gtx 470 and power supply

[Sencapri]

need help! I just bought a gtx 470, and I was wondering if my ultra LS500 watt can get the job done even though it only has 28amps on the 12v rail =[ I cant find a post that I've seen but a person was running a 450 watt power supply with a gtx 470 0_o I think it was in a guru3d post, but I cant find it =[ help would be appreciated.

[morphine]

It's not the wattage that counts, it's the total power on the 12V rail. You quoted 28 amps, which gives you 28*12 = 336W. If your CPU consumes little power, then it can cut it, but personally I wouldn't go that route. Even if the whole system under load consumes only 250W, that means that the PSU will be running at ~74% load. Which for that type of power supply will be far too close for comfort.

If it would work? Probably. If I would do it? No way. Always invest in a good power supply, and always check the 12V amperage rating. That's the only thing that matters nowadays, really.

[Sencapri]

thank you morphine , I'm going to invest into a new power supply then. Would corsair be the best route to take for a power supply?

[JustAnEngineer]

The best route would probably be Enermax or SeaSonic, but Corsair is just fine.

40A: $60 -10 code "EMCYXZT25" -15 MIR Antec Neo Eco 520C
36A: $60 -20 MIR OCZ ModXStream Pro 500
37A: $68 Antec EarthWatts EA-500D
38?: $70 -20 MIR OCZ StealthXStream II 600
40A: $70 SeaSonic S12 II 520 Bronze
40A: $70 CoolerMaster Silent Pro M600
42A: $72 -20 MIR OCZ ModXStream Pro 600
48A: $72 Antec Neo Eco 620C
53A: $90 -9 code "sept10" -10 MIR Corsair 650TX

[Sencapri]

would the TX650 corsair power supply be sufficient for my gtx 470? I think it might be over kill 0_o

[morphine]

would the TX650 corsair power supply be sufficient for my gtx 470? I think it might be over kill 0_o

Yes and no.

It's overkill, you're not going to need 650W (granted, not all of that is available on the 12V line, but still). However, the ideal is to not run your power supply at max capacity, due to longevity, heat, and noise concerns. So if you look at it from another angle, you should over-buy just a bit. Plus, you get a safety margin for your next upgrade.

I'm a fan of Corsairs myself (running an HX520 flawlessly for 4 years now), and the one you mentioned is a good choice in my book, though any of JAE's suggestions above is pretty nice. I especially like the ModSteam at $60 as I'm a sucker for modular cabling and it's at a killer price.

Remember, once again: check the 12V amperage.

[JustAnEngineer]

I've updated my post with the +12V amp ratings for each power supply.
The Corsair 650TX can supply 53 amperes on the +12V line.

[Sencapri]

Thanks morphine and JAE, I was just about to buy the Antec Neo Eco 620C but you're pretty much right I should over buy a tad bit because in the future I am more than likely to upgrade again tack on 20$ bought me a corsair TX650 with a 10$ rebate, free shipping as well. Thanks you guys, I love the tech report

[JustAnEngineer]

Did you use the "sept10" code to save $9 on your purchase? If not, cancel the order and try again.

[Sencapri]

oh no JAE i did not, how do I use the promo code?

[JustAnEngineer]

Cancel the order that you've placed. Put the item in your shopping cart again. Look at the bottom of the shopping cart display for the promo code box. Type SEPT10 in there and click on the "Apply" button.

[Sencapri]

Alright thanks, I canceled the purchase but they billed my visa pretty damn quick so now I have to wait =[

[Sencapri]

Alright its all good now. Thanks JAE for the heads up on the promo code thank you very much sir

[computron9000]

650 watt PSU = 53 amps on 12v
$X 500 watt PSU = 28 amps on 12v

500w vs 650w
28a vs 53a

remember, the marketed total watts are not proportional or relevant to actual power delivery... it's convenient for PSU makers to lie and bump up 5v rail or whatever to get overall wattage up, while they neglect the important 12v business. just fyi for anyone that happens to stumble on this.

[Archer]

It's not the wattage that counts, it's the total power on the 12V rail. You quoted 28 amps, which gives you 28*12 = 336W. If your CPU consumes little power, then it can cut it, but personally I wouldn't go that route. Even if the whole system under load consumes only 250W, that means that the PSU will be running at ~74% load. Which for that type of power supply will be far too close for comfort.

If it would work? Probably. If I would do it? No way. Always invest in a good power supply, and always check the 12V amperage rating. That's the only thing that matters nowadays, really.

It's amazing how many people still don't get this.

[Archer]

The best route would probably be Enermax or SeaSonic, but Corsair is just fine.

I have no experience with Enermax, but I use Corsair branded Seasonics and regular Seasonics. I don't care for the Corsair branded Channel Well stuff even though some of them review well. I've even got an Antec branded Seasonic, all excellent stuff that's never missed a beat.

[canoli]

Hey you guys (JustanEngineer)-

Where do you find - or - how do I calculate the amperage for the 12v rail?

I keep coming up with values about 3A higher than yours...
(W/V - so for the Antec 620 I get 51.6 but you list 48 - but I'm guessing it's not as simple as Total Watts / Volts...)

Thanks!

[morphine]

Where do you find - or - how do I calculate the amperage for the 12v rail?

Specifications page or sticker on the side.

Watts = volts * amps.

It's not Total_watts / Volts because you're assuming that the full wattage can go to the 12V rail, and that's exactly where cheap PSUs fail, as they only deliver a (sometimes small) portion of it at 12V.

[theadder]

I've also been thinking about this. I don't want to hijack the thread but..

My machine is as follows:

Q6600 B3 @ 2.4GHZ
GA-PS3C-DS3R
4GB RAM
2 * HDD @ 7200rpm
2x DVD-RW + Blu-ray-RW
GTX 470 (currently 8800 GTX due to switching parts around).

I'm currently running an OCZ PSU which I've linked the Newegg page for below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo

Am I right in thinking that this isn't sufficient for the GTX 470? I tried the Antec PSU calculator as well as the Newegg one. The Newegg one seemed to be wildly overestimating. In either case it's unclear that it's taking into account the ampage of the 12V rail (my PSU appears to have two). Both calculators suggest that I need a higher rated PSU in terms purely of watts.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. I didn't want to create an entirely new thread for this. Thanks.

[morphine]

You have power to spare. That machine will be hard pressed to exceed 350W, and even then you have more than enough on the 12V line.

One empirical way to tell if it's loaded too high is to play games for some time then see if the PSU is venting hard.

[canoli]

Where do you find - or - how do I calculate the amperage for the 12v rail?

Specifications page or sticker on the side.

Watts = volts * amps.

It's not Total_watts / Volts because you're assuming that the full wattage can go to the 12V rail, and that's exactly where cheap PSUs fail, as they only deliver a (sometimes small) portion of it at 12V.

ah yes, right there in the output specs. So his OCZ's got two 12v rails supplying 25A each.
but ...if you feel like explaining - what's the -12v rating all about?

Thanks!

[giovanni4k]

Hello people, sorry to bring up this old topic but would this Cooler Master 500w PSU be sufficient to run a GTX 470? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817171018

My system specs:
Intel Core2 Quad Q9650 3.0 @ 3.60 Ghz
Board: XFX XFX nForce 780i 3-Way SLI 1
6GB Dominator Ram
Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
500w Cooler Master PSU
Windows 7 Ultimate x64

[morphine]

Yeah, though I don't think an upgrade from a 460 to a 470 is worth it, and I wouldn't do it.

At this point in time, I'm guessing you're more CPU-limited than anything else.

[giovanni4k]

Thanks for the reply Morphine! You're opinion greatly appreciated.

Well the thing is I recently upgraded to the 460 from a 9800 and have the option to upgrade as I have some extra cash, I like the 460 but want just a little higher frame rates for BFBC2 and BO. I might just save my money and buy a 1000w decent psu and a GTX 570. I am so impatient though Btw, I never had any CPU impairment with the Q9650 It runs really fast and at really low temps with the current OC. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115130 Here is a link to the proc details incase your not familiar, its really not that far behind the equivalent I7.

[drkicker]

I built two machines at work with the same video card and Corsair 650W power supplies. They run with no problems. I'm temporarily using the same card in my home computer with only a 400W power supply. Running Folding@Home, I'm pulling between 300-310W at the wall with my Kill-A-Watt meter. Great video card, but if it stays in my computer long, I'm definitely bumping up to a 500-550W power supply.

[giovanni4k]

I just went to Fry's Electronics and took back the Galaxy GTX 460 and found an EVGA GTX 470 for $237. Bought it and have been benchmarking and playing all the games I got for about an hour each. I had 2 weird freezes happen though, first thing when I put the card in and started the system I installed the appropriate drivers from the nVidia site and during the process the system froze all black screen. Then once again black screen freeze after I quit Metro 2033. I removed all the drivers and did a fresh install, everything seems to be working after that.

My frame rates increased tremendously from the Galaxy GTX 460 768 mb I had previously. I am extremely satisfied with this card so far everything runs flawlessly and so smooth on my 32 inch Sanyo at 1080i, 1920 x 1080 it feels as if I have been missing out on all the new games. The card runs so cool on my system also, idling at 37c full load I saw max 58c.