What? a high quality 700w + psu is a LOT more expensive than an ea 500, and he might or might not end up with some benefit sometime over the next 5 years with the beefier psu. Heck, I jumped on an xtx 750w modular psu about 6 months ago "just in case" b/c it was in hot deals for what I thought at the time was a good deal. now the psu is significantly less expensive and it's still sitting in the box. The OP gave us a complete list of his system, and an ea 500 is great for him without breaking the bank.

 

[AoS810]

Sorry about thread jacking! but my inquiries are roughly the same.

I have a Seasonic SS-430GB, I looked at the side of the PSU and it says I have two 12v rails with 17A each rated at 360W. I would like to get a 1GB 6950 when more of those become available and I would like to overclock it to the limit with stock voltage. I will be putting this in the rig in my sig so, any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks.

*EDIT* my sig isn't there anymore.. updating profile right now!
*EDIT* can't find the sig section of profile.. ahaha unfortunate.

Intel E8400 4.05Ghz 1.328v
4GB G.Skill DDR2-891 5-5-5-15 1.95v
Asus P5K-E Intel P35
Western Digital Blue 640GB
Western Digital Green 1TB
Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
Seasonic SS-430GB

 

[toyota]

Sorry about thread jacking! but my inquiries are roughly the same.

I have a Seasonic SS-430GB, I looked at the side of the PSU and it says I have two 12v rails with 17A each rated at 360W. I would like to get a 1GB 6950 when more of those become available and I would like to overclock it to the limit with stock voltage. I will be putting this in the rig in my sig so, any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks.

*EDIT* my sig isn't there anymore.. updating profile right now!
*EDIT* can't find the sig section of profile.. ahaha unfortunate.

Intel E8400 4.05Ghz 1.328v
4GB G.Skill DDR2-891 5-5-5-15 1.95v
Asus P5K-E Intel P35
Western Digital Blue 640GB
Western Digital Green 1TB
Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
Seasonic SS-430GB

with 360w max available on the 12v you would be pushing that psu pretty hard even with a stock 6950.

btw what res are you playing at?

 

[OVerLoRDI]

In my experience, you should always spend a bit more to get the headroom and quality on a PSU. It can't be too much more expensive to go for a 600 or 650 watt unit. If you go bigger you have overclocking headroom and the PSU possibly lasting through more upgrades.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

with 360w max available on the 12v you would be pushing that psu pretty hard even with a stock 6950.

I'm beginning to question just how much you know about the 6950. It draws the same power as any other midrange card - basically 150W is what you can count it for. How is that going to push his 360W?

His PSU comes with 2x6Pin so Seasonic feels comfortable it can push video cards which require two PEGs, like the 6950.

 

[toyota]

I'm beginning to question just how much you know about the 6950. It draws the same power as any other midrange card - basically 150W is what you can count it for. How is that going to push his 360W?

His PSU comes with 2x6Pin so Seasonic feels comfortable it can push video cards which require two PEGs, like the 6950.

with his oced cpu, 2 hard drives, sound card and such his system could easily use 300 watts during load with a stock 6950. that alone would put him at 85% of what his psu can handle on the 12v even when brand new. he wants to oc the 6950 as for as possible too and that would exceed the psus capabilities without a doubt.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

with his oced cpu, 2 hard drives, sound card and such his system could easily use 300 watts during load with a stock 6950. that alone would put him at 85% of what his psu can handle on the 12v even when brand new. he wants to oc the 6950 as for as possible too and that would exceen the psus cpabailties without a doubt.

We're talking about a Seasonic S12 here. It's probably the best built 430W power supply. As long as he doesn't raise the voltage of the 6950, which he said he wouldn't, then he'll be fine. His processor is only an overclocked 45nm dual core. It sure isn't a Core i7; because if it was then I would agree with you.

Your 300W seems like conjecture. It's a guess and I think you're overestimating. And the age is hardly relevant, as his PSU is basically going to be new since those units came out fairly recently.

I know there are users here who have ran more power hungry video cards (like a 4870) on worse power supplies (380W Antec).

 

[AoS810]

I'll be playing at 1680x1050. Also I built this comp about.. 3 years ago so thats how old my Seasonic unit is. My current card is a 3850 overclocked to 720 core, 950 mem.. and my system is completely stable with my current powersupply. I'd like to play crysis 2, mass effect 3, etc full eye-candy soooo.. heh. Also, I've been looking at the 560 (would overclock that too), but that draws even more power than the 6950.

 

[toyota]

I bet at 4.05 his cpu uses more watts then you think. yeah its still not as much as an i7 but its probably at least 80 watts. the 6950 has a tdp of 200 watts and will get close to that if he runs something like furmark. throw in the rest of his components and 300 watts or even more is very plausible under full load. with the kind of overclocking on the 6950 he is wanting to do, that psu would be pushed beyond its limits.

EDIT: he just said that psu is 3 years old so I am even more convinced it would be a bad decision with the overclocking he wants to do.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

LOL I'm done with you if you're going to bring in Furmark into the argument.

 

[toyota]

I'll be playing at 1680x1050. Also I built this comp about.. 3 years ago so thats how old my Seasonic unit is. My current card is a 3850 overclocked to 720 core, 950 mem.. and my system is completely stable with my current powersupply. I'd like to play crysis 2, mass effect 3, etc full eye-candy soooo.. heh. Also, I've been looking at the 560 (would overclock that too), but that draws even more power than the 6950.

you dont really need a 6950 at 1680 with a dual core cpu anyway. even a 6850/6870 would be a massive increase over what you have now and a little more appropriate for your res and cpu.

 

[toyota]

LOL I'm done with you if you're going to bring in Furmark into the argument.

yeah because nobody ever tests their card with that.

I am giving the worse case scenario because people that push their system with extreme overclocking usually use extreme measures of testing too.

and even during gaming his psu would probably be pushed almost to the limit with the amount of overclocking he is wanting to do on a 6950.

 

[happy medium]

If your system was a quad core I'd say no, but since you have a e8500, I think you will be fine.

 

[toyota]

If your system was a quad core I'd say no, but since you have a e8500, I think you will be fine.

well it is oced by a bit but he would probably be just fine with stock 6950. if he ran furmark or oced it quite a bit then that could be a problem and his psu being 3 years old doesn't help.

 

[AoS810]

Thanks for the responses guys. I actually do stress-test with furmark and I've come to understand (based on reviews) that it creates an unrealistic level of power draw from your psu.. I'm aware that a 6950 is probably overkill but this will probably be my last upgrade for this platform so, it'll have to last for a few years haha. I'm actually eye'ing this card and pushing it even further (maybe just the memory, I kinda like the rounded off 1Ghz figure lol, but knowing my tweaking habits I'll probably push the core too):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125362