Is my current PSU enough to support my new R9-290 Upgrade?

[knight1122]

Hi and good day to you all.

I am here to get some helpful opinions about the upgrade that I am thinking of for my PC.
I currently have
Intel Core i5 2400 processor
with 4 GB of DDR3
and a Powercolor HD 7850 2 GB
running on an 850 watts PSU that is "Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA".

I want to know if I exchange the HD 7850 with a Sapphire R9-290 4GB GDDR5 TRI-X OC, will that PSU hold it's ground or am I gonna run into problems concerning "Wattage" for that power hungry beast that is R9-290? (Also, an extra 4 GB RAM stick is gonna be added).

Many thanks in advance for all your help and time.
Regards;
Knights.

 

[cdrkf]

Hi and good day to you all.

I am here to get some helpful opinions about the upgrade that I am thinking of for my PC.
I currently have
Intel Core i5 2400 processor
with 4 GB of DDR3
and a Powercolor HD 7850 2 GB
running on an 850 watts PSU that is "Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA".

I want to know if I exchange the HD 7850 with a Sapphire R9-290 4GB GDDR5 TRI-X OC, will that PSU hold it's ground or am I gonna run into problems concerning "Wattage" for that power hungry beast that is R9-290? (Also, an extra 4 GB RAM stick is gonna be added).

Many thanks in advance for all your help and time.
Regards;
Knights.

I've looked up that PSU and I'm not sure it will play nicely with a 290. It's got lots of low current 12v rails rather than the preferable option which is 1 higher current output rail.

At only 18A per +12v rail it's probably not enough to keep a 290 happy under heavy load. I'd suggest looking into something from Seasonic with a single +12V rail with at least 40A of current delivery.

 

[Dunlop0078]

Yah its more than enough for a 290. A 290 would be fine on a good 600watt power supply, you have plenty and thats a decent psu.

 

[Dunlop0078]

Hi and good day to you all.

I am here to get some helpful opinions about the upgrade that I am thinking of for my PC.
I currently have
Intel Core i5 2400 processor
with 4 GB of DDR3
and a Powercolor HD 7850 2 GB
running on an 850 watts PSU that is "Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA".

I want to know if I exchange the HD 7850 with a Sapphire R9-290 4GB GDDR5 TRI-X OC, will that PSU hold it's ground or am I gonna run into problems concerning "Wattage" for that power hungry beast that is R9-290? (Also, an extra 4 GB RAM stick is gonna be added).

Many thanks in advance for all your help and time.
Regards;
Knights.

I've looked up that PSU and I'm not sure it will play nicely with a 290. It's got lots of low current 12v rails rather than the preferable option which is 1 higher current output rail.

At only 18A per +12v rail it's probably not enough to keep a 290 happy under heavy load. I'd suggest looking into something from Seasonic with a single +12V rail with at least 40A of current delivery.

Dont worry that cooler master psu will be fine.

You should look up the difference between single and multi rail psu's. Multi rail psu's are better for the most part and certainly safer, in the US people like to say single rail power supplies are better for some reason, marketing mostly. Check out this video on it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWtKSHT2od8

 

[corndog1836]

yes it is fine!!!!!!!is an older psu but from what I have read on this forum I WILL WORK!!!

it is a multirail. just make sure you connect everything up to the corresponding outputs . you have more than enough power.

 

[cdrkf]

Hi and good day to you all.

I am here to get some helpful opinions about the upgrade that I am thinking of for my PC.
I currently have
Intel Core i5 2400 processor
with 4 GB of DDR3
and a Powercolor HD 7850 2 GB
running on an 850 watts PSU that is "Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA".

I want to know if I exchange the HD 7850 with a Sapphire R9-290 4GB GDDR5 TRI-X OC, will that PSU hold it's ground or am I gonna run into problems concerning "Wattage" for that power hungry beast that is R9-290? (Also, an extra 4 GB RAM stick is gonna be added).

Many thanks in advance for all your help and time.
Regards;
Knights.

I've looked up that PSU and I'm not sure it will play nicely with a 290. It's got lots of low current 12v rails rather than the preferable option which is 1 higher current output rail.

At only 18A per +12v rail it's probably not enough to keep a 290 happy under heavy load. I'd suggest looking into something from Seasonic with a single +12V rail with at least 40A of current delivery.

Dont worry that cooler master psu will be fine.

You should look up the difference between single and multi rail psu's. Multi rail psu's are better for the most part and certainly safer, in the US people like to say single rail power supplies are better for some reason, marketing mostly. Check out this video on it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWtKSHT2od8

Well a lot of cheap 'oem' multi rail PSUs *aren't* up to it irrespective of the wattage.

The issue comes down to basic electronics, if you have 2 separate current sources, unless the voltages on the 2 sources are *perfectly balanced* then all the current will get drawn from 1 source. As a result using 2 x 18A rails to power a single device is likely to function as 1 x 18A rail- which for a 290 isn't enough.

Now, there are some 'multi rail' PSU's that are actually built as a single high current source and split into multiple outputs. This is fine, although it then begs the question why would you limit each output to only 18A.

A nice single rail supply with a high output (e.g. 40A+) will pretty much run anything and there's no issue with balancing. I personally wouldn't trust this supply with a 290 without being able to find considerably more information about it's internals.

I'm saying this as a product designer who works on electronics including power supply design. Multi rails are usually a way to get a high total wattage value with cheaper components and is a typical sign of OEM Chinese stuff. There is a good reason why high current single rail is preferable, it's also more expensive because it requires high quality components to deliver 40A than it does to deliver 18A.

Now high end multi rail supplies are fine, although they are built to drive multiple cards, and usually have multiple rails of 30 - 40A each (with 1 rail being fed into 1 card).

Edit: For your video- they have a 1000W *single rail supply* with a current limit that can be turned on / off in software. That design also gives you 40A of power per rail, more than enough for a high end card. 18A per rails is *too low* for an R9 290. It's not a comparable situation.

 

[corndog1836]

Dude you are good to go...play on

 

[Dunlop0078]

Hi and good day to you all.

I am here to get some helpful opinions about the upgrade that I am thinking of for my PC.
I currently have
Intel Core i5 2400 processor
with 4 GB of DDR3
and a Powercolor HD 7850 2 GB
running on an 850 watts PSU that is "Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA".

I want to know if I exchange the HD 7850 with a Sapphire R9-290 4GB GDDR5 TRI-X OC, will that PSU hold it's ground or am I gonna run into problems concerning "Wattage" for that power hungry beast that is R9-290? (Also, an extra 4 GB RAM stick is gonna be added).

Many thanks in advance for all your help and time.
Regards;
Knights.

I've looked up that PSU and I'm not sure it will play nicely with a 290. It's got lots of low current 12v rails rather than the preferable option which is 1 higher current output rail.

At only 18A per +12v rail it's probably not enough to keep a 290 happy under heavy load. I'd suggest looking into something from Seasonic with a single +12V rail with at least 40A of current delivery.

Dont worry that cooler master psu will be fine.

You should look up the difference between single and multi rail psu's. Multi rail psu's are better for the most part and certainly safer, in the US people like to say single rail power supplies are better for some reason, marketing mostly. Check out this video on it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWtKSHT2od8

Well a lot of cheap 'oem' multi rail PSUs *aren't* up to it irrespective of the wattage.

The issue comes down to basic electronics, if you have 2 separate current sources, unless the voltages on the 2 sources are *perfectly balanced* then all the current will get drawn from 1 source. As a result using 2 x 18A rails to power a single device is likely to function as 1 x 18A rail- which for a 290 isn't enough.

Now, there are some 'multi rail' PSU's that are actually built as a single high current source and split into multiple outputs. This is fine, although it then begs the question why would you limit each output to only 18A.

A nice single rail supply with a high output (e.g. 40A+) will pretty much run anything and there's no issue with balancing. I personally wouldn't trust this supply with a 290 without being able to find considerably more information about it's internals.

I'm saying this as a product designer who works on electronics including power supply design. Multi rails are usually a way to get a high total wattage value with cheaper components and is a typical sign of OEM Chinese stuff. There is a good reason why high current single rail is preferable, it's also more expensive because it requires high quality components to deliver 40A than it does to deliver 18A.

Now high end multi rail supplies are fine, although they are built to drive multiple cards, and usually have multiple rails of 30 - 40A each (with 1 rail being fed into 1 card).

Edit: For your video- they have a 1000W *single rail supply* with a current limit that can be turned on / off in software. That design also gives you 40A of power per rail, more than enough for a high end card. 18A per rails is *too low* for an R9 290. It's not a comparable situation.

This is not a cheap multi rail power supply, in fact it has very good reviews. I can say with confidence that this power supply will power a 290 in fact i think it could power two of them. You really need to read up on this power supply before you make assumptions, it has more than enough power and its a quality unit.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/cooler-master-real-power-pro-850-w-power-supply-review/

The rails, 12v3 and 12v4 deliver 28amps each too 2 different 6/8pin pcie express connectors thus giving the 290 56amps available. I'm no power supply expert but i think that's how it works, its talked about in the power distribution page of that review above.

 

[corndog1836]

Hi and good day to you all.

I am here to get some helpful opinions about the upgrade that I am thinking of for my PC.
I currently have
Intel Core i5 2400 processor
with 4 GB of DDR3
and a Powercolor HD 7850 2 GB
running on an 850 watts PSU that is "Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA".

I want to know if I exchange the HD 7850 with a Sapphire R9-290 4GB GDDR5 TRI-X OC, will that PSU hold it's ground or am I gonna run into problems concerning "Wattage" for that power hungry beast that is R9-290? (Also, an extra 4 GB RAM stick is gonna be added).

Many thanks in advance for all your help and time.
Regards;
Knights.

I've looked up that PSU and I'm not sure it will play nicely with a 290. It's got lots of low current 12v rails rather than the preferable option which is 1 higher current output rail.

At only 18A per +12v rail it's probably not enough to keep a 290 happy under heavy load. I'd suggest looking into something from Seasonic with a single +12V rail with at least 40A of current delivery.

Dont worry that cooler master psu will be fine.

You should look up the difference between single and multi rail psu's. Multi rail psu's are better for the most part and certainly safer, in the US people like to say single rail power supplies are better for some reason, marketing mostly. Check out this video on it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWtKSHT2od8

Well a lot of cheap 'oem' multi rail PSUs *aren't* up to it irrespective of the wattage.

The issue comes down to basic electronics, if you have 2 separate current sources, unless the voltages on the 2 sources are *perfectly balanced* then all the current will get drawn from 1 source. As a result using 2 x 18A rails to power a single device is likely to function as 1 x 18A rail- which for a 290 isn't enough.

Now, there are some 'multi rail' PSU's that are actually built as a single high current source and split into multiple outputs. This is fine, although it then begs the question why would you limit each output to only 18A.

A nice single rail supply with a high output (e.g. 40A+) will pretty much run anything and there's no issue with balancing. I personally wouldn't trust this supply with a 290 without being able to find considerably more information about it's internals.

I'm saying this as a product designer who works on electronics including power supply design. Multi rails are usually a way to get a high total wattage value with cheaper components and is a typical sign of OEM Chinese stuff. There is a good reason why high current single rail is preferable, it's also more expensive because it requires high quality components to deliver 40A than it does to deliver 18A.

Now high end multi rail supplies are fine, although they are built to drive multiple cards, and usually have multiple rails of 30 - 40A each (with 1 rail being fed into 1 card).

Edit: For your video- they have a 1000W *single rail supply* with a current limit that can be turned on / off in software. That design also gives you 40A of power per rail, more than enough for a high end card. 18A per rails is *too low* for an R9 290. It's not a comparable situation.

This is not a cheap multi rail power supply, in fact it has very good reviews. I can say with confidence that this power supply will power a 290 in fact i think it could power two of them. You really need to read up on this power supply before you make assumptions, it has more than enough power and its a quality unit.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/cooler-master-real-power-pro-850-w-power-supply-review/

yes sir!!!!! HE IS GOOD TO GO!!!!!!!

 

[cdrkf]

@dunlop thanks, if it has a couple of 28A rails that's fine. Only review I could find stated 6x 18A rails which was my main reservation.

@knight, make sure to plug the 28A rails into the gpu and you should be fine.

 

[corndog1836]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/toms-reference-system,1748-8.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/computer-price-performance,1956-10.html
toms hardware reviews

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/cooler-master-real-power-pro-850-w-power-supply-review/
hardware secrets review


here is all the info you need to back up my claim that YOU ARE GOOD WITHAT PSU!!!!!

 

[corndog1836]

Well. What do think?

 

[knight1122]

Many many thank to all you fellow PC Master Race, for your time and efforts...
I apologize for responding so late, I went 400+ Kilometers to get my R9 290, and am returning home today...

I plugged in the card, and PSU was fine to keep it running through the Windows performance Indexing, after about 2 hours of fiddling around with the settings (installed new copy of windows) I went ahead and double clicked on BF3.exe, went online, played like 20 mins on triple monitor setup with everything ultra and everything was going great, up until suddenly my PC rebooted itself... After restart, PC was working fine, but to be honest, out of fear, I haven't played anything on it...
I am here to ask about possible solution for this possible situation...

One more thing, My PSU does not have any 8pin connectors, I used one that came with the Card and plugged it into 2 different 4pin (hard drive) connectors, It seems odd to me that the PSU has Six 6pin connectors but not any 8pin connector, there is only one 8pin and it is connected to Motherboard... Any Advice???

 

[Dunlop0078]

Many many thank to all you fellow PC Master Race, for your time and efforts...
I apologize for responding so late, I went 400+ Kilometers to get my R9 290, and am returning home today...

I plugged in the card, and PSU was fine to keep it running through the Windows performance Indexing, after about 2 hours of fiddling around with the settings (installed new copy of windows) I went ahead and double clicked on BF3.exe, went online, played like 20 mins on triple monitor setup with everything ultra and everything was going great, up until suddenly my PC rebooted itself... After restart, PC was working fine, but to be honest, out of fear, I haven't played anything on it...
I am here to ask about possible solution for this possible situation...

One more thing, My PSU does not have any 8pin connectors, I used one that came with the Card and plugged it into 2 different 4pin (hard drive) connectors, It seems odd to me that the PSU has Six 6pin connectors but not any 8pin connector, there is only one 8pin and it is connected to Motherboard... Any Advice???

Are you sure your power supply is the "Cooler Master RS-850-EMBA"? It definitely does have two 8pin pcie connectors and four 6pins, here are the specs of that power supply.

http://www.coolermaster.com/service/support/model/RS-850-EMBA/

 

[corndog1836]

just to quote my earlier post...

"yes it is fine!!!!!!!is an older psu but from what I have read on this forum I WILL WORK!!!

it is a multirail. just make sure you connect everything up to the corresponding outputs . you have more than enough power.?"

assuming you have that specific PSU like the last post states

 

[corndog1836]

Is your question answered? Can we help furthur?

 

[knight1122]

Is your question answered? Can we help furthur?

Well, Corndog, My good Sir...

Seems like the PSU model I posted in the Question is Exactly the same as my Actual PSU...
It has no 8-Pin Connectors, it is 80 Plus, and is 850 Watts, and has Six 6-Pin connectors...
The Image of the Infomatic side is here: "http://imgur.com/m8VkVZ2"...

I am currently running my R9-290 with a Third Party connector that completes the 8-Pin circuit using two Molex (4-pin Hard Drive connectors)...

The problem is when my GPU is at it's stock levels (1300 mhz Memory and 1000 mhz GPU), after 30 mins or so of a heavy game playing (Crysis 3 etc) it gives me a restart...
But when I dial down on the levels (1200mhz Memory and 900 mhz GPU) all lokks fine and no restart...

I want to know is that problem due to my PSU, or something else???

Should I change my PSU???

 

[Dunlop0078]

Is your question answered? Can we help furthur?

Well, Corndog, My good Sir...

Seems like the PSU model I posted in the Question is Exactly the same as my Actual PSU...
It has no 8-Pin Connectors, it is 80 Plus, and is 850 Watts, and has Six 6-Pin connectors...
The Image of the Infomatic side is here: "http://imgur.com/m8VkVZ2"...

I am currently running my R9-290 with a Third Party connector that completes the 8-Pin circuit using two Molex (4-pin Hard Drive connectors)...

The problem is when my GPU is at it's stock levels (1300 mhz Memory and 1000 mhz GPU), after 30 mins or so of a heavy game playing (Crysis 3 etc) it gives me a restart...
But when I dial down on the levels (1200mhz Memory and 900 mhz GPU) all lokks fine and no restart...

I want to know is that problem due to my PSU, or something else???

Should I change my PSU???

That really is quite strange cooler master must have two versions of the same power supply I hate when companys do this here is the one I was looking at its also called the cooler mater 850 EMBA but this one has different power specs: http://img.tomshardware.com/us/2007/12/21/toms_reference_system/coolermaster-rs-850-emba-label.jpg

This is why the guy above was saying your power supply might not work. Your two 12v rails are lacking a bit, they will provide 36amps total to your card from two 6pins the card requires at least 31 amps thats cutting it a little close. Also a 6pin even with that 8pin adapter will only provide 75watts each sometimes a bit more if its required and the power supply can handle it, your pcie x16 slot can also provide 75watts so that gives us about 225watts for your 290 plus a bit more if a little extra can be drawn from the 6pin. So a 290 uses about 215watts average when gaming in most games, you only have about 225watts to play with so keeping your card at stock clocks I would imagine it will try use more than 225watts occasionally thus causing your restart. If you underclock it, it should use a bit less power and maybe it wont stray over your 225watts as often making the restarts less frequent.

To sum it up yes you should probably get a new power supply, the one you have should work for the time being but it is far less than ideal for a 290. Im sorry for not giving you correct info before I though you had a different power supply.

 

[corndog1836]

Yea me too....
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16817371031&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile-_-pla-_-Power+Supplies-_-N82E16817371031&gclid=Cj0KEQjwl6GuBRD8x4G646HX7ZYBEiQADGnzuiCAjfT0byZ25MoDIJFBDYBjI4mwdNABWcZ9HBpGglIaAiet8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

39.99 BEST DEAL AROUND GREAT PSU.....
EXVELLANT QUALITY

 

[knight1122]

@Dunlop, haha, Looks like I got screwed Hard on this one...

Since you guys @Dunlop and @corndog, seem like you know about what you are talking about, How about this one: "http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194019"

I am getting a good deal from my friend (only 110 $), he is using it, has lost some modular cables, but looks like it could work...

What do you guys think???

 

[Dunlop0078]

@Dunlop, haha, Looks like I got screwed Hard on this one...

Since you guys @Dunlop and @corndog, seem like you know about what you are talking about, How about this one: "http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194019"

I am getting a good deal from my friend (only 110 $), he is using it, has lost some modular cables, but looks like it could work...

What do you guys think???

Nah i wouldn't low quality. What country are you from and what websites would you buy from I might be able to help you find something. This is what I would recommend if you can buy from the US.

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Crossfire-Warranty-110-B2-0750-VR/dp/B00KFAFRW6

 

[cdrkf]

@Dunlop, haha, Looks like I got screwed Hard on this one...

Since you guys @Dunlop and @corndog, seem like you know about what you are talking about, How about this one: "http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194019"

I am getting a good deal from my friend (only 110 $), he is using it, has lost some modular cables, but looks like it could work...

What do you guys think???

Nah i wouldn't low quality. What country are you from and what websites would you buy from I might be able to help you find something. This is what I would recommend if you can buy from the US.

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Crossfire-Warranty-110-B2-0750-VR/dp/B00KFAFRW6

Agreed, whilst that is better than your current supply, I'd look at something with more current per rail than that. I would recommend you have a read of this:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/id-2735372/minimum-recommend-psu-requirements.html

And also have a look at this:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Essentially you need to be getting a supply from the 'Tier One' or 'Tier Two' ranges with enough power for your new card (a good quality 600W supply should do it imo). There are quite a few brands / models and prices can range a lot which is why the list is so handy.

 

[knight1122]

I am from Pakistan, and sadly these Online Dealings are a bit Future Talk for us right now...

By the way, what is wrong with that PSU??? Look at the Guru3D review of this...
They are so in love with it...

 

[Dunlop0078]

I am from Pakistan, and sadly these Online Dealings are a bit Future Talk for us right now...

By the way, what is wrong with that PSU??? Look at the Guru3D review of this...
They are so in love with it...

Lol where are you finding these old power supplies? It isn't that bad I jumped to conclusions, nowadays their aren't too many good enermax psu's and only really cheap power supplies have only an 80plus rating but this power supply is from 2007 when that wasn't necessarily true. That power supply is decent and should be enough for a 290 but it is quite old, would you buy it used?

 

[cdrkf]

I am from Pakistan, and sadly these Online Dealings are a bit Future Talk for us right now...

By the way, what is wrong with that PSU??? Look at the Guru3D review of this...
They are so in love with it...

Sorry wasn't trying to be difficult. That PSU you've found will do the job, I just thought you could get better for your money (although depends on what is available).