Vidya cards

[Rapt0r]

I'm selling my 4870 to Kekkimaru for his computer I'm helping him build so I can afford to upgrade mine. My choice is between these 2 cards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 20-Product

http://www.hwcompare.com/8890/geforce-g ... n-hd-6870/
Benchmarks show the 560 TI out performing the 6870 but I'm more worried about heat and power consumption. I only have a 520watt PSU (both cards want a minimum 500 watt). Will that be enough?

[amak11]

it should be enough. Tho expect the fans to slow down when the video card kicks in for games. You could upgrade to a higher wattage PSU if you are that worried about it.

[PiXeLaDo]

I'd go for a 600w psu and get the Ti.
dunno much about ATi cards, but the 560 Ti OCs like a monster.

Source: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-g ... -review/20

[Rapt0r]

Why would the fans slow down? That really doesn't make too much sense.

Also, I can't really afford the $80 or so it'll cost to upgrade my PSU as well. If it ends up not being enough, will my card just run slower?

[Belisario93]

Why would the fans slow down? That really doesn't make too much sense.

If I'm understanding it right, it makes perfect sense. since there would be less wattage available, the fans wouldn't be able to pull enough power to go full speed.

[blazingamer]

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psuca ... calculator

I, myself, am still planning on going for the good ol' HD 5770, it's rather low power and delivers decent performance. Everything is going to look heavenly after playing on a gma 950 for 3 years.

[Rapt0r]

Well poop. I have no idea if I have a regular mobo or a high end but if I have high end, I need 540 watts. Duck. So, what happens? Does my card just under perform?

[amak11]

well how much was your mobo? did you pay arse loads of money for it? If it's just a mATX or a low cost (under $200) ATX board then it's a regular board. :/

As for what happens, one of 2 things, computer wont start or system runs at reduced speeds overall. Even then, with your current PSU it wont be that big of a drop. Either way, you can still use them with your current setup.

[JanZuKa]

Fans slowing down because lack of power is unlikely. A normal 80mm fan usually needs ~1A and if graphic card fans run at 12 volts then that's ~12 watts which is irrelevant to the amount the card itself requires.
Now your system would probably do fine until you run some intensive benchmark or game, when a crash/shutdown would most likely occur

I recommend taking a look at this site http://www.antec.outervision.com/
It lets you calculate the wattage your system requires.
What brand is your current psu? A quality-psu is better than a no-brand one with 1,5 times the wattage, therefore you might just do it without psu upgrade.

About your card choice, if you can afford the better one then I'd recommend getting it. Otherwise you might regret your choice later when getting a poor framerate.

There's also lots of gimmicks you might want to take into account, like CUDA for nvidia cards, eyefinity for AMD etc...

If you are worried about heat an ideal airflow solution for computer case is intake from front below and exhaust to upper backside. This way your graphic card and processor heatsink will get a plentiful supply of cool air and hot exhaust air is blown to back and out of the case

[Rapt0r]

That's pretty much how my case is set up. I have 3 120mm fans. One is in the lower front, one in the middle that is attached to my CPU blowing towards the back, and one on the upper back of my case. I have spots to fit 8 or so more 120mm fans on my case if I really want to do it (probably not). With the 560 Ti I posted, I'm pretty sure I won't have to deal with it. I'm mainly worried because I've had to deal with an overheating laptop for nearly 4 years and I'm sick of that poop.

Also, I'm almost positive I'm getting the 560 Ti. I'm just worried about my PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-text-_-
This is what I have. I've heard it's a very good brand to buy.

My mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-text-_-

[JanZuKa]

Hmmhmm this is a tricky situation. It's hard to say for certain what will happen if the wattage (or current) is exceeded. It'll heat up that's for sure, like if you hook an ac adapter to a laptop that cannot provide the required current it'll heat up.
However quality psu's, like yours, should have failsafes to prevent catastrophic failures. Emphasizing 'should'

If both cards require 500 watts then I quess you will be fine, but I don't know how Amd or Nvidia have tested that, did they just grab some random processor, a dvd-drive and a hard-drive and looked how much that eats..?

Another thing worth noting, even if that psu is enough, it won't be the healthiest situation for it.
For example, if you were to use a 1000W psu your system would use only like half of it's capacity, putting very little pressure on the psu, whereas if you were to use your current one it'd be running on full throttle all the time.

[Rapt0r]

Well, I'll probably upgrade my PSU eventually anyway. Maybe at the end of the month after the last of my loans are paid of and I see how much dosh I have.

[PiXeLaDo]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-g ... i-review/7
hope this helps

Also, post results

[amak11]

Fans slowing down because lack of power is unlikely. A normal 80mm fan usually needs ~1A and if graphic card fans run at 12 volts then that's ~12 watts which is irrelevant to the amount the card itself requires.
Now your system would probably do fine until you run some intensive benchmark or game, when a crash/shutdown would most likely occur

Then you haven't seen my old severely underpowered system, lol. Broke the PSU in 4 months. :P

[Davidrawr]

Why don't you just get yourself a GTX 480 and OC it, Rapt0r? Currently running one myself, and I can safely say you can pump everything to max at 1920x1080 and still enjoy 70-100 FPS.

Edit: Also, check out Silverstone if you're looking for a quality 600-1000 watt modular PSU for cheap.