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Scurvy
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Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Tue Dec 25, 2012 2:53 pm

Here's the deal, someone just bought a new Gigabyte Geforce 660 TI and it has a 6pin and 8pin power slot on it, said person does not have an 8pin PCI-E on their PSU only 3 6pin PCI-E and a spare 8 pin marked CPU. Other then simply buying a new PSU what options would you first consider or try? Most cards come with adapters so to keep this interesting let's say this one came with x2/4pin to 6pin adapters.

Now let's say that said person is you! WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
 
bthylafh
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Tue Dec 25, 2012 2:55 pm

I'd buy a new PSU. A video card needing a 6-pin /and/ an 8-pin will require lots of electricity that an older PSU without those plugs might not be able to deliver safely, even with adapters.
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Scurvy
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Tue Dec 25, 2012 3:18 pm

for the sake of arguement lets say you just bought the PSU less than a month ago, a nice $150 750w Corsair PSU but you screwed up and it doesn't have an 8pin PCI-E which you need for your brand new gfx card, would you still accept the loss and buy a new PSU?
 
Chrispy_
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Tue Dec 25, 2012 3:57 pm

Just plug two six-pins in, it will be fine! Any 350W PSU or higher that isn't complete garbage can power a 660Ti, and you will probably find that the card doesn't even notice the lack of an 8-pin.

The 660Ti only needs around 135W at stock speeds. I've powered many greedier cards with the Antec Earthwatts 380W PSU - It's a popular unit because it's both good and cheap, coming practically free in a variety of Antec NSK cases I often build with. It has only 2x 6-pin PCI-e power connectors.
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MadManOriginal
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Tue Dec 25, 2012 4:25 pm

What Crispy_ said. If not, and you or your 'friend' have to be a perfectionist about it, get an adaptor cable like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6812706013 (not necessarily that exact one, just a 6-pin to 8-pin one.)
 
vargis14
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Tue Dec 25, 2012 4:52 pm

After you plug in the 2 6 pin connectors you do have then use a car battery and some jumper cables to power the 2 open power slots left :P

Joking..................just do what crispy says until you get the 6 pin to 8 pin adapter.

My Overkill corsair tx850 has 4 6/8 pin PCI-e power connectors
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:58 pm

vargis14 wrote:
After you plug in the 2 6 pin connectors you do have then use a car battery and some jumper cables to power the 2 open power slots left :P

Not Mr. Fusion? :lol:

Seriously, a 2x6pin -> 8-pin PCIe adapter will be good. Next time, if you are not sure of compatibility, check with your fellow gerbils first. ;)
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Scurvy
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:01 pm

because I don't believe in letting fun end.

The difference between simply plugging another 6pin into the 8pin or using a 2x4pin to 6pin adapter or a 2x6pin to 8pin adapter or simply plugging 2 4pins into it is? GO GO GO
my money's on Chrispy answering first!
EXTRA POINTS to anyone who posts a wattage chart of the different err(brain malfunction) cords/plugs/adapters w.e u wanna call them
 
Chrispy_
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Re: Test your Knowledge! GFX POWER

Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:42 pm

Scurvy wrote:
my money's on Chrispy answering first!


I'll PM you my bank details then. 8)

Anyway, the PCI Express slot itself provides up to 75W. This is what cards that don't require a PCI-E power connectors use.
On top of that, a 6-pin connector provides another 75W, and an 8-pin connector provides 150W.

Even if you're only plugging in two 6-pin connectors, the card is being supplied with 225W, which is 75W more than the 660Ti actually needs.

Reality Check:

This is the 245W power consumption of a complete system as tested by TR. That's using an 85% efficient PSU, meaning that with a 245W drain at the wall socket, the entire system running at full whack uses around 200W (that's an X79 motherboard, a power-hungry "130W" Sandy Bridge Extreme, 4 RAM sticks, drives, fans, the GTX 660Ti and probably some silly lights too).

In other news, my first GTX460 (rated at 150W by Nvidia, just like the 660Ti) came with a single 6-pin socket. Go figure....

Extra points (page is chock-full of incredibly nerdy charts on wattage/current/pinout of the various PCI-E power connectors)
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