500w PSU enough for 4870?

Erwocl01 said:
Isnt it a bad idea to run your psu at near or full load?

Akin to redlining your car all day?

And yes, a decent 500w unit will run the 4870 fine all day.
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Lets put it this way. Power supplies are tested close to their max wattage vs efficiency. If you run it to max the only thing that you will notice increased heat and noise.

As far is it causing a strain, if a power supply failed due to it not being able to operate at max wattage why would you want that power supply anyways? In my eyes it is crap.

So the answer is no it is not a bad idea.
 
NLW said:
We'll know when the reviews are out, and power draw has been tested. Chances are, yes, but you're probably going to be getting close to the max this thing can output safely, quietly, and at a low temp. That's just a guess, though.

To relate this back to the original thread, the typical PSU of 500 watts more than likely could not safely handle a 4870x2. It might, but I wouldn't risk it. The HX520 has 40a on the 12v rail, which is higher than most 500-520 watt models. The Antec NeoHE line is pretty good, though. Not exceptional, but a solidly built unit which does its job quite well. I'm wanting to say it may also be a Seasonic build, but I'd have to check on that. It can output 38a on the 12v rail, but I believe it's actually distributed over 3 rails, and I'm not certain at all that they can compensate for one another as the Corsairs can. I wouldn't use a NeoHE500 with an HD 4870x2 until I saw some quality reviews that actually showed the power draw to be within this unit's capability.
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hey sorry I thought I had the 520 wat...I just looked on the box and it is the VX550 wats I don't know if that makes a difference or not.
 
OK I just dropped an ANTEC 650 W PSU into my rig........power problem solved..........cabling is a freaking mess
 
HardLiner said:
hey sorry I thought I had the 520 wat...I just looked on the box and it is the VX550 wats I don't know if that makes a difference or not.
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VX550 has 41a on the 12v rail, so it really makes no difference at all. They're practically interchangeable units, save for the modular cables on the HX.
 
NLW said:
VX550 has 41a on the 12v rail, so it really makes no difference at all. They're practically interchangeable units, save for the modular cables on the HX.
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they are built by two different companies but are both excellent.
 
Straight from ATi:

ATI Radeon HD 4870 System Requirements

* PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
* 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
* Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products
* Minimum 1GB of system memory
* Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
* DVD playback requires DVD drive
* Blu-ray™ playback requires Blu-ray drive
* For a complete ATI CrossFireX™ system, a second ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 graphics card, an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per graphics card (included) are required
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cannondale06 said:
you seem pretty proud of that fact. IMO what you are doing seems pretty stupid based on the rest of your specs.
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Hmm, i have the stock dell 350w psu with a 4870, q6600, and 4gb 800mhz ram. oh and a typical seagate barracuda. It's been running steady for months. no problems. zip. nada.:):cool:
 
gakor said:
Hmm, i have the stock dell 350w psu with a 4870, q6600, and 4gb 800mhz ram. oh and a typical seagate barracuda. It's been running steady for months. no problems. zip. nada.:):cool:
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you revived an 8 month old thread just to say that? that guy had an inwin 350 watt psu which are not highly regarded. IMO even what you are doing with that dell 350 watt psu is not very wise if long term use is a concern. your system could easily pull 275-300 watts during full load which would be fine for a while but could eventually take its toll. I know you cant oc the Q6600 on that Dell but if you were able to I could almost guarantee you certain death to that power supply.

are you sure you really have a 350 watt psu because Dell later upped the wattage to 400 on most systems when a Q6600 or better was selected. gee I wonder why they did that...
 
YeuEmMaiMai said:
i run a mATX setup and my choices are really non existant......athena power? i can't even find a review....FSP not enough wattage........startech, dynapower, atrix and logisys...never heard of them

I would be happy to get a new PSU as long as it is ATX PS2 sized........anyone want to post up some links?
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http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/silencer-750-quad-crossfire.html

The Silencer 750 Quad (in the original ATI Ruby Red) is no larger than any other ATX PSU (I've used a few in builds, and am looking to get two; one for myself, and one for mom, as replacement PSUs). They also make a model specifically for Dell mATX replacement (the Silencer 750QD).

Why two? Consider this B&M (not online) price, before MIR:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0264292
 
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