4870 PSU question

Den_M

I'm thinking of ordering this card...

PowerColor 512mb 4870

I've got this PSU...

Trust 520w

Think it'll manage it? I know the 12v rail or something comes into play..

Overheal

Trust

I have an Antect 480w running a 4850 no hassle whatsoever. I'm sure 520 would be plenty of wattage. But Ive never heard of that Brand, and the PSU is the last component you wanna cheap out on - it has a tendency to destroy everything its attached to if it goes pear shaped.

Den_M

Yeah they're not exactly the best known brand out there and I'm not sure how much I should 'trust' them! At the moment I'm running a core duo 1.8GHz overclocked to 2.5GHz, a x1950 pro and 4GB of RAM without any issues but I'm a bit worried about making the jump to the 4870

Effluo

The 4870 is unfortunately the most power hungry card from the 48xx series...
Which does not help you cause!

The plus side of this is that even if you do get the 4870 you'll still be using less than 300watts, more bad news is that your psu may not be able to even do that!

You could try it... It might fail, but you prob need to get a new psu anyway so not much lost.


Looking at your system now and wondering what games you want to play and at what resolution you plan on playing them on!
You may not need a 4870 at all and anything would be a huge boost over what you've got right now

Den_M

I'll be playing mostly first person shooters (Crysis, Far Cry 2, Unreal 3, Quake, Doom etc) and whatever new FPS games come out in the next 9 or 12 months at 1280*1024 but I'd like to maintain a smooth framerate. I guess a 4770 or something would also be an option and maybe would be less taxing on the PSU

Effluo

Well if you're ok with crysis running like this
http://www.guru3d.com/article/ati-radeon-hd-4770-review/14

then go ahead and get it you won't even need to upgrade the psu.

Your pc is ageing though. I spose it should be pretty good for another year or that of gaming with the 4770?

Den_M

If it turns out my PSU isn't able to power everything adequatley if I buy a 4870 what's the worst that could happen? Could the gfx card and other components be damaged?

The official power requirements for the 4870 are a 500w PSU, 600w recommended so it's not like I'm trying to run it with a 350w or anything. But I know the 12v rail comes into it somewhow. Is there not a definite way of knowing or not?

Overheal

When you start noticing weird system reboots/glitches usually :pac:

I dont think it will damage components - it'd be a bit like a brownout. Once you get one or two though I would advise popping the old card back in though.

Effluo

Den_M wrote: »

The official power requirements for the 4870 are a 500w PSU, 600w recommended so it's not like I'm trying to run it with a 350w or anything. But I know the 12v rail comes into it somewhow. Is there not a definite way of knowing or not?

I fink they must give those figures for people with trust branded psu's.

A good 400watt psu would run a 4870 fine, depending on everything else you have in it too though, But generally it would be fine.

CrinkElite

Overheal wrote: »

When you start noticing weird system reboots/glitches usually :pac:

I dont think it will damage components - it'd be a bit like a brownout. Once you get one or two though I would advise popping the old card back in though.

I had this problem with a Xilence 600W and a 4890, the computer would reboot whenever the GPU started to draw serious power. It didn't destroy any hardware but it did result in corrupted data on my HDD. Had to do a full re-install.

TerrorFirmer

Had a Trust 580w PSU before, used it for a few months with several different cards including dual cards, and it never gave me any problems. I found it impossible to find any reviews on it however, though it had a good solid weight to it and it was reasonably quiet. I would take the ratings with a pinch of salt alright but overall I think you should be okay. The 12v comes into it, put simply, this way - the supply delivers power on several lines, 12v being the one the card would draw from. If the 12v is weak (say, under 25-30a+), then it could be a 2000w PSU and it still wouldn't be able for the card. I've just noticed from your link that the PSU you have is a different line to the one I had. No idea what the ratings are, mine was dual 12v rail, think about 50a combined. The Trust website should have the details you need.

I'll be playing mostly first person shooters (Crysis, Far Cry 2, Unreal 3, Quake, Doom etc) and whatever new FPS games come out in the next 9 or 12 months at 1280*1024 but I'd like to maintain a smooth framerate.

The 4770 is pretty damn good at that resolution, and would also be a very good choice of card, even to play most games - with the exception of that one I hate being used as a milestone for card performance, Crysis - at max settings. 1280x1024 is a low resolution by gamers standards, and the difference between the X1950Pro and the 4770 would be massive.

Effluo

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

with the exception of that one I hate being used as a milestone for card performance, Crysis

Yeah it's a pain alright.
Although, it does annoy me how my setup will not play it on high settings...

It's great in a way. How it pushed the boat out and raised the line for graphics

Den_M

I think I'll go with the 4870, at 120 delivered from Komplett it's a bargain and if things seem to be acting up once it's installed I can always shell out a few more quid for a decent PSU and put the Trust one in my older machine. I could go for the 4770 I guess but I'd rather not have to buy another card for at least a year or 18 months and I'd like to be able to play the new Alliens Vs Predator game coming out in April nice n smoothly. Thanks for the help fellas, its much appreciated

CrinkElite

Yeah, God I hope they don't make a balls of AVP I loved those games so much. So far things are looking good .

Effluo

Den_M wrote: »

18 months and I'd like to be able to play

You'd prob need a new system in 18 months!

Den_M

I dunno, my current CPU ain't that great I know but my mobo is compatible with proper core 2 duos and core 2 quads so I can upgrade to a quad or whatever in a year if I want. CPUS aren't that much of a priority in gaming anymore, once you have some sort of dual core set up you're fine at the moment.

4GB of RAM ain't to be sniffed at and I can always add more due to the 2 free slots I have, plus the addition of the 4870 should really help as well. I'm not trying to run every game at 1920×1080 or anything. The need to replace components has slowed down a lot recently in comparison to recent years.

I built my machine almost 2 years ago but thought ahead, I don't think I'll need to replace my entire system for a while yet.

CrinkElite

Den_M wrote: »

I dunno, my current CPU ain't that great I know but my mobo is compatible with proper core 2 duos and core 2 quads so I can upgrade to a quad or whatever in a year if I want. CPUS aren't that much of a priority in gaming anymore, once you have some sort of dual core set up you're fine at the moment.

4GB of RAM ain't to be sniffed at and I can always add more due to the 2 free slots I have, plus the addition of the 4870 should really help as well. I'm not trying to run every game at 1920×1080 or anything. The need to replace components has slowed down a lot recently in comparison to recent years.

I built my machine almost 2 years ago but thought ahead, I don't think I'll need to replace my entire system for a while yet.

tell that to someone trying to run GTA4 or flight simulator X. Gpu's are good for eye-candy but when it comes down to elaborate physics systems and large amounts of pseudo random action/interaction it's your CPU and memory that feels the pain. I have a Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.2 ghz and a radeon 4890. Frame rates have improved considerably since I overclocked (stock is 2.4ghz) but It's still not adequiate in either of these games. Gonna have to upgrade as soon as I get the cash.

TerrorFirmer

CrinkElite wrote: »

tell that to someone trying to run GTA4 or flight simulator X. Gpu's are good for eye-candy but when it comes down to elaborate physics systems and large amounts of pseudo random action/interaction it's your CPU and memory that feels the pain. I have a Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.2 ghz and a radeon 4890. Frame rates have improved considerably since I overclocked (stock is 2.4ghz) but It's still not adequiate in either of these games. Gonna have to upgrade as soon as I get the cash.

GTAIV is a pretty shoddy job. I have an E8600 with a 4890 and there is nothing I can't max out at 1920x1020 apart from the likes of Crysis and GTAIV. I've overclocked to 4ghz but it doesn't make much difference, the limiting factor is the card. Of course, my E8600 would have a lot more l2 cache then whatever cpu den is using, but still.. Also, don't forget he's running at 1280x1024 - my laptop has a basic 2Ghz Core 2 and decent 9600M, I can run COD4 at 1366x768 at levels that look the same as the 360 version of the game. You'll find the odd game that'll stress your dual core but once its above 2.4Ghz or thereabouts, most games are perfectly fine. At 1280x1024, a Dual c ore at 2.5Ghz, 4GB ram, and a 4870, even Crysis would run at high settings flawlessly. I have absolutely no plans to upgrade my E8600 now or even probably a year down the line. I have an E6400 from 2 or 3 years ago that when overclocked to 3Ghz, can still play anything at max settings. Lifespans of core 2 CPUs are fantastic - I even had a Pentium Dual core 1.6Ghz 1mb L2 that overclocked to 3Ghz and at that speed, was equally capable of running anything at max settings when paired with a decent card.

CrinkElite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn42ClcPoxg

Grand Theft Auto IV PC - driving test - i7 920 + Radeon 4890



Well there must be some reason why I don't get these kind of frame rates with my c2d & 4890(low textures, sliders @ 1/3rd)

this guy's running it on the same card.

I agree that the core 2 range has an exceptional life span, I'v had mine for almost 3 years (i think) and the only games that choke are gta4 and FSX.