4850 vs 4850 - Power Consumption?

[zoofie]

Hi there
I currently run a HD 4850 with a Corsair 450w psu. I'm looking upgrade the graphics card ready for Diablo 3 and other future Blizzard releases - however i am concerned and confused about what to do.

On AMD's website, it states that the 6850 that i'm considering getting, should be run on a 500w psu minimum. Now i currently run a 4850 on my system with a 450w Corsair psu no problem, yet the 4850 is said to be more power hungry than the 6850. This surely can't be true, as the 6850 has better performance than the 4850, but requires LESS wattage? :S
Please help!
Ty

 

[DM186]

Ok depending on what your PSU brand is and how many Amps are on the 12v rail. There is a sticker on the power supply with the numbers like 3.3v = 14a+ 5.v= 18a + 12v = 13a etc.

If you can get me the amps on the 12v rail and if you have two 12v rails it will look like this 12v1, 12v2 or a, b. Then I will be able to tell you if it will run the one card or not.

 

[zoofie]

Hi again
Sorry i'm confused on what the meant, i just took a picture though - hope that helps!
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/799/p1010584a.jpg

 

[jaguarskx]

The HD 6850 does consume less power than the HD 4850. It's called a smaller die process (40nm vs 55nm) and better architecture.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_6850_SCS3_Passive/25.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_5850_PCS_Plus/27.html

 

[DM186]

Hi again
Sorry i'm confused on what the meant, i just took a picture though - hope that helps!
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/799/p1010584a.jpg

The 6850 will run on that PSU with out any problem and thanks for sending that picture. You have two 12v rails one with 15a and the other with 17a. So you are good to go.

 

[esrever]

the 6850 is more efficient and thus runs using less power than the 4850. you'd have no problem running it on your computer if you can run a 4850.

 

[zoofie]

Thanks alot for the replies! That's a relief, even though my 4850 is 512mb not 1gb.....would this make a big difference?
I'm just confused on why the minimum recommended psu for the 6850 on AMD's website is 500w, while it uses less power AND is more powerful than the 4850!

 

[Sunius]

HD 6850 is newer tech, and it's manufactured smaller than HD 4850. That's why it's more powerful (smaller means they can put more transistors in same size) and uses less energy (lesser transistors use less energy).