Will my computer work a modern GPU?

Originally Posted by Xeves

This one? Would I need a new power supply if I got it, because I'm not sure a 305w can handle anything that powerful. Would this be a good one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182032

This is the power usage of an entire system. Yes, it's in Swedish, but I think you can understand it. Hög = high, Ingen = no, belastning = load.

As you can see, the HD 5770 has very low power usage.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

I'd still say that the 5770 is slower than the GTX 260

Really? I consider it pretty equal. Here's the 260+ vs the 5770...

Originally Posted by Danger

As you can see, the HD 5770 has very low power usage.

Hm, well, in that case...

Average DVD drive (30w) + HDD (I don't really know, let's say 20 or 50) + Processor (95w) + the 5770 (172 to 245)

All in all that adds up to a range of 317 to 420 watts of consumption, assuming that my DVD and HD drives consume that much energy. So, with a 305w power supply, would it be possible to run that set up? Or would it be smarter to get one of the PSUs Nighthawx suggested?

Originally Posted by Xeves

Hm, well, in that case...

Average DVD drive (30w) + HDD (I don't really know, let's say 20 or 50) + Processor (95w) + the 5770 (172 to 245)

All in all that adds up to a range of 317 to 420 watts of consumption, assuming that my DVD and HD drives consume that much energy. So, with a 305w power supply, would it be possible to run that set up? Or would it be smarter to get one of the PSUs Nighthawx suggested?

Oh, that's the entire computer they measured - the 5770 does not go much above 100 W during load.

Use this calculator:
http://www.antec.outervision.com/
Your system is single socket, BTW.

I believe your system won't go above 250 W at 90% load.

Originally Posted by Danger

Oh, that's the entire computer they measured - the 5870 does not go much above 100 W during load.

Use this calculator:
http://www.antec.outervision.com/
Your system is single socket, BTW.

Huh, well that's even better. Let's test this out...

Well looks like right now I'm cranking out 180 to 195 watts alone. Hmm, looks like this might work. Let's add in a 5870 (the 5770 wasn't on there)...

That goes to 296, just below my 305. But, we're looking at the 5770, and that, at maximum, puts out 60 watts less than the 5870. So, I think I may have found my child . Do you concur?

Edit: Oh ♥♥♥♥, I just realized that the 5770 can't fit. My PCI-e slot is on the top of the slots, and the 5770 takes up two. So unless I took a hacksaw to my case and used some bizzare contraption to keep it in place, I'll have to go for a thinner card. That, or I could buy a new motherboard/case, but that's another $150.

Edit: HUZZAH! I found the solution

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125277

It's cheap, it has low power consumption, and best of all, IT WOULD ACTUALLY FIT IN MY COMPUTER =D.

umm why would it being one of the top slots matter?draw a diagram if you must. FYI the top slot is liek the standard location and the fan faces DOWNWARD FYI

if you have a BTX case/motherboard this could be the situation... FYI remember you can take out the PRESENT video card.

Originally Posted by Xeves

Hm, well, in that case...

Average DVD drive (30w) + HDD (I don't really know, let's say 20 or 50) + Processor (95w) + the 5770 (172 to 245)

All in all that adds up to a range of 317 to 420 watts of consumption, assuming that my DVD and HD drives consume that much energy. So, with a 305w power supply, would it be possible to run that set up? Or would it be smarter to get one of the PSUs Nighthawx suggested?

harddrives and DVD drives tend to consume no more than 10W, DVD drives draw even less.
also there's a motherboard(??? 50W not certain), and RAM(10-20W) to power as well

FYI in general you want 10-20% power supply headroom to compensate for capacitor degradation over time.

too lazy to type stuff out, read this
http://www.overclock.net/power-suppl...ers-guide.html

basically check yoru 12V rail. If your 305W psu can only put out 15 amps on the 12V rail it very well might choke on powering anything much more than what you presently have... to put this into perspective, my present PSU can put out 60amps on the 12v rail.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

umm why would it being one of the top slots matter?draw a diagram if you must. FYI the top slot is liek the standard location and the fan faces DOWNWARD FYI

if you have a BTX case/motherboard this could be the situation... FYI remember you can take out the PRESENT video card.

First of all, I have an onboard GPU, so there is nothing plugged into the PCI/PCIe slots. And what I mean is that the 5770 takes up two openings in the back of the case, and my only PCIe slot is on the top. So it wouldn't fit. Also, there are parts on the motherboard that would get in the way of it. And now that I think about it, not even a hacksaw would solve it.

However, the Radeon HD 4670 seems to be perfect for me. It has low power consumption, takes up one slot, and is an overall decent GPU. Not only that, the one I found on newegg is $75. Haven't bought anything, but it's tempting.

Also, I might be wrong, but I i did the math and I get either 22 or 25.5 amps on my 12v rail. Is that good or bad? (Also, I have two 12 v rails, A and B)

22A is probably fine so you should be OK there. EPIC fail as far as design on the board is concerned though...

it's a PCI-e 8x/16x slot right?


FYI 4670...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102854
it's a bit under $75(unless you're factoring in tax/shipping)

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

22A is probably fine so you should be OK there. EPIC fail as far as design on the board is concerned though...

Indeed.

it's a PCI-e 8x/16x slot right?

How do I tell? I know it's a PCI-e, at least =P.

FYI 4670...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102854
it's a bit under $75(unless you're factoring in tax/shipping)

I think this one would fit in my case better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125277

I'll look into the one you suggested, though.

Edit: Getting 512mb instead of a gigabyte is not worth the nine dollars.

Edit2: Scratch that, the one you suggest actually fits better in my motherboard. Well, except for the gargantuan fan in my case -_-;

Originally Posted by Xeves

Indeed.



How do I tell? I know it's a PCI-e, at least =P.

I think this one would fit in my case better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125277

I'll look into the one you suggested, though.

Edit: Getting 512mb instead of a gigabyte is not worth the nine dollars.

Edit2: Scratch that, the one you suggest actually fits better in my motherboard. Well, except for the gargantuan fan in my case -_-;

vRAM is like system RAM, if you aren't using it, it's doing nothing bu wasting electricity. the 4670 can't really push games to a point where they can use the vRAM. a 4800 doesn't benefit THAT much from going from 512mb to 1GB, but the 4670 is only 4/10ths of a 4800(literally, the 4670 has 320 processing units, the 4800s have 800) the only real benefit would be running texture mods on older games.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

vRAM is like system RAM, if you aren't using it, it's doing nothing bu wasting electricity. the 4670 can't really push games to a point where they can use the vRAM. a 4800 doesn't benefit THAT much from going from 512mb to 1GB, but the 4670 is only 4/10ths of a 4800(literally, the 4670 has 320 processing units, the 4800s have 800)

Well, considering that I'm never going to go past 1024x768 or 1330x768 when playing games, and will probably be running it at medium quality or high quality without too many bells and whistles, so the number of processing units isn't a big deal for me. That said, you make a good point about the vRam. Seeing as I want to take extra precautions concerning my PSU, I think the one you posted will work. So now, it's between those two for me.

half a gig of vRAM doesn't suck much power FYI, just letting you know.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

half a gig of vRAM doesn't suck much power FYI, just letting you know.

Ah, then I'll probably go with the GIGABYTE 1 GB 4670 then. I'm going to make some measurements in my case before I make any purchases, however.

Thanks for all of the advice, guys.

measuring is ALWAYS good.

also the 1GB uses DDR3 insteed of gDDR3

I believe there's a lower latency on DDR3 chips than gDDR3(don't quote me) and I beleive they also consume LESS power than gDDR3 chips but they don't scale as high Mhz wise. Mhz matters more with video cards than latency does FYI, that said, it doesn't matter a ton performance wise, especially if you're not overclocking the vRAM

Well, I measured, and the average card (4.375 by 7 inches?) should fit in there with length and width. The only thing troubling me now is the height. There is a gargantuan fan that sucks in air from the front and blows it out the back, and I'd say the card could be about.5 to 1 inch tall before touching the thing. There are spaces for parts of a card to fit, but regardless, if I got one of these and this behemoth conflicted with it (if it ever did it would only be a little) is there a way to shift the fan or move it? it looks like these cards are pretty thin, but what would you say the measurements are height wise?

Also, i noticed that on the sapphire card you suggested it's actually a little less long than the GIGABYTE card, which would obliterate this problem all together. Let me do some conversions and see how big it is.

Edit: Okay, I don't want to risk it not fitting, so I'm looking into thinner cards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125244

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161271

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125250

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161288

Tell me what you think of these, because I KNOW these will fit.

DO NOT get a 4500...80 sps...
the 4600s have 320 for comparison, a HUGE difference.
consider buying the card at a local retailer, returns are much easier.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

DO NOT get a 4500...80 sps...
the 4600s have 320 for comparison, a HUGE difference.
consider buying the card at a local retailer, returns are much easier.

Best Buy? There's a million of them around here, so that would be an easy answer. So either one of the 4670's? I'm thinking that the GIGABYTE one with the fan looks good, and it would probably fit. Also, at Best Buy do they return if it doesn't fit in your PC or if it breaks?

not sure about best buy, I generally never dealed with them I always went to fry's electronics.