Sapphire HD4870 - Will my PSU be enough??

R

RMfan77

New Member
I'm about to by a new VGA to replace my broken 8800GTS (RIP) and I decided to buy an HD4870 card.

The only problem is that I'm not sure if my power supply can handle it.

I have a Chieftec ATX 2.0 420W Dual Fan PSU and it served me well so far, but I'm afraid it's not enough for this new HD4870.

(My config: ASUS P5K, INTEL c2d e6750, Samsung T220 Monitor, 4*1 GB GEIL Quad-Channel KIT, 3 SATAII HDD's and ATA Pioneer 109 DVDRW)

I've read many different opinions and still can't decide so please help me.

THX in advance
 
I can’t find specs for Chieftec PSU’s. Do you know if it has more than one 12V rail and how many amps the rails are rated for, (should be a sticker with specs on the PSU)?
 
No you will need a new psu. This one http://www.sapphiretech.com/at/products/products_overview.php?gpid=254&grp=3 only needs a 450W psu and all others (not including the 4870 X2) need at least 500W. Make sure you get a psu with two 6-pin connectors, although i imagine this is quite common on most these days.

EDIT: My bad they dont all need two 6-pin connectors, only these two do: http://www.sapphiretech.com/at/products/products_overview.php?gpid=250&grp=3 and http://www.sapphiretech.com/at/products/products_overview.php?gpid=245&grp=3
 
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"check it here http://www.antec.outervision.com/"

This website gives me a 310W of recommended PSU Wattage. What does that mean? I'm good to go?

"Do you know if it has more than one 12V rail and how many amps the rails are rated for, (should be a sticker with specs on the PSU)?"

I've managed to find the User's Manual for my PSU and I there's a Product Specification scheme. It says something like this: +12V1 -> 15A +12V2 -> 18A
I don't know if that's of any help

Candy: Yes, I checked the psu recommendations on sapphiretech.com but according to some comments I read those are too harsh.

So, what do you think???
 
All you can do is put it in and see, I’m guessing it’ll run, but depends on how many amps are left on the lower of the 2 rails. Question is are you prepared to replace the PSU if it proves insufficient or would you rather go with a lesser card that you know the PSU can handle?
 
jevery said:
All you can do is put it in and see, I’m guessing it’ll run, but depends on how many amps are left on the lower of the 2 rails. Question is are you prepared to replace the PSU if it proves insufficient or would you rather go with a lesser card that you know the PSU can handle?
Click to expand...

Well, I don't really like the idea of a lesser card as I'm hoping to find a longer-term solution in this hd4870...

Truth is, if I buy it and my PSU can't handle it, I can't afford buying a quality psu for it. Of course I could buy a new psu and a lesser vga but that's not the kindda way I would prefer.

The problem is I can't wait with the purchase. You see there are a bunch of blue and yellow lines all over the screen, I tried the vga with several computers and it's the same everywhere and in this condition I can't use it for a single thing.

I guess it's risky to buy it but I don't know what else to do.

Is there a chance it would be stable if I don't stress it that much with 3d applications ??? Because then maybe I can manage for a couple weeks and buy a new psu after that ???
 
wattage means almost nothing, its all in amperage, so odds are it will crap out when you first install your card
 
Well, according to my manual, my psu has 2 +12 rails with 15A and 18A that gives a total of 33 if I understand it correctly. That's still not enough ???
 
RMfan77 said:
That's still not enough ???
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone can say with certainty as we don't have numbers for how much of that 15 & 18 amps is needed by your other components. I'm guessing that it will either boot and run without problems, or it won't boot at all, but I don't think it's gonna come down to just not stressing the card.
 
I see.

Well, I really appreciate every comment I guess I just order it and hope for the best. If it isn't working then I'll steal my brother's Enermax, that should do the trick. :)
 
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