Ati hd 6870 on 430w powersupply?

[richieard]

Will it blow out? im planning on gaming with this card

my current system is;
corsair CX430w powersupply
standard hp factory/stock dvd drive
standard hp factory/500 gig hard drive
AMD FX 8120 8 core cpu
ASUS|M5A78L-M LX PLUS AM3+ 760G Mobo
and an ati hd 5670 which im going to replace with the 6870

also, im going to be using a 4 pin molex to 6 pin pci adapter for the 6870

 

[BreadWhistle]

430W should be fine, but I'd get around 500W just in case, as the 8120 draws 125W just but itself, and you always want to have some extra power leftover on your PSU.

 

[richieard]

thx hmm what happens if it blows out? will i have to replace the whole card, the whole rig or just the psu?

 

[BreadWhistle]

As long as you get a quality brand PSU, if it goes on the fritz you should only have to replace the PSU itself. If you buy a very cheap crap PSU there is chance of some if not all your components being fried.

 

[richieard]

kk corsair seems to have a pretty reputable brand ill stick with the 430w until i get any hickups, any tips on keeping the power consumption low? like is there a way to limit the load

 

[BreadWhistle]

Also, here is a great 500W PSU for only $49.99 after rebates. It also comes with a free DVD drive.

And yes, PC Power & Cooling is a top-of-the-line PSU company. IMO they are the best.

 

[dscudella]

I'm seeing that the 6870 draws a max of around 161W. Combine that with your 8120 and you're talking 286W. The CX430 has 32A on the 12V line for 384W. Just right there you're drawing 66% of the PSU (at peak, 100% load on the video card). Most PSU's run optimally around 70% load.

In my opinion (no way an expert) you're good.

Wait, why are you using a MOLEX adapter for the 6870?

 

[matt_b]

I think CWT makes your power supply, so it should still be a decent layout inside. I don't think you'll be using as much power as you think you might, you should still have decent headroom for a safety cushion. The only thing I would take caution in would be overclocking, when pushed, power consumption increases exponentially and not linear - so consumption increases can jump up quickly. Like dscudella, I am curious why you said you're using a molex to PCIe power adapter when there's one already on the power supply.

 

[richieard]

yeah but the power supply only came with 2 8 pins and i have to split of one 8 pin for the motherboard(theres a plug for a 4 pin on the mobo) and that just leaves me with 1 8 pin left which i can split into a 6 pin
and the 6870 requires two 6 pins and therefore i would have to buy a 4 pin molex to 6 pin pci unless theres is another adapter that is more viable that i do not know of

 

[richieard]

here is the adapter; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812887001

and i am also wondering will this also work?; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812198018

 

[richieard]

Best answer selected by richieard.