HD 7950 on S12 520w

[Nemanja Djordjic]

So I am having S12 520w with 2x6+2 pin connectors.

This HD 7950 Sapphire requires 2x8 pin connectors, so my question is can I run it with:

i5 3470
8gb of ram
3 case fans

And am I going to be able to overclock 7950 a little? (to get close to 1050ti performance)

And another thing, the reason why I wanna get 7950 is because it is 80 euros cheaper than 1050Ti and it beats the GTX 1050.
7950 is 80 euros, not used for mining (I know the person who is selling it.)

 

[4745454b]

I have the 7950 in my rig. Standard model is a 225W card. But that's with a 6 and an 8 pin plug. I think the models with two 8pin plugs are more like 250W. Lucky for you you don't have a 125W CPU, and your PSU seems to come designed to power that card. (I run my 7950 on a 450W PSU.) You should be able to run it, but I wouldn't try OCing it at all. The less strain on the PSU the better.

I've been looking for new cards to replace my 7950 if it dies. The RX460 performs similar to the 7950, the 1050 should be faster than either.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

I have the 7950 in my rig. Standard model is a 225W card. But that's with a 6 and an 8 pin plug. I think the models with two 8pin plugs are more like 250W. Lucky for you you don't have a 125W CPU, and your PSU seems to come designed to power that card. (I run my 7950 on a 450W PSU.) You should be able to run it, but I wouldn't try OCing it at all. The less strain on the PSU the better.

I've been looking for new cards to replace my 7950 if it dies. The RX460 performs similar to the 7950, the 1050 should be faster than either.

GTX 1060 is the only logical answer for new cards, HD 7950 performs similarly to GTX 1050Ti.

 

[4745454b]

I don't see how. Or at least it didn't when I was comparing cards. Even the 1050 will be an upgrade. Not much of one, but it's faster.

The 1060 (or 970.) would be a great upgrade. Very low power draw with those cards.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

I don't see how. Or at least it didn't when I was comparing cards. Even the 1050 will be an upgrade. Not much of one, but it's faster.

The 1060 (or 970.) would be a great upgrade. Very low power draw with those cards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7SCTk1vToo

It holds its own vs 1050Ti

 

[4745454b]

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti,4787-4.html

The 7950/280 isn't listed there, but it should be just above the 270X, or around the speed of the 460. If you look around these charts you should see that sometimes they are close, but the 1050 or 1050TI is usually a step ahead. I don't mean to say the 7950 is a bad card, but if you are buying a card I don't see the point in buying one so old. More so if the power draw is more than 2x higher than the other possible card. More so if the PSU won't be as stressed as with the newer card. More so if the newer card gets more driver updates. The 7950 is end of life (EOL) and there will come a time when drivers for new games won't be made for it. I get that's it's 80euros cheaper so the deal is there. But please don't watch some random guy on youtube and think it's going to be the greatest card out there.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti,4787-4.html

The 7950/280 isn't listed there, but it should be just above the 270X, or around the speed of the 460. If you look around these charts you should see that sometimes they are close, but the 1050 or 1050TI is usually a step ahead. I don't mean to say the 7950 is a bad card, but if you are buying a card I don't see the point in buying one so old. More so if the power draw is more than 2x higher than the other possible card. More so if the PSU won't be as stressed as with the newer card. More so if the newer card gets more driver updates. The 7950 is end of life (EOL) and there will come a time when drivers for new games won't be made for it. I get that's it's 80euros cheaper so the deal is there. But please don't watch some random guy on youtube and think it's going to be the greatest card out there.

It offers nearly the same performance as GTX 1050Ti, while 7970 is at 1050Ti's performance. 460/1050 have nothing to do here.

 

[4745454b]

Not according to the link I just posted. You should read it and try to understand it.

 

[jankerson]

You would be MUCH better off with a GTX 1050Ti or GTX 1060 in the long run.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

You would be MUCH better off with a GTX 1050Ti or GTX 1060 in the long run.

Yeah I know, gonna save up and buy 1060.

 

[jankerson]

You would be MUCH better off with a GTX 1050Ti or GTX 1060 in the long run.

Yeah I know, gonna save up and buy 1060.

That's the smart thing to do.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

You would be MUCH better off with a GTX 1050Ti or GTX 1060 in the long run.

Yeah I know, gonna save up and buy 1060.

That's the smart thing to do.

What about R9 280X found couple of them for 70 euros. (They weren't used for mining)

 

[4745454b]

The 280X is the 7970. It's one step up from the 7950. Power draw is 250W-275 depending on model. Should be very similar to the 1050/1050TI depending on game. As with the 7950 I'd avoid it. Power draw is too high, performance too low.

What do you have now?

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

The 280X is the 7970. It's one step up from the 7950. Power draw is 250W-275 depending on model. Should be very similar to the 1050/1050TI depending on game. As with the 7950 I'd avoid it. Power draw is too high, performance too low.

What do you have now?

Well I've found R9 280x for 70 euros which is cheap, considering that I need to pay a lot more to get a 1050ti, and my psu can handle this GPU.

 

[4745454b]

The 280X will put a bigger strain on your PSU than the 280. It's only an extra 25W or so. According to Anand the gaming load for the system will be north of 300W, close to 350W.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/7406/the-sapphire-r9-280x-toxic-review/4

If there is a game that hits it harder than Metro:LL, you might cross into mining territory. Your PSU should be able to handle the 350ish load, 400+ isn't a good idea. You only have 480W on your 12V rail so the closer you stay to 350W draw the better.

Again, what do you have so far? Is the 280/280X even an upgrade worth getting?

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

The 280X will put a bigger strain on your PSU than the 280. It's only an extra 25W or so. According to Anand the gaming load for the system will be north of 300W, close to 350W.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/7406/the-sapphire-r9-280x-toxic-review/4

If there is a game that hits it harder than Metro:LL, you might cross into mining territory. Your PSU should be able to handle the 350ish load, 400+ isn't a good idea. You only have 480W on your 12V rail so the closer you stay to 350W draw the better.

Again, what do you have so far? Is the 280/280X even an upgrade worth getting?

i5 3470
gtx 750 1gb
8gb of ram

I saw people here on tomshardware running r9 290 with this psu.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/5314/xfxs-radeon-hd-7970-black-edition-double-dissipation-the-first-semicustom-7970/2
75 for XFX 7970 which consumes less.

 

[4745454b]

Not much less.

Are you sure the 1050 is out? As a 280/7950 owner I'm telling you, it's the better GPU. It is only one step up from your current 750, but it should still be noticeable better. And remember that the 1050 is newer and uses ~3x less power than the 7950/7970. Trust me, that's a good thing.

 

[Rexper]

If you haven't bought the PSU yet there are usually much better options like the Corsair CX and CXM grey label, Cooler Master MasterWatt 450/550, be quiet Pure Power 10 400w+ or system power 9 400w+.

Otherwise, the S12 520 is compatible with the HD 7950.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

Not much less.

Are you sure the 1050 is out? As a 280/7950 owner I'm telling you, it's the better GPU. It is only one step up from your current 750, but it should still be noticeable better. And remember that the 1050 is newer and uses ~3x less power than the 7950/7970. Trust me, that's a good thing.

Anand tech is using i7 3960x which consumes 130w while my i5 3470 consumes 77, which is a lot. And I can't find used or new 1050 anywhere near 90.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

If you haven't bought the PSU yet there are usually much better options like the Corsair CX and CXM grey label, Cooler Master MasterWatt 450/550, be quiet Pure Power 10 400w+ or system power 9 400w+.

Otherwise, the S12 520 is compatible with the HD 7950.

Already bought it. It is really silent I must say, but my GPU fan is so loud.

 

[4745454b]

Again, it's a 250W card. They aren't known for being quiet. Good luck with your purchase. I'm glad you bought EXACTLY what you said you were looking for.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

Again, it's a 250W card. They aren't known for being quiet. Good luck with your purchase. I'm glad you bought EXACTLY what you said you were looking for.

It's silent as well My old gpu was loud.

It's an XFX HD 7970 3GB