New build need some advice on gpu

[pubstomp19]

my current build is as follows

i3 2130 3.4 ghz
g skill value series ram 2x4gb
asus dvd burner
biostar h61
velociraptor 10,000 rpm 600gb
antec earthwatts 380w 80+ bronze cert

that's the jist of it, my question is what video cards would I be able to pull off with that psu? it does have 1 6pin pci e cable. would a 560 require more power then that psu can put out? any input would be appreciated.

 

[HAFSIX]

No for a Gtx 560 you need at least a 450W. I would get a new 5-600 that has two 2 pin ...always safer than sorry.

 

[photonboy]

You should be looking at either an HD7000 or GTX600 series graphics card. They both use the newer 28nm process thus use far less power than previous cards.

It also comes down to budget.

My advice is something in this range:
HD7770 up to HD7870
GTX660 or GTX660Ti

This card is getting great customer reviews and comes with a Far Cry 3 coupon:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418

The HD7870 calls for a 500W power supply though I believe your Antec 380Watt should still be adequate by my calculations with the rest of your specs.

 

[kevin83]

I'd go with a 7770 considering Antec is a reliable brand but a 7750 would be the conservative choice and a 7850 1gb may work but probably not.

 

[DarkSable]

Don't go for older tech - it's power-hoggish. I'd get a brand new card of the 7k or 600 series. They're a lot more power efficient - a 650 non-ti. If your power supply is a decent brand, it'll handle it easily, but that's about the best you could do.

 

[abbadon_34]

if you already bought the earthwatts 380 you're sorta stuck, not sure why you did it (save the enviorment by using a slow computer?) lucking you don't have much else running. You're probably look at low to mid end cards, keep it at 1 6pin don't stretch it with splitters. To be on the safe side I'd guess 7770 for AMD, and 650 for Nvidia. You do most games at medium, but your PSU should be a quality brand in the 500 watt range to not limit your higher end choices

 

[pubstomp19]

yea I was looking at the 7770, I was hoping for something more powerful though, I would hate to buy a new psu since this one is almost brand new. budget is not a big issue right now as long as the psu would hold up so ill check out the 660's. thanks for all the in put.

 

[photonboy]

*I can't comfortably recommend an HD7870 with that Power Supply. While my calculations reveal some SHOULD work I'm not comfortable recommending that when there are $50 PSU's that would be more reliable.

Also take note of the PSU outputs. You only have one 6-pin and apparently the card i recommended has TWO 6-pin connectors.

SUMMARY:
Either get an HD7870 or similar and a better PSU (500W to 650W), or get a card that only has a single 6-pin requirement. You'd have to investigate that yourself a little bit.

 

[photonboy]

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1160&pid=1472&psn=&lid=1&leg=0#

*Note the above card has only a single 6-pin connection. Your PSU should handle that. The 500W recommended PSU errs on the side of caution not to mention your CPU isn't as demanding as many. I see no problems here.

Make sure:
1) the card has ONLY a single 6-pin requirement
2) you get a 2GB version (NOT a 1GB version)

It's hard to tell, but I suspect the overclocked versions of some HD7850's may require a 2x 6-pin connection.

 

[esrever]

Is there a reason for the velociraptor?

Anyways regarding GPU, you can run any single gpu this generation on that PSU. Its a very solid psu and will deliver the power needed. Most Stress tests for entire system consumptions are under 300w for single GPU. Only reason higher PSUs are recommended by manufacturers is because of the horrible PSUs that litter the market that fails to deliver even half of its rated power.

I would recommend getting a 7870 or a 7850 for which ever fits your budget.

 

[kevin83]

Is there a reason for the velociraptor?

Anyways regarding GPU, you can run any single gpu this generation on that PSU. Its a very solid psu and will deliver the power needed. Most Stress tests for entire system consumptions are under 300w for single GPU. Only reason higher PSUs are recommended by manufacturers is because of the horrible PSUs that litter the market that fails to deliver even half of its rated power.

I would recommend getting a 7870 or a 7850 for which ever fits your budget.

Velociraptors are in my opinion the cheapest way to get a lot of storage at better performance than basic hard drives. You can put two modern 1tb velociraptors in raid0 and get 2TB at single-SSD level read performance for $580. Compare that to $1360 minimum for 4 480gb SSDs to get 2tb of low-end SSD space. I'd much rather have the 2 very reliable cheaper velociraptors.

Also the 7850 may very well be functional, but running the antec 380w that close to its power limit would potentially hurt voltage accuracy and affect the longevity of his components. That's why I would recommend using a 7770 or getting a better PSU in addition.

You have to think of the old PSU as a "sunk cost." Just because you spent money on something bad in the past doesn't mean you need to keep using it (listen to weird al's "Ringtone" for an example)

 

[esrever]

^ a 7850 won't be close to the power limit, the whole system would be at less than 250w loaded. the earthwatt is a great psu and won't break even if you load it with 380w. Buying a higher wattage power supply just means its less efficient.

If you are on a gaming budget, why buy velociraptors when you can get something cheaper for the same gaming performance. It does not give SSD performance on random read/writes which is what is most important in everyday use, its actually not even close. They are only good in RAID0 when you need fast sequential data.

 

[abbadon_34]

Raptor and Velociraptor kickass among traditional HDD. For situations where SSD's are not appropriate (and there are many) and money is availible, they are the best choice.