Connecting Graphics Card to Power Supply

[sean.charrie]

Hi! I recently bought an AMD Radeon R7 370 graphics card, and when I hooked it up to my computer, I noticed my power supply does not have a 6 pin PCI connector to plug into the video card I just bought.
This just means that my current power supply doesn't have enough power for it, and that I need to buy a new one.(?) If it comes with that connector, I'm all set, right?

 

[Guest]

What is the brand and model of your power supply?

 

[Rogue Leader]

Hi! I recently bought an AMD Radeon R7 370 graphics card, and when I hooked it up to my computer, I noticed my power supply does not have a 6 pin PCI connector to plug into the video card I just bought.
This just means that my current power supply doesn't have enough power for it, and that I need to buy a new one.(?) If it comes with that connector, I'm all set, right?

Generally if your PSU doesn't have the connector, no it doesn't support that. There are some PSUs that would work safely with an adapter, but they are higher end older PSUs, not very common.

 

[Guest]

^^ correct, but since he only needs a single extra six pins, we are talking at most an extra 75W. Most PSUs can work with that headroom with an adapter. Depending on his PSU, of course.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

You could use an adapter but have had lotta PCs on my workbench from folks that used an adapter.

 

[Rogue Leader]

^^ correct, but since he only needs a single extra six pins, we are talking at most an extra 75W. Most PSUs can work with that headroom with an adapter. Depending on his PSU, of course.

Thats a tall assumption I do not agree with. If hes running a prebuilt, many of them have very low wattage PSUs, they may well not have the 75w to spare. If hes running a cheap junk "500w" PSU, drawing even 75w through a molex connector is a bad idea.

 

[dontlistentome]

The 370 is basically a rebadged HD 7850, so you'll need a power supply that meets the overall power requirements of the card AND has the 6 pin connector. I would aim for a good power supply in the 400W-450W range. This assumes you have a basic computer setup and don't do things like overclock.

 

[Guest]

^^ correct, but since he only needs a single extra six pins, we are talking at most an extra 75W. Most PSUs can work with that headroom with an adapter. Depending on his PSU, of course.

Thats a tall assumption I do not agree with. If hes running a prebuilt, many of them have very low wattage PSUs, they may well not have the 75w to spare. If hes running a cheap junk "500w" PSU, drawing even 75w through a molex connector is a bad idea.

Molex, through it's really cheap and obsolete, can handle 11 amps. He probably has a few other pcie slots, that aren't used, which would each draw 75W.

We are talking about removing the current GPU and putting in a 150W one. I doubt many PSUs couldn't handle the 150W + whatever the rest of his system is. We are making too many assumptions. We need more data.

 

[Rogue Leader]

^^ correct, but since he only needs a single extra six pins, we are talking at most an extra 75W. Most PSUs can work with that headroom with an adapter. Depending on his PSU, of course.

Thats a tall assumption I do not agree with. If hes running a prebuilt, many of them have very low wattage PSUs, they may well not have the 75w to spare. If hes running a cheap junk "500w" PSU, drawing even 75w through a molex connector is a bad idea.

Molex, through it's really cheap and obsolete, can handle 11 amps. He probably has a few other pcie slots, that aren't used, which would each draw 75W.

We are talking about removing the current GPU and putting in a 150W one. I doubt many PSUs couldn't handle the 150W + whatever the rest of his system is. We are making too many assumptions. We need more data.

Nowhere does he say he has a current GPU, and while a molex can "handle" 11 amps the PSU may not (and probably does not) have enough amperage on the 12v rail. The R7 370 can be power hungry for a small GPU and has been tested to draw as much as 145w system power.

I'm not trusting an either older, or a smaller PSU to something like that. Most prebuilts have PSUs in the 220w range (or less), and otherwise if its a cheap box PSU its junk anyway. It doesn't have the right connectors, it needs to be replaced, period.

 

[sean.charrie]

What is the brand and model of your power supply?[/quote/]
It's factory standard for my HP Envy 750-267c. uATX aPFC, it says. 300 watts. I'm planning on getting an EVGA 600 B1, it seems to have the cable I need and my card requires a minimum of 500 watts, it says.

 

[Rogue Leader]

What is the brand and model of your power supply?

It's factory standard for my HP Envy 750-267c. uATX aPFC, it says. 300 watts. I'm planning on getting an EVGA 600 B1, it seems to have the cable I need and my card requires a minimum of 500 watts, it says.

Don't buy the 600B1. the Corsair CX450M is much better quality, probably around the same price, and more than enough power.

 

[sean.charrie]

I'll check it out, thanks!

 

[sean.charrie]

What is the brand and model of your power supply?

It's factory standard for my HP Envy 750-267c. uATX aPFC, it says. 300 watts. I'm planning on getting an EVGA 600 B1, it seems to have the cable I need and my card requires a minimum of 500 watts, it says.

Don't buy the 600B1. the Corsair CX450M is much better quality, probably around the same price, and more than enough power.

Wait, how is it more than enough power? The card says it needs at least 500 watts. Is that an overstatement on the manufacturer's part?

 

[Rogue Leader]

What is the brand and model of your power supply?

It's factory standard for my HP Envy 750-267c. uATX aPFC, it says. 300 watts. I'm planning on getting an EVGA 600 B1, it seems to have the cable I need and my card requires a minimum of 500 watts, it says.

Don't buy the 600B1. the Corsair CX450M is much better quality, probably around the same price, and more than enough power.

Wait, how is it more than enough power? The card says it needs at least 500 watts. Is that an overstatement on the manufacturer's part?

Yes they base their recommendations upon you having a low quality PSU, so they overstate it.

 

[sean.charrie]

What is the brand and model of your power supply?

It's factory standard for my HP Envy 750-267c. uATX aPFC, it says. 300 watts. I'm planning on getting an EVGA 600 B1, it seems to have the cable I need and my card requires a minimum of 500 watts, it says.

Don't buy the 600B1. the Corsair CX450M is much better quality, probably around the same price, and more than enough power.

Wait, how is it more than enough power? The card says it needs at least 500 watts. Is that an overstatement on the manufacturer's part?

Yes they base their recommendations upon you having a low quality PSU, so they overstate it.

Okay man. Awesome, I'll take your word for it. And it's like standard size, right? It'll fit in my case? My desktop seems to be standard desktop size, it's an HP Envy 750-267c.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Its an ATX size PSU which is the standard, and your system appears to be the same.

 

[sean.charrie]

Its an ATX size PSU which is the standard, and your system appears to be the same.

Fantastic. Thank you.