9 replies to this topic

[WARDOZERX]

I'm wondering how far I can push a built by Seasonic Antec EA380 with an Athlon 64 x2 ( undervolted ), 2x DDR2 dimms, 2x HDD's, 3x fans and a single optical drive as far as a GPU goes. I was thinking about something along the lines of an HD 6870 or HD 6950. Any input?

Edited by WARDOZERX, 21 December 2012 - 08:47 AM.

[wevsspot]

Yep - spend $20 on a cheap Kill A Watt meter from Newegg;

 

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16882715001

 

Measure the draw of your current system without the new video card.  Record your findings.  Go out and find the rated power draw of the 6870 and 6950 you're looking at.  Add that to your current power draw.  That will give you a rough estimate of how much power you'll need.

 

I always allow at least a 20% cushion between the power rating of my power supply and the peak power required by my system. 

[WARDOZERX]

I don't want to spend $20 to find out I'd need a beefier PSU when I can get a quality 450w PSU with a 6 and 6+2 pin connector for $50 shipped atm brand new. It's pointless to spend $20 to find out I need to pay $50 for a better PSU making the PSU $70 essentially or finding out I need to settle for an HD 6850 making that purchase essentially $20 more expensive.

 

Hoping someone has actually run a similar setup using an HD 6870, HD 6950 or a card with similar power useage.

[iskout]

I would just get the 450w, honestly. I have a friend that ran with an i3 2100, 2 dimms DDR3 1333, 2 hard drives, 1 optical, and a 6850 on the 380w, but my guess is that anything more than that is really pushing the limits of it's power.

[ComputerEd]

Seriously people PSU calculators are easy to find!!! Search is your friend...

 

http://www.bing.com/...&sc=8-7&sp=1=

[paulktreg]

The Antec EA380 comes with one 6 pin PCI_E connector so stick to graphic cards of 150W or less (one 6 pin PCI-E connector) and you'll be fine, anything more is pushing it a little!

[d6bmg]

Seriously people PSU calculators are easy to find!!! Search is your friend...

 

http://www.bing.com/...&sc=8-7&sp=1=

 

But the beat way to measure the real time power consumption is Watt meter.

I always use them while overclocking test to measure the total power consumption on load & idle condition.

[ComputerEd]

 

Seriously people PSU calculators are easy to find!!! Search is your friend...

 

http://www.bing.com/...&sc=8-7&sp=1=

 

But the beat way to measure the real time power consumption is Watt meter.

I always use them while overclocking test to measure the total power consumption on load & idle condition.

 

I 100% agree but a lot of people do not have them. The easiest way is to use the PSU Calculator which usually gives you some headroom when it figures the need.

[WARDOZERX]

This may not be an issue considering a used HD 7850 can be had for the same price as an HD 6950 and it's a no brained as it uses less power, is generally faster at stock and can be OC'd past the speed of a stock HD 6970.

[WARDOZERX]

Oops

Edited by WARDOZERX, 24 December 2012 - 05:05 AM.