Questions before upgrading

[Stefe04]

Hey guys,

I'm not sure if this is the right section to ask about this, so bear with me for a bit. I've been thinking of upgrading my old HD 6950 to something more recent. I'm eyeballing either the GTX 760 or 770, but I have a couple concerns:

- If I do decide to go with a GTX 770, it requires a minimum 600W power supply and 42 amps on the 12v rail. My current power supply (Cooler Master Silent Pro 700w) can carry a maximum of 50 amps on the 12v rail. Should I also upgrade my power supply to one that can carry higher currents, just to add a little headroom?

- Will my stock i5 2500k bottleneck either of those cards? If so, I know that overclocking my CPU will help with the problem, but I've never overclocked any of my components before.

Also, if it helps, I've had both the CPU and power supply for 3 years now. I eagerly await your replies!

 

[Scampi]

42 amps for a single GTX 770 is over stated, that's what a system with 2x reference GTX 770's might use.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/geforce-gtx-770-sli-review,4.html

GTX 770 - System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 304W/26 amps
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/geforce-gtx-770-review,5.html

So your CoolerMaster silent Pro 700w (Silent Pro being CM's better stuff) is more than enough for a single GTX 770.

I doubt a recent i5 quad core will bottleneck a 770, it's only an overclocked GTX 680 after all.

 

[Stefe04]

42 amps for a single GTX 770 is over stated, that's what a system with 2x reference GTX 770's might use.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/geforce-gtx-770-sli-review,4.html

GTX 770 - System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 304W/26 amps
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/geforce-gtx-770-review,5.html

So your CoolerMaster silent Pro 700w (Silent Pro being CM's better stuff) is more than enough for a single GTX 770.

I doubt a recent i5 quad core will bottleneck a 770, it's only an overclocked GTX 680 after all.

Is that 304W / 26 amps under full load? Also, are those estimates based on the reference or non-reference cards? I just don't want to wind up in a situation where I'm finding the card breathing through a straw (as exaggerated as that sounds).

 

[Scampi]

That's the power draw with a reference GTX 770, GPU being fully stressed incl. the other parts of their system.

Depending on the non-reference model of card, it can be a few watts more or a lot more. Even if it pulls close to 400W/ 33 amps, you still have 200W/17 amps spare, a decent margin of error.

If your concerned , just check the specific model out in reviews.

 

[Stefe04]

Alright, thank you very much for the replies!