Does my Graphics Card need both power supply ports connected?

[TheRyuuseigun 1]

My graphic card is a Gigabyte windforce r9 270 and my power supply only came with one wire to connect to the port. So do i need both ports connected?

 

[rgd1101]

yes

 

[boosted1g]

If the card has 2 power input ports, then yes it needs both ports.

You will have to buy a better power suppy if it does not have ports.
Yes they do sell adapters to change a 4 pin molex into another pci-e connector , but if your power supply does not have enough pci-e ports it is because it does not have enough power for it, thus you need to get a better psu.

 

[TheRyuuseigun 1]

If the card has 2 power input ports, then yes it needs both ports.

You will have to buy a better power suppy if it does not have ports.
Yes they do sell adapters to change a 4 pin molex into another pci-e connector , but if your power supply does not have enough pci-e ports it is because it does not have enough power for it, thus you need to get a better psu.

Wait so heres the thing i went on their website and the gpu needs a 500 w but pcpartpicker said its wattage is estimated to 345 and i have a 450w power supply so do i still need to buy a new power supply?

 

[Cristi72]

Wait so heres the thing i went on their website and the gpu needs a 500 w but pcpartpicker said its wattage is estimated to 345 and i have a 450w power supply so do i still need to buy a new power supply?

Hello,

What PSU do you have? The estimated wattage refers to a good quality power supply, so if you have a 450W Seasonic/XFX/Antec PSU it will be OK. On the other hand, as boosted1g said, if your PSU doesn't have 2 PCI-E connectors, it means that your PSU cannot work with the graphics card (you should have at least 35Amps for +12V rail).

 

[boosted1g]

Most cheap power supplies are like a cheap car stereo amplifier. When they say 1000 watts what they really mean is that it can do 350 watts constant, and if it excedes 600 watts it will be for 2 seconds before it destroys everything.

Their entire selling strategy is that bigger number = better with no regards to quality.
You want a PSU that is at least 80+ rated if not 80+ Bronze (there is also silver, gold, platinum, and titanium).
As Cristi72 said the good brands are Seasonic/XFX/Antec, EVGA is also good. Corsair is good but their CX series PSUs have crap capacitors that fail so stay away from the CX series. Rosewill Hive and Capstone series PSUs are also pretty good, but the rest of Rosewills PSU lines are garbage.

 

[TheRyuuseigun 1]

Wait so heres the thing i went on their website and the gpu needs a 500 w but pcpartpicker said its wattage is estimated to 345 and i have a 450w power supply so do i still need to buy a new power supply?

Hello,

What PSU do you have? The estimated wattage refers to a good quality power supply, so if you have a 450W Seasonic/XFX/Antec PSU it will be OK. On the other hand, as boosted1g said, if your PSU doesn't have 2 PCI-E connectors, it means that your PSU cannot work with the graphics card (you should have at least 35Amps for +12V rail).

My current Psu that i bought for my computer build is a CORSAIR CXM series CX430M 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply I assume its not good enough?

 

[boosted1g]

Yeah you will need a differnet power supply then, while corsair is good that specific line has proven to be unreliable when under heavy load.

While the 430 watts should allow you to play without exceding the power output, you would a) be pushing it to 100% and b) the crappy capacitors in that cxm would blow under that load.

I would look for at least a 550watt psu, preferably a 600 watt. Of course if you find a 650 watt on sale for an awesome price then go for it.