Will a gtx 970 work on 600 watt psu? (overclock?)

[curtisrocks50]

Hello,
I recently sold my gtx 660 and was looking for a replacement card that was Directx12 ready. My power supply is the Ultra LS series 600W:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3255393

This psu has only 1 6-pin pci-e cable and is not bronze certified. So I was wondering if a gtx 970 will work if I use another Molex 6-pin adapter, or should I just play it safe and get a gtx 960 instead?

I currently have an i5 3750k and was overclocked to 3.98 ghz
8gb ram
My monitor is 1400x900 pixels, so will gtx 970 be overkill for games like Witcher 3 and Arma 3 at this resolution?
Thank you for your responses!

 

[Gmesh]

Oh man. I don't think I'd put anything into that cheap-o PSU (no offense!) Let alone overclock with it. The PSU powers everything in your system not just the GPU. The 970 has a minimum of a 500W PSU so it should run fine... but for how long? lol

 

[Onus]

Ultra is a very low quality unit, I'd replace it regardless of what graphics card you get. Unless you are planning on a monitor upgrade also, a GTX960 would handle all those games very well at your current resolution.
For the PSU, I'd get a 500W-550W model made by Seasonic (their own, XFX, EVGA GS, some Antec), Delta (some Antec) or Super Flower (Rosewill Capstone, Kingwin Lazer, EVGA G2 or B2).

 

[curtisrocks50]

Ultra is a very low quality unit, I'd replace it regardless of what graphics card you get. Unless you are planning on a monitor upgrade also, a GTX960 would handle all those games very well at your current resolution.
For the PSU, I'd get a 500W-550W model made by Seasonic (their own, XFX, EVGA GS, some Antec), Delta (some Antec) or Super Flower (Rosewill Capstone, Kingwin Lazer, EVGA G2 or B2).

Hmm if buying a new power supply would be the best way to go, would one of these two be any good?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Standard-Bronze-ATX12V-SP-550P/dp/B00BUM178Q

I really would like to stay under $60 if I were to buy a new psu.

 

[Onus]

Get this 550W Rosewill Capstone: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068
The Corsair CX is not very good (dies young due to bad capacitors), and the Thermaltake is also made by CWT, so probably also contains inferior capacitors. OTOH, the Rosewill Capstone is made by Super Flower, one of few companies in Seasonic's league for PSU quality.

 

[ragenalien]

While I agree with the other users that the Ultra you have is a lower quality unit, I can say that the amps on your +5v rail are definitely sufficient to support a molex to 6 pin adapter or two. It will easily power a 970-980 but likely no larger.

 

[Onus]

Ummm, graphics cards need +12V, not +5V. There could be 100A on +5V and it wouldn't matter a hill of beans if +12V is only good for 20A. Molex to PCIe adapters do not convert +5V into +12V, nor do they magically increase the amperage available on +12V.

 

[ragenalien]

Good thing a gfx card doesn't explicitly use or need +12V and really just needs the proper wattage and amperage which can be easily supplied by the +5v rail. Because those molex adapters use two molex per one 6 pin they can actually provide more wattage than a single six pin. One six pin can provide 75w, one molex can do 40w. As for amps it is recommended to have at least 20a per graphics card which can be easily done through the +5V as well.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Nope. Only voltage supplies to a GPU are +3.3V (through the PCIe slot) and +12V (through both the PCIe slot and the PCIe power connectors). No +5V goes anywhere near the GPU.

Also, 20A @ 5V is only 100W, not the 240W 20A @ 12V would deliver.

And if you think you're going to get 20A through one pin on a molex connector, have fun with a fire.

 

[RealBeast]

While I agree with the other users that the Ultra you have is a lower quality unit, I can say that the amps on your +5v rail are definitely sufficient to support a molex to 6 pin adapter or two. It will easily power a 970-980 but likely no larger.

While video cards don't use +5V (and haven't for a long long time), the good news is that USB ports, HDDs (other than the drive motor that uses +12V), some optical drive circuits, and case fans use +5V so it is still important, although it doesn't require much current relative to the +12V rail.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Case fans don't usually use 5V.