RX 580 and Power connectors

[Guest]

Ok, first build so Im really confused here. Im planning to buy an RX 580 today and i narrowed the choices down to the NITRO+ or the Sapphire Pulse (im on a budget). Pricing is more or less the same but the NITRO is clocked better and has more cooling and heatpipes, so obvious choice, right? Then I found out that the NITRO+ uses a 1x6 AND a 1x8 power connector compared to the Pulse which only need 1x8. Will the NITRO use more power? Are there any negatives with going for the NITRO+, and will I need some gimmicky PSU adapter. If it draws more power than the 185w, Im going for the Pulse. Thanks

 

[pete_101]

If the Nitro is clocked higher, then yes it probably uses more power....but it won't be by much. The real question is, do you have both a 6 pin and an 8 (or 6+2) pin connectors?
No, I don't believe it will draw 185w, unless you overclock it higher.

 

[Guest]

If the Nitro is clocked higher, then yes it probably uses more power....but it won't be by much. The real question is, do you have both a 6 pin and an 8 (or 6+2) pin connectors?
No, I don't believe it will draw 185w, unless you overclock it higher.

Because the RX 580 itself draws 185w, I thought the NITRO might use more since its clocked higher and has more features. I havent bought anything yet. All I have is my HDD and RAM at the moment, so do I need to buy a power connector separatley from the PSU (Im getting a Cooler Master 550w PSU which is probably enough for Ryzen 5 + Rx 580). Also, if they both use the same amount of power, why does one have more PIN connectors?

 

[pete_101]

Because the RX 580 itself draws 185w, I thought the NITRO might use more since its clocked higher and has more features. I havent bought anything yet. All I have is my HDD and RAM at the moment, so do I need to buy a power connector separatley from the PSU (Im getting a Cooler Master 550w PSU which is probably enough for Ryzen 5 + Rx 580). Also, if they both use the same amount of power, why does one have more PIN connectors?

Don't confuse the TDP limit with actual power usage. The RX 580 has a TDP of 185w, this isn't to say it's peaks can't exceed that, but typically it won't consume that much power. As I already said, the Nitro will probably draw more power than the Pulse as it's clocked higher, but this doesn't mean it will be over the TDP of 185w.

Your new PSU will come with all the power leads you need, so no, you don't need to buy any extra connectors. The PSU will have at least 2 PCIe power leads, probably as 6+2 connectors, which can be used as both a 6 pin or an 8 pin.

As for why it uses an extra connector; Card manufactures must decide how they want to power their cards, some may make the motherboard supply the maximum 75w the PCIe slot can provide, and supply the rest through another power connector. While a different manufacturer may include two connectors and draw most of the power from them and not so much from the slot. In general, it's better to have more power supplied than what's needed so that there is headroom for overclock, without risking overloading anything.

 

[Guest]

Because the RX 580 itself draws 185w, I thought the NITRO might use more since its clocked higher and has more features. I havent bought anything yet. All I have is my HDD and RAM at the moment, so do I need to buy a power connector separatley from the PSU (Im getting a Cooler Master 550w PSU which is probably enough for Ryzen 5 + Rx 580). Also, if they both use the same amount of power, why does one have more PIN connectors?

Don't confuse the TDP limit with actual power usage. The RX 580 has a TDP of 185w, this isn't to say it's peaks can't exceed that, but typically it won't consume that much power. As I already said, the Nitro will probably draw more power than the Pulse as it's clocked higher, but this doesn't mean it will be over the TDP of 185w.

Your new PSU will come with all the power leads you need, so no, you don't need to buy any extra connectors. The PSU will have at least 2 PCIe power leads, probably as 6+2 connectors, which can be used as both a 6 pin or an 8 pin.

As for why it uses an extra connector; Card manufactures must decide how they want to power their cards, some may make the motherboard supply the maximum 75w the PCIe slot can provide, and supply the rest through another power connector. While a different manufacturer may include two connectors and draw most of the power from them and not so much from the slot. In general, it's better to have more power supplied than what's needed so that there is headroom for overclock, without risking overloading anything.

Thank you, this really helps! Glad Ill be getting a Nitro+. Thanks for putting mmy mind at ease

 

[StupidComputers]

Power design aside, the 6-pin connector is for OverClock stability.

I was running mine with just the 8-pin at stock, and everything was great - as it's supposed to be. I couldn't stably overclock to 1500 like that though. Of course there is really no need to, but for fun I plugged in the 6-pin and 1500 is easy. I'll check how much further it can go - eventually.

 

[pete_101]

Power design aside, the 6-pin connector is for OverClock stability.

I was running mine with just the 8-pin at stock, and everything was great - as it's supposed to be. I couldn't stably overclock to 1500 like that though. Of course there is really no need to, but for fun I plugged in the 6-pin and 1500 is easy. I'll check how much further it can go - eventually.

I'm surprised it ran at all with only the 8 pin plugged in. If a card comes with a 6 and an 8, then both are suppose to be plugged in, not just one of them.

 

[StupidComputers]

Power design aside, the 6-pin connector is for OverClock stability.

I was running mine with just the 8-pin at stock, and everything was great - as it's supposed to be. I couldn't stably overclock to 1500 like that though. Of course there is really no need to, but for fun I plugged in the 6-pin and 1500 is easy. I'll check how much further it can go - eventually.

I'm surprised it ran at all with only the 8 pin plugged in. If a card comes with a 6 and an 8, then both are suppose to be plugged in, not just one of them.

Rx 580s are designed for just the 8-pin. Sapphire's Nitro+ version has an optional 6-pin. It's not supposed to be necessary.

 

[pete_101]

Power design aside, the 6-pin connector is for OverClock stability.

I was running mine with just the 8-pin at stock, and everything was great - as it's supposed to be. I couldn't stably overclock to 1500 like that though. Of course there is really no need to, but for fun I plugged in the 6-pin and 1500 is easy. I'll check how much further it can go - eventually.

I'm surprised it ran at all with only the 8 pin plugged in. If a card comes with a 6 and an 8, then both are suppose to be plugged in, not just one of them.

Rx 580s are designed for just the 8-pin. Sapphire's Nitro+ version has an optional 6-pin. It's not supposed to be necessary.

Ok, turns out you're right. Can't say I've ever seen any other cards with an optional power connector before.

 

[StupidComputers]

Power design aside, the 6-pin connector is for OverClock stability.

I was running mine with just the 8-pin at stock, and everything was great - as it's supposed to be. I couldn't stably overclock to 1500 like that though. Of course there is really no need to, but for fun I plugged in the 6-pin and 1500 is easy. I'll check how much further it can go - eventually.

I'm surprised it ran at all with only the 8 pin plugged in. If a card comes with a 6 and an 8, then both are suppose to be plugged in, not just one of them.

Rx 580s are designed for just the 8-pin. Sapphire's Nitro+ version has an optional 6-pin. It's not supposed to be necessary.

Ok, turns out you're right. Can't say I've ever seen any other cards with an optional power connector before.

Yeah, me either. TBH I don't really see the point, at least not at the moment. Maybe one day with better drivers and a serious overclock to meet some as yet unknown need.. maybe. The silicon isn't capable of enough to really warrant it. But I guess when the card is old and dated people will be glad for that extra bit of grunt.

 

[Dromoxen]

If the card is old and dated , then an extra 10% thru overclocking (v Generously) will not make much difference. It'd be like overclocking a GTX680 , yes it will do something, but not to any meaningful degree.