Should I upgrade?

T

Tzzird

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
May 9, 2006
Messages
5,890
Hi everyone.

When I built this system (in sig) four years ago, the Corsair 520HX was highly recommended. It was actually overkill for my Conroe system with a 8800 gts 320mb. But now that I've upgraded to a 5850 and q9550, I'm concerned just how much headroom I have for a video card upgrade.

If I decide that I'm sticking with the 520HX, what is the best possible video card I can get out of my current system?

I played BF3 Beta over the last few weeks like many of you here, and although 45+fps in Metro is fine for me, the dips into the 30's fps in Caspian Border are not. I looked at the PSU requirements of the:

6950 (500 watts)
6970 (600 watts)
gtx 570 (550 watts)
gtx 580 (600 watts)

Does anyone have experience running any of these cards with a high quality, lower wattage rated PSU? I believe the 520HX puts out 18 amps over the three 12v rails.

If it helps, I'm running a Samsung 500GB drive and a second 2TB drive.
 
Those requirements are aimed at people with lower quality PSUs. The 520W HX units are excellent. You will have no trouble running any of those cards off it. I ran a 4870X2 and an overclocked Q9550 off my 520W HX unit and pulled 390W at the wall in normal load.
To give you some idea:

HD6950: Normal load 170W, Maximum load 190W
HD6970: Normal load 190-210W, Maximum load 240W
GTX570: Normal load 210W, Maximum load (limiters off) 250W
GTX580: Normal load 244W, Maximum load (limiters off) 290W
HD4870X2: Normal load 286W, Maximum load 370W
 
samuelmorris said:
Those requirements are aimed at people with lower quality PSUs. The 520W HX units are excellent. You will have no trouble running any of those cards off it. I ran a 4870X2 and an overclocked Q9550 off my 520W HX unit and pulled 390W at the wall in normal load.
To give you some idea:

HD6950: Normal load 170W, Maximum load 190W
HD6970: Normal load 190-210W, Maximum load 240W
GTX570: Normal load 210W, Maximum load (limiters off) 250W
GTX580: Normal load 244W, Maximum load (limiters off) 290W
HD4870X2: Normal load 286W, Maximum load 370W
Click to expand...

Wow! Thanks for the detailed response. Nice to know that I have a reasonable upgrade path if I need. The reason I'd rather not upgrade my PSU is that I'd rather build a second system if it comes to shelling out $150+ for another PSU.

I put my specs in a system calculator I found online and it seems that it should peak out at high 400's wattage.

What's the worst that could happen if I happen to go over? The system either doesn't turn on or turns itself off during peak usage?
 
It'll just turn off during peak usage. You ought not to do that too many times as it could conceivably damage the PSU, but with decent units it's not likely to hurt.
 
That's a good ps. So it would just shut down. Other cheaper ps may spark and smoke...not a good thing
 
a gtx580 would not be the best choice with your system and that psu. at stock speeds you would be okay but with any overclocking you would tax that psu a bit. with any significant overclocking you would be at its limits. I do not think people realize the massive amounts of additional power that is needed when you start doing some serious overclocking. I could add an additional 200 watts to my system in no time.
 
Last edited:
Trust me, a GTX580 is fine off a 520W HX. If I can add 100W to my CPU by overclocking it then run a GPU that uses 40W more than a GTX580 in normal load, and have 130W of room to spare, he'll be alright. I wouldn't recommend the GTX580 for other reasons, but that's beside the point.
 
samuelmorris said:
Trust me, a GTX580 is fine off a 520W HX. If I can add 100W to my CPU by overclocking it then run a GPU that uses 40W more than a GTX580 in normal load, and have 130W of room to spare, he'll be alright. I wouldn't recommend the GTX580 for other reasons, but that's beside the point.
Click to expand...
at stock he could easily hit 375-400 real watts at times. with a decent oc on the cpu and gpu he would most certainly be using 475-500 real watts. if he went crazy with the voltage he would hit over 500 real watts no problem. I pulled nearly 500 watts at the wall with my E8500 at a mild 3.8 and a gtx470 with a decent bump in voltage and another 150mhz on it. again at stock he is just fine but no way would I do any real overclocking.
 
a 'decent voltage increase' on Fermi though is asking for trouble. We're not talking extreme overclocking here. That should be a given for any PSU recommendation. If you clock things far enough, 'ample' can become 'woefully inadequate'.
 
samuelmorris said:
a 'decent voltage increase' on Fermi though is asking for trouble. We're not talking extreme overclocking here. That should be a given for any PSU recommendation. If you clock things far enough, 'ample' can become 'woefully inadequate'.
Click to expand...
sorry I was not clear but was not an excessive bump. it was exactly halfway between stock and max available in Afterburner. and the max there is a safe max although I would personally never even try that. anyway I still would not get the gtx580 with his system and psu. why have a gpu like that if you are not going to oc it and oc your cpu to get the most out of it? a gtx570 would make more sense.
 
Why have a GTX580 at all, really. I personally think they're a waste unless being used to max out an SLI setup, because of the considerable cost.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top