Power Requirements and Specs For Popular Graphic Cards Guide

[saaiello]

This is a reference to help guide you in the right direction for a power supply based on you graphics card.

Tom's did a really good review sometime back on Graphic's cards and Total System power consumption its a little old but still a good read.
Tom's Hardware Power Usage Review

Power Supplies
Guide to buying PSUs
A list of PSUs (a bit out of date but most recommendations still apply)

■Suggested Brands
Corsair, Antec, SilverStone, Seasonic, and OCZ. Read the reveiws for the OCZ's some arent as good as others so be careful when choosing a power supply.

■350 watt This will be enough for any processor and an entry level GPU

■400 watt This will be enough for any processor with a low to mid range GPU

■500 watt This will be enough for any processor and just about any mid range GPU

■550 to 650 watt This will be more then enough to run just about any single GPU, except for the HD 5970,HD 4870 x2, GTX 480, and GTX 295.

For Dual GPU setups add another 75 to 100 watts for low to mid range GPUS for the upper midrange to the high end add a 150 watts on average per GPU. See my list for more info on some popular GPUs and what I suggest for them.

To figure out how many amps you need on the 12 volt rail use this formula (watts / 12 = amps) so if the card requires 650 watts simply divide 650 by 12. This formula only works for 12 volt for different voltages there are different dividers.
■650/12=54.16 so if it requires 650 watt PSU it will need 54 amps on the 12 volt rail, for PSU with multiple 12 volt rails you will need to find the max combined output for it. Now this number may be a bit higher then it actually needs but it will give you a rough estimate since AMD and Nvidia dont give the amperage requirements for all their cards.

High End ATI Cards

Radeon HD 6970

Core Engine Clock: 880 MHz
Stream Processors: 1536
Memory Size: 2GB GDDR5
Memory Clock: 1375 MHz
Interface: 256-bit
Max Power Consumption: 287 Watts
Average Consumption: 157 Watts
Idle: 22 Watts

■A 550 Watt unit with one 8 pin PCI-E connector is recommended. Power supply should have at the very least 38 Amps on the 12 volt rails combined.
■For Crossfire I would recommend getting a 750 watt unit with a minimum of 56 Amps combined on the 12 volt rail.

Radeon HD 6870

Core Engine Clock: 900 MHz
Stream Processors: 1120
Memory Size: 1GB GDDR5
Memory Clock: 1050 MHz
Max Power Consumption: 163 Watts
Average Consumption: 108 Watts
Idle: 17 Watts

■A 500 Watt unit with two 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors is recommended.
■For Crossfire I would recommend nothing less than 600 watts.


Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5

Core Clock: 2x725 MHz
Stream Processors: 3200 (1600 x 2)
Effective Memory clock: 4000 MHz
Power consumption on Idle: 51 watts
Power consumption full load: 300+watts

■This is a sick graphics card will give great performance for years to come will need at least 650 watt PSU with one 6 pin PCI Express connector and 2 150 watt 8 pin connectors but this will definitely test any 650 watt PSU to its max. If you plan on overclocking it I would recommend a 750 watt PSU to allow some head room. 850 watt PSU is recommended for crossfire but I would suggest going with a 1000watt PSU for this beast to allow for overclocking.
■ Recommended 54 Amps on the 12 volt rail for a single card and 70 Amps for Crossfire.

Radeon HD 4870x2 2GB 512-bit(256-bitx2) GDDR5 N/A not manufactured anymore

Core Clock: 750mhz x2
Stream Processors: 3200(1600x2)
Effective Memory Clock: 3600Mhz
Power Consumption at Idle: 49 watts
Power Consumption at Full Load: 300+watts

■Recommended is a 650 watt PSU with one 6 pin PCI Express connector and one 8pin connector. 1000 watt PSU with two 6 pin and two 8 pin connectors is recommended for crossfire.
■Recommended 54 Amps on the 12 volt rail for single card and 70 Amps for Crossfire.

Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 Eyefinity 6 Edition

Core Clock: 850MHz
Stream Processors: 1600
Effective Memory Clock: 4800 MHz
Power consumption on Idle: 34watts
Power consumption at full load: 228watts

■600 Watt or greater power supply is recommended with one 75W 6-pin and one 150W 8-pin PCI Express power connector required 900 Watt and 2 6-pin and 2 8-pin connectors for CrossFireX
■Recommended 50 Amps pn 12 volt rail for single card 75 Amps for crossfire.

Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $399.99 to $499.99

Core Clock: 850MHz
Stream Processors: 1600
Effective Memory Clock: 4800 MHz
Power consumption on Idle: 27 watts
Power consumption at full load: 190 watts

■Recommended is a 500 watt PSU with two 6 pin 75watt PCI Express connectors. If you plan to crossfire you will need a 750 watt PSU.
■Recommended 42 Amps on the 12 volt rail for single card and 63 Amps for Crossfire.

Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 $299.99 to $369.99

Core Clock: 725 MHz
Stream Processors: 1440
Effective Memory Clock: 4000mhz
Power Consumption on Idle: 27 watts
Power Consumption on Full Load: 150 watts

■Recommended is a 500watt PSU with two 75 watt 6 pin PCI express connectors. 600 watt PSU with four 6 pin connectors to run crossfire is recommended but I suggest a 650 watt for some head room.
■Recommended 36 Amps on the 12 volt rail for single card and 50 Amps for Crossfire.

Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $229.99 to $279.99

Core Clock: 800 MHz
Stream Processors: 1120
Effective Memory Clock: 4000 MHz
Power Consumption at Idle: 25 watts
Power Consumption at Full Load: 175 watts

■Recommended is a 500 watt PSU with two 75 watt PCI Express connectors. 600watt with four 6 pin connectors is recommended to run crossfire I would suggest 650 watt for some head room.
■Recommended 36 Amps on the 12 volt rail for single card and 50 Amps for Crossfire.

For all the above Cards you should have atleast 40 amps on the 12 volt rail.

Mid Range ATI Cards

Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 $134.99 to $179.99

Core Clock: 850 MHz
Stream Processors: 800
Effective Memory Clock: 4800 MHz
Power Consumption at Idle: 18 watts
Power Consumption at Full Load: 108 watts

■Recommended is a 450 watt PSU with one 75 watt 6 pin PCI Express connector, but could be run on a quality 400 watt PSU. 600 watt with two 6 pin connectors will be needed for crossfire.
■Recommended 37 Amps on 12 volt rail for single card and 50 Amps for crossfire. This card can run on lesser this is just recommended and will be able to run with at least 30 Amps on 12 volt rail.

Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 $97.99 to $129.99

Core Clock: 625mhz
Stream Processors: 800
Effective Memory Clock: 1900mhz
Power Consumption at Idle: 58 watts
Power Consumption at Full Load: 187 watts

■Recommended is a 450 watt PSU with one 75 watt PCI Express connector. A 550 watt PSU is recommended for crossfire I suggest 600 watt for some head room.
■Recommended 36 Amps on 12 volt rail for single card and 46 Amps for Crossfire. This card can run on lesser this is just recommended and will be able to run with at least 30 Amps on 12 volt rail.

Entry Level Gaming cards

Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 $79.99 to $129.99

Core Clock: 775mhz
Stream Processors: 400
Effective Memory Clock: 4000 MHz
Power Consumption at Idle: 15 watts
Power Consumption at Full Load: 64 watts

■Recommended is a 400 watt PSU to run this card no 6 pin connectors required this card. You will have no problems running on a 300 to 350watt PSU. 500 watt PSU is reccommended to crossfire this card you could get away with using 450 watt no problem.
■Recommended 30 Amps on the 12 volt rail for single card and 41 Amps for crossfire but this card will run on units with as little as 25 Amps on 12 volt rail.

Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 $62.99 to $122.99

Core Clock: 600mhz - 750mhz
Stream Processors: 320
Effective Memory Clock:1600mhz
Power Consumption at Idle: 14 watts
Power Consumption at Full Load: 64 watts
■It is recommended to have a 400 watt PSU but you will be able to run this with a 350 watt PSU no problem on most systems and 300 watt if its a good PSU. The 4670 does not require any additional power connectors. For Crossfire 550 watt is recommended but you will have no problem running this on 400 to 450 watt PSU.
■Recommended 30 Amps on the 12 volt rail for single card and 41 Amps for crossfire but this card will run on units with as little as 25 Amps on 12 volt rail.

For all the above Cards you should have atleast 30 amps on the 12 volt rail.

Low Powered Cards

Radeon HD 5450 (cedar) 1GB 64-bit DDR3 & 512MB DDR2 Low Profile $42.99 to $69.99

Core Clock: 650mhz
Stream Processors: 80
Effective Memory Clock: DDR2 800mhz DDR3 1600mhz
Power Consumption at Idle: 6.4 watts
Power Consumption at Full Load: 19.1 watts

■They suggest 400 watt PSU but I have no doubts that you can run this with a 300 to watt PSU no 6 pin connector needed. No crossfire for this card.

Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit DDR2 Low Profile card $39.99 to $124.99

Core Clock: 600 MHz
Stream Processors: 80
Effective Memory Clock: 1600 MHz
Power Consumption at Idle: 5 watts
Power consumption at Full Load: 25 watts
■300 watt PSU will be more than enough for this card. 350 watt for crossfire. The more expensive ones for this model are the ones that support crossfire.

Note: Radeon HD 4550's are the same as the 4350's just with 1GB memory instead of 512MB Power draw is Identical between the two. They would make great low powered HTPC video cards.

 

[saaiello]

alright im probably going to try and run it on my 30amp 550watt power supply and hope for the best, if it doesnt have enough power it wont kill my system will it?

Depends on the power supply, but most likely no it will not do any damage it will just be really unstable or just wont boot at all. If its a really cheap PSU then it could blow up and take some parts out with it, but this is only in a extreme faliure which doesn't happen often , but could happen.

You also have to take into consideration on why they suggest such huge PSU's is because there are so many units floating around that can barely push half of the rated power they say they can.

 

[Guest]

SAAIELLO , I found your psu guide to be quite helpful since, I shall be building a crossfire configured system sometime next year and wanted to know the guidelines by which to go by in terms of requirements when purchasing a very substantial psu.



MechaGodzilla

 

[saaiello]

SAAIELLO , I found your psu guide to be quite helpful since, I shall be building a crossfire configured system sometime next year and wanted to know the guidelines by which to go by in terms of requirements when purchasing a very substantial psu.



MechaGodzilla

You want to look for a unit with a good solid build construction with big stable power on the 12 volt rail. My favorite manufactures are Antec, Corsair, and SeaSonic to name a few. If you look at the beginning of the guide you will see where you can get reviews on tons of different power supplies.

 

[budsatawny]

ok my system is as follows....

AMD Phenom II x3 720BE @ 3.2Ghz - Gigabyte MA790x mobo - OCZ Platinum 2x2Gig 1066 ddr2 - Sapphire Radeon HD4850 1Ghz gpu - Rosewill 700w 80 plus green PSU - 2 WD HDD 320G&500g - Samsung 750G HDD - Arctic Cooler Pro7 - 2x 120mm generic fans..

I will be adding another hd4850, another 120mm fan a fan controller/card reader, and 2 12"ccfl lights.

I was looking into the corsair hx 650 or the hx 750...which of these are sufficient?

 

[saaiello]

ok my system is as follows....

AMD Phenom II x3 720BE @ 3.2Ghz - Gigabyte MA790x mobo - OCZ Platinum 2x2Gig 1066 ddr2 - Sapphire Radeon HD4850 1Ghz gpu - Rosewill 700w 80 plus green PSU - 2 WD HDD 320G&500g - Samsung 750G HDD - Arctic Cooler Pro7 - 2x 120mm generic fans..

I will be adding another hd4850, another 120mm fan a fan controller/card reader, and 2 12"ccfl lights.

I was looking into the corsair hx 650 or the hx 750...which of these are sufficient?

The hx 750 will be more then enough power for your system its overkill.

 

[budsatawny]

The hx 750 will be more then enough power for your system and even that is a bit overkill.

Thanx man, I think I'll go with the 750...as you state "it's good to have headroom".
Love these forums!!!Will be ordering the hx750, another hd4850, and all the other eye candy next week🙂
gonna be doin a case mod also......before pic....

 

[budsatawny]

The hx 750 will be more then enough power for your system its overkill.

I think I found a good deal for what I want but the psu is 650w..BUT by SeaSonic, I think it'll do what I want.
Looking for a second opinion......I want this card and the PSU comes with it in a combo deal...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.499306
I did the power calculator thing on a couple of sites and 512w was considered min...recommended was like 583.
I won't be pushing this PSU too hard would I?

 

[saaiello]

The 4850 would run fine on a 500 watt unit as long as it is quality so the SeaSonic 650 will do just fine.


I think you should spend the little extra cash and get the 5770.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873

 

[budsatawny]

The 4850 would run fine on a 500 watt unit as long as it is quality so the SeaSonic 650 will do just fine.


I think you should spend the little extra cash and get the 5770.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873

I already have one 4850, am buying another one for crossfire.

 

[saaiello]

Oh yea my bad in that case yea that would be a good combo.

 

[vibhas]

Thanks for the suggestions its still a work in progress. The 5830 might not be that popular but I do see quite alot of people ask about it in the cpu and home built sections. I never see anyone ask about the 5750

After I am done with the nvidia section I will tweak per suggestions thats what is great about a forum.

Hehe im enquiring about it
Amd Phenom II 955 processor
4 gigs of DDr3 ram (1333)
5750 / 1 gig
420 W PSU good nuff? (Gigabyte GZ-X1BPD 420W)

ty, i know the PSU is pissy, but I'm buying it on an a site like Ebay, in New Zealand these sites are a LOT cheaper than buying the individual parts and itll cost me around $40USD to upgrade to a similiarly crappy, but 550W PSU which would definitely run it so id like to know

heres the auction: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=322369555

 

[Wolygon]

Hello, I often use this guide to refer to. Though I disagree with the GTX 480 SLI power requirement.

You basically say that you shouldn't SLI without 1000W yet a lot of people run 850W PSUs with this setup. 850W is actually recommended by a lot of people.

Even people with 850W PSUs run OCed i7s and 480s so I think that 850W is plenty for stock cards.

I would appreciate if you did some research on this and either updated it or told me why you want to stay with your current spec.

Thanks.

[EDIT]
Fixxed a few things.

 

[jfem]

Hi SAAIELLO,

Thanks for the Guide. I plan to setup gtx 470 sli. I read your recommendation: 700W and 58A on the 12V rail. I have corsair 650W and found out that it only has 52A +12V rail. Will it still be fine or should I change it when I have the video cards?

 

[saaiello]

Hi SAAIELLO,

Thanks for the Guide. I plan to setup gtx 470 sli. I read your recommendation: 700W and 58A on the 12V rail. I have corsair 650W and found out that it only has 52A +12V rail. Will it still be fine or should I change it when I have the video cards?

That Corsair will be more then plenty those units are very powerful. The recomendation is a bit overestimated for people that have lesser quality units so you will be fine.

Good Luck.

 

[saaiello]

Hello, I often use this guide to refer to. Though I disagree with the GTX 480 SLI power requirement.

You basically say that you shouldn't SLI without 1000W yet a lot of people run 850W PSUs with this setup. 850W is actually recommended by a lot of people.

Even people with 850W PSUs run OCed i7s and 480s so I think that 850W is plenty for stock cards.

I would appreciate if you did some research on this and either updated it or told me why you want to stay with your current spec.

Thanks.

[EDIT]
Fixxed a few things.

Sorry didnt see this post those are just recommendations which are a tad overestimated most of these cards will run with a 50 or even 100 watts less then what is recommended. I feel its never good to be running a power supply so close to its max output they run less efficient.

 

[Wolygon]

I know your point though maybe you could note that SLI GTX 480s can be run on an 850W PSU. It might be fine for people who are buying a new system to get a 1000 watter but someone who already has a quality 850W will be scared away from GTX 480 SLI even though they can easily run it, because of this they probably won't upgrade because the 1000W PSU will cost half of it.

Thanks.

 

[icotua]

Hello. Need some help with my psu, I own a Quad Core Q9550 4gb DDR3 RAM @ 1333mhz with a 650 watt thermaltake toughtpower PSU, and i wanna buy a gtx 460 or a gts 450 nvidia card. From what i have read, the PSU wattage is enough for those cards, but when i check the current i have some doubts, if u check the specs of the psu it says that the max output u can get on a 12v is 18 amps and those cards needs at least 24 amps (evga page). Can someone tell me if this psu is enough for those video cards?

 

[saaiello]

Your power supply has 4 rails at 18 amps a piece it can output a total power of 54 amps With that power supply you could run SLI 460's and you still will have power to spare.

 

[icotua]

Thanks a lot man

 

[julius 85]

Dude, I have used the Corsair PSU calculator and it says that VX 450, which has 33 Amps on the 12V rail, is enough for ATi 5830 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2666 MHz. Those recommendations are for high-end CPU configurations.

 

[shagnat]

I recently purchased a GTX 480 and decided my Alienware 750 watt PSU just may not do the job since Nvidia requires 48A on a single rail. My Alienware is a 4 rail PSU. So, I opted for the Corsair 1000W bronze PSU. This should allow me enough headroom for all my periphals and the option to go SLI should I decide to be so foolish
I'm hoping this setup works with my Asus P6T mobo. I'll post a follow up in a week or two once I can get all this installed and going.

 

[saaiello]

Dude, I have used the Corsair PSU calculator and it says that VX 450, which has 33 Amps on the 12V rail, is enough for ATi 5830 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2666 MHz. Those recommendations are for high-end CPU configurations.

My recommendations are a little over estimated I have stated this in several post. I like to have some breathing room if you need it and also take into account that most gamers do some overclocking to CPU and GPU which throws out the efficiency rating of any CPU and GPU.

 

[saaiello]

I recently purchased a GTX 480 and decided my Alienware 750 watt PSU just may not do the job since Nvidia requires 48A on a single rail. My Alienware is a 4 rail PSU. So, I opted for the Corsair 1000W bronze PSU. This should allow me enough headroom for all my periphals and the option to go SLI should I decide to be so foolish
I'm hoping this setup works with my Asus P6T mobo. I'll post a follow up in a week or two once I can get all this installed and going.

Thr Dell Alienware power supply would have been more then enough to run the 480 and am willing to bet it would run it in SLI granted it has enough PCI E connectors. Nvidia's recomendation for 48 amps on a single rail is BS because there are plenty of quad rail units out that can run the GTX 480 with no problems the Antec TP-750N has way less then 48 per rail and will run it no problems.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Can't you just go to
http://www.gpureview.com/
And get specs and power requirements?

 

[gc_sama]

This is a very helpful thread.

So at the moment I have a seasonic x750 to go with my i7 2600k and 6950. However I just found a deal for a couple of gtx 570s.

If I run the 2600k oc to around 4.2Ghz plus the 570s SLI oc to 800, will my 750w be good? what would you recommend?