Would like a new GPU in the future- What are my options?

[AmyRoses]

I have an 850W PSU (Ace A850BR), but unfortunately it only has a 6-pin PCI-E cable. The more modern graphics cards available these days require an 8-pin, such as some GTX 1080s. I have a molex cable free, which I could use an adapter to 6-pin, and then combine the 2 6 pins using a 2x6pin to 8-pin adapter, but I'm not sure how practical that can be, especially considering molex cables only do 60W instead of 75.

What are my options? Thanks for any answers in advance

 

[rcald2000]

Buy a new, higher quality, power supply. That is the only choice I would make in your position. What are your full specs?

 

[Atomicdonut17]

Well, ATM, only a few cards host 1 6-pin, 1 8-pin, or neither and TDP from the board. You'd be looking at something like a 1060, a smaller model, and the same goes for the 400 cards. Possibly some of the 500 cards? In all reality, you'll want to try and get a new PSU, which isn't the best thing to hear- but, if you don't want to have to slap MOLEX-to-xx pin connectors on everything, it's a worthwhile investment.

 

[AmyRoses]

Buy a new, higher quality, power supply. That is the only choice I would make in your position. What are your full specs?

I have:
MSI GTX 960 (2GB)
i5 4690 CPU
8GB DDR3 1600 MHz RAM (Single channel)
MSI H81M-E33 motherboard

If you'd like any more information, I can provide it.

Well, ATM, only a few cards host 1 6-pin, 1 8-pin, or neither and TDP from the board. You'd be looking at something like a 1060, a smaller model, and the same goes for the 400 cards. Possibly some of the 500 cards? In all reality, you'll want to try and get a new PSU, which isn't the best thing to hear- but, if you don't want to have to slap MOLEX-to-xx pin connectors on everything, it's a worthwhile investment.

I know of some GTX 1080 cards that require only 1 8-Pin connector, and a 1060 would be a minimal upgrade from a GTX 960, and not really worth it, hence my need for an 8-Pin connector.

Is having a Molex connector adapter something that will be a problem?

 

[vrumor]

As was suggested already, buy a new PSU with the required cables. Using adapters on an old, bottom tier PSU is a bad idea for new gear.

 

[Eximo]

Rule of thumb is that when your power supply doesn't offer the PCIe connectors you need, then it isn't up to the task of greater load.

AC INPUT: 230 VAC 10A 50-60Hz

DC +3.3V +5V +12V1 -12V +5VSB
Output 32A 38A 46A 0.5A 2.5A
Max 850W

By contemporary standards, your power supply is actually 550W, a sign of an old design that there is so much wattage available on the 3.3 and 5V lines.

Adapters tend to create hot spots in the wires where the pins meet, and voltage drop. Ideally you would go direct from power supply rail to GPU input with no interruptions (closest you can get is a non-modular power supply) But there is something to be said for the cleaner look of a modular power supply.

The reason most people don't recommend using molex adapters is because on cheaper power supplies the wires coming out of the power supply really aren't rated for that much draw. They are intended for hard drives and optical drives.

Compounded with the very poor molex adapters that exist, you'll often see pictures of them having melted or caught fire.

I have a small pile of them that always seem to come with GPUs. These appear to be of pretty high quality, but I still don't use them.

 

[AmyRoses]

Buy a new, higher quality, power supply. That is the only choice I would make in your position. What are your full specs?

As was suggested already, buy a new PSU with the required cables. Using adapters on an old, bottom tier PSU is a bad idea for new gear.

Rule of thumb is that when your power supply doesn't offer the PCIe connectors you need, then it isn't up to the task of greater load.

AC INPUT: 230 VAC 10A 50-60Hz

DC +3.3V +5V +12V1 -12V +5VSB
Output 32A 38A 46A 0.5A 2.5A
Max 850W

By contemporary standards, your power supply is actually 550W, a sign of an old design that there is so much wattage available on the 3.3 and 5V lines.

Adapters tend to create hot spots in the wires where the pins meet, and voltage drop. Ideally you would go direct from power supply rail to GPU input with no interruptions (closest you can get is a non-modular power supply) But there is something to be said for the cleaner look of a modular power supply.

The reason most people don't recommend using molex adapters is because on cheaper power supplies the wires coming out of the power supply really aren't rated for that much draw. They are intended for hard drives and optical drives.

Compounded with the very poor molex adapters that exist, you'll often see pictures of them having melted or caught fire.

I have a small pile of them that always seem to come with GPUs. These appear to be of pretty high quality, but I still don't use them.

Do any of you recommend any specific brands? How much wattage do you reckon I'll need with the specs I've posted?

Thanks

 

[rcald2000]

EVGA P2 650
$99.99 ($89.99 after $10.00 rebate card)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438055

Get this. It's tier 1, fully modular, platinum efficiency, 10 year EVGA warranty, and enough wattage for up to a 1080 Ti or Titan XP. When the price is at this point, I put one in all my builds, and those of my friends and family. This PSU is light years beyond the quality of your Ace.

 

[AmyRoses]

EVGA P2 650
$99.99 ($89.99 after $10.00 rebate card)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438055

Get this. It's tier 1, fully modular, platinum efficiency, 10 year EVGA warranty, and enough wattage for up to a 1080 Ti or Titan XP. When the price is at this point, I put one in all my builds, and those of my friends and family. This PSU is light years beyond the quality of your Ace.

Are PSUs easy to install? I've installed GPUs and RAM and Hard Drives etc, but I've never installed a fresh PSU. I assume there are sufficient guides online for this sort of thing? It's the sort of thing I feel you do once and get the hang of it.

 

[DSzymborski]

rcald's PSU recommendation is excellent, but on a slightly cheaper end (if it's a choice between getting something cheaper and sticking with a firestarter), something like this would also work very well.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $69.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-03 13:20 EDT-0400

The PSU is the most crucial part of a rig, so if you're going to invest in a 1080, you want to have something that's far less likely to destroy it.

 

[DSzymborski]

EVGA P2 650
$99.99 ($89.99 after $10.00 rebate card)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438055

Get this. It's tier 1, fully modular, platinum efficiency, 10 year EVGA warranty, and enough wattage for up to a 1080 Ti or Titan XP. When the price is at this point, I put one in all my builds, and those of my friends and family. This PSU is light years beyond the quality of your Ace.

Are PSUs easy to install? I've installed GPUs and RAM and Hard Drives etc, but I've never installed a fresh PSU. I assume there are sufficient guides online for this sort of thing? It's the sort of thing I feel you do once and get the hang of it.

They're quite easy. You're simply securing it into the bay and replacing the current connections with the ones from the new PSU.