Radeon 6870 & 480watt psu

[corymartin66]

hi i am looking to upgrade to a 6870 but im not 100% on my psu..my psu is a arctic 480w......would it work? if not what about a 6850? btw the gpu that im using now is a gtx 550 ti oc to 1ghz

 

[dudewitbow]

i dont know the exact model of the psu, so i cant say much(i dont know the brand either so i cant vouch much on that end as well) but the 6870 requires 2 6 pin connectors, so it will consume a decent amount of power.

 

[avenseth12]

the 6870 i looked at on newegg requires to 2 6 pin pcie connectors. If you have the connectors you should be fine. Its a good card for only $170. The 6850 only uses 1 pcie connector. I read reviews on your psu and they are not good. Try those cards at your own risk but a good psu from antec, corsair or seasonic would be a wise move. For example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102984 Corsair 500 watt psu - $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 corsair 500 watt psu - $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094 seasonic 520 watt - $69

Those psu's will delive consistent power and easily run either video card you have listed.

good luck

 

[avenseth12]

sorry 1st link was wrong - here you go http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139033 corsari 500 watt gaming series $79

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I can't find anything about that power supply. Do you have a link to it? I have the feeling it's junk.

AMD recommends a 450w PSU for a HD 6850 and a 500w PSU for an HD 6870. If you had a quality power supply you can get by with much less than that but those recommendations assume a generic brand power supply.

 

[corymartin66]

would a 6850 be a big upgrade from a gtx 550 ti?

 

[corymartin66]

and the psu came from ibuypower so i dont think its junk

 

[Deleted member 217926]

An HD 6850 is not a big enough upgrade from a 550 Ti to be worth it.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/539?vs=541

You should move up the chart 3 tiers to notice a substantial difference.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html


Ibuypower is probably junk. They use the cheapest parts they can get away with. I can't think of a single quality manufacturer that makes an oddball 480w power supply. Unless you pay extra ( usually alot extra ) for a quality name brand power supply you are almost certainly getting generic junk.

 

[skitz9417]

if u need how much u use try this

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[kandrathe]

and the psu came from ibuypower so i dont think its junk

It is junk. I just replaced my IBP's arctic power 480W PSU with a well reviewed CoolerMaster 600W. I've had the machine for a year, and from the beginning I have some random reboots -- but it was infrequent enough to be just annoying. 2 days ago it died spectacularly, and luckily it didn't damage anything else on its way out.