6870 CrossFire on 550w

[JacksonM]

Hello, I would kindly ask for some opinions on the following :

I would like to crossfire 2 ATI Sapphire 6870 graphics cards, I have a 550w Antec TruePower 2.0 in which it only has 2 PCI-E connectors but I also have got 2 molex to 6-pin PCI-E connectors in which they came with the graphics card. The only thing I am really worrying about is burning out my psu So in order to be secure I would prefer to hear some thoughts on the idea as I am not entirely sure about this. The Minimum Power Supply recommended by ATI for CrossFire for this card is 600w but will 550w handle it or will that be pushing it ?


My Specs:
i5 2500K (3.3ghz)
ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 Gen3
550w Antec TruePower 2.0
2x4 Corsair xms3 ddr3 (1333mhz)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
ATI Sapphire 6870
Ocz Vertex 2 40gb
Ocz Vertex 2 120gb

And just to mention there are no overclocked parts in my setup.

 

[ASHISH65]

I would reccomend get atleast 600-650w psu for safer side.

 

[JacksonM]

I would reccomend get atleast 600-650w psu for safer side.

Many thanks for your opinion , could I also ask what good quality power supplys are there around for the budget around 60 - 90 ?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Stick with Corsair, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, XFX, Silverstone, Enermax, OCZ, Antec or the higher efficiency Rosewell units and you will be fine.

You will need a model with 4 x 6pin PCI-E connectors.

 

[JacksonM]

Thank you very much will keep a look out on the branded names you have given me much appreciated ,Thanks for your help

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Where are you buying from? I'll be glad to look for any good deals. Try to avoid both Coolermaster and Thermaltake. Both are "name" brands but not of any power supplies you want.

 

[JacksonM]

Where are you buying from? I'll be glad to look for any good deals. Try to avoid both Coolermaster and Thermaltake. Both are "name" brands but not of any power supplies you want.

I currently live in Ireland and wish to ask if Newegg.com can deliver to Ireland, I also had a look on Komplett.ie which is Irish computer site and Thanks very much for help and thanks for advice

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Sorry but newegg only has US and Canadian sites.

That's a pretty limited selection. I don't know how good a price it is for you but this is the only model I see with 4 x PCI-E connectors that's not super expensive. It's also semi modular so that's a plus.

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/power_supplies/80009604/corsair_cx750m_power_supply_(_internal_)_/details.aspx

 

[JacksonM]

Sorry but newegg only has US and Canadian sites.

That's a pretty limited selection. I don't know how good a price it is for you but this is the only model I see with 4 x PCI-E connectors that's not super expensive. It's also semi modular so that's a plus.

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/power_supplies/80009604/corsair_cx750m_power_supply_(_internal_)_/details.aspx

Thats Great thanks for your reply, I will go with this one as reviews on this psu seem worth buying and the fact it will fit in my budget which was 60-90 Thanks for you help and interest.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

It's a good quality unit although a bit more powerful than you need. It will leave room for future upgrades though.

Glad I could help!

 

[iam2thecrowe]

really dont worry about crossfiring your 6870's. Sell your current 6870 and get a better single card. If you crossfire 6870's you are limited with your 1gb vram, meaning turning down texture quality and other options to keep your frame rate up when it runs out of vram and has to swap to slow system ram. Microstuttering, games that dont work well with crossfire, the list goes on. Dont do what i did, i got a second 6850 thinking all that was just a myth about crossfire issues, i sold both 6850's a month later and went with a singe card. People are now having issues with crossfire 7850's aswell, where a single card provides smoother gameplay than 2 cards, even if 2 cards get a higher benchmark score, they are not smooth.

 

[Sandouby_96]

really dont worry about crossfiring your 6870's. Sell your current 6870 and get a better single card. If you crossfire 6870's you are limited with your 1gb vram, meaning turning down texture quality and other options to keep your frame rate up when it runs out of vram and has to swap to slow system ram. Microstuttering, games that dont work well with crossfire, the list goes on. Dont do what i did, i got a second 6850 thinking all that was just a myth about crossfire issues, i sold both 6850's a month later and went with a singe card. People are now having issues with crossfire 7850's aswell, where a single card provides smoother gameplay than 2 cards, even if 2 cards get a higher benchmark score, they are not smooth.

+1 its much better to sell your 6870 and get more powerful single card at least think about a 660 or 7870 and if u could pay a little more and get a 660 ti or 7950 that's gonna be even better and u l save lots of power and u'll get lower temps and u won't change ur PSU as well so buying a better single card will make u save money and u'll have atleast 2 gb of VRAM

 

[JacksonM]

+1 its much better to sell your 6870 and get more powerful single card at least think about a 660 or 7870 and if u could pay a little more and get a 660 ti or 7950 that's gonna be even better and u l save lots of power and u'll get lower temps and u won't change ur PSU as well so buying a better single card will make u save money and u'll have atleast 2 gb of VRAM

I can see where you guys are coming from but right now in Ireland buying a 7950 is alot ranging from €280 and up to €350 which i personally think is a lot for card while getting two 6870's cross fired seems more or less the same performance wise as a 7950 but its just the matter of the micro stuttering your saying may be an issue and considering it lacks VRAM, it seems quite bad of an idea and a waste of time.Even if selling my 2 6870's as bundle will just get me €200 euro, though people say it is pain to go through drivers and issues while gaming in crossfire I might go for good single card ,If you guys have a site from US that delivers to Ireland and maybe that has a single card like the 660 ti ,7950 or better, I will be happy to buy from them as it is alot cheaper there than here. Looking at currency converter $250 is only €187. If there is any good cards out there for about $250 to $310 which i think would be great deal for high end single card if there is any please tell me , Thanks for Helping