VTX3D 7870..How does the 12v rail work on PSU's....

[Mathius]

I'm about to buy a VTX3D Black edition in the hope that it will be strong enough to run COD Ghosts and GTA V when released at high settings (1680*1050)


I read that the video card requires 34amps on the 12v rail. My OCZ MXSP 600 has 25amps on 12v1 and 25amps on 12v2,

I'm pretty sure ill be fine without an upgrade, but not 100% sure.......

also, how does this 12v rail malarky work? I have 50amps across 2 rails???

Can someone shed some light on this, normally im pretty good with tech but I'm not sure about my dual rail 12v.

 

[tinytomlogan]

TBH mate youve answered your own question already.....

Id never want to use an OCZ anyways.

Answer is it might work, youll never know till you try. Me personally.... I wouldnt even connect it up Id be buying a new PSU too.

 

[Mathius]

K, you have a recommendation on a PSU?

600w +, modular, not XFX, hopefully £60 max

(on the mobile at the moment so searching specs takes ages)

EDIT.....

Corsair CX600M
12v @ 46A.

Good choice or not.

 

[tinytomlogan]

You dont need 600w mate. If you NEED 600w you need to spend more.

The corsair CX's are my version of budget/bottom end. ie never go lower.

 

[jamesriley94]

You can get a 500w Silverstone Strider, fully modular for £65:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w...onze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-v23-

I have 2 friends running those, both with 7950s and have never had any issues whatsoever.

 

[Mathius]

True I don't need 600, infact I know that 550 is enough (tested) and maybe even 500.

I'll have another decent look later at my power requirements and seeing as I won't CFx SLI my system a high quality 500 may well be enough.

infact using pcpartpicker and my components with a 7950 3GB (200w power draw) the estimated wattage is still under 400w,

The thing is finding a 500w modular unit with high 12v amps at a reasonable price is tricky.

ill probably get £40 back on my OCZ which helps


-----------
I'll take a look at that silverstone link,
-----------
@ 35A on 12v, it 'looks' like the CX500M is still better

 

[Dire Squirrel]

The CX series is a decent place to start. nothing wrong with them.

Tom is right. You don't actually need 600W. Your rig (with the 7870) would draw closer to half that.
So you should be able to get away with the CX430.

But.

Personally, I prefer to go for PSU's around double the wattage that the system will be drawing under typical use.
PSU's are generally most efficient at around 50% load and it is also above this point where the noise level of most PSU's start to be an issue.

It's also worth noting that the CX430 only has one 6+2 pin PCI connector. For your chosen GPU you are going to need two 6 pin connectors. So you would have to use an adapter and take up two molex connectors, of which the PSU only has 3.
Not really a good way to go in my opinion.

Both the CX500 and CX600 have two PCI connectors.

Which one to choose depends on your typical use. If this is mainly gaming and other intensive tasks, I would go for the 600W. If it's mostly internet browsing, office programs and similar, the 500W one will be just fine.

 

[Mathius]

I just realised, currently my wife's XFX Proseries 550w is undergoing a RMA back at the Netherlands, but I've just run the specs.....

Downside - Non Modular
UpSide - Single Rail +12v @ 44A

Result!

I'm sure I can manage to get the horrible cable management semi-ok.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Depending on the case you can get away with it. I still would recommend a newer psu.

 

[s3ns3]

Hi. hd 4870 power consumption is about the same like a stock 7950. if the psu handled well your sistem is more than fine with a 7870 XT . its a decent psu,oem Sirtec.if it works don`t change it lol