Power Recommendations by Video Card

TheBOSS

TheBOSS

New Member
You say a 550Watt for the HD2900XT. According to the ATi site, that card is the 512MB DDR3 card. I havethe 1GB DDR4 version. Would this change the required PSU at all?
I currently have a 540Watt Aopen, which doesn't do the job(wouldn't think a rated 10Watts would make such a big diff). I am looking at the iSonic Megapower 600Watt PSU(fits my budget quite nicely, and for the power is well priced), will the 600Watt PSU be fine?
 
ceewi1

ceewi1

VIP Member
The difference in power consumption between the 512MB version and the 1GB version is negligible (~2W), which isn't something that would affect the recommendation.

540W would be plenty, provided the PSU is realistically rated and has sufficient amperage on the +12V rail. I'm not familiar with the Aopen 540W, but I believe that most of the Aopen PSUs are reasonable quality. I can't even find any product specs on it, do you have a link? Is it possible that you have a defective unit?

With regards to the iSonic, I wouldn't. It may be rated for 600W, but from what I've seen it only has dual +12V rails @ 16A and 17A, which is poor for a 600W PSU. You'll find a number of PSUs with lower rated wattage capable of putting out a lot more usable power. Do you have a link to a site you can purchase from and a budget for the PSU? If so, I can provide some recommendations.
 
TheBOSS

TheBOSS

New Member
Well look, I'm based in South africa. I'm going to be selling my PSu to a friend for R300(South African Rands). The iSonic is R379 at the cheapest internet Vendor plus P&P. I unfortunately can't spend much more. If there is something better for not much more, and that can run the HD2900XT then great.

Here is the link to iSonic: http://www.isonic.co.za/psu.htm
 
TheBOSS

TheBOSS

New Member
Well I use http://www.pricecheck.co.za they show you all the internet vendors, and their prices.

Have you checked out the iSonic? Might still go for it, unless you think otherwise. Unlike my current PSU it has 2x6 pin PCIe connectors on the PSU, which is quite nifty I think.
 
ceewi1

ceewi1

VIP Member
I took a look at the website and it doesn't give much information, nor can I find much by googling. As always, I'm very hesitant to recommend a PSU I know next to nothing about, particularly given that the price is extremely low compared to other similarly rated units, which makes me question the reliability of the rating system.

That said, I can't find much that would suit a 2900XT within your price range either.
 
ceewi1

ceewi1

VIP Member
colt1911 said:
Ceewi1 does that list include the new 8800GTS 512mb cards?
Click to expand...
Yes, the power consumption is very similar to the other versions, and so is the official recommendation.
oscaryu1 said:
Good question!

And there's the new 8800GS that's out.
Click to expand...
I've added a figure based on XFXs recommendation for their 8800GSs (the only recommendation I can find at the moment). This may end up getting revised downwards slightly, since XFX typically have above average power recommendations. It seems a little high to me.
 
TheBOSS

TheBOSS

New Member
Thanks Ceewi1, I tried out a Cooler Master Etreme Power 650Watt, still the same results, with my video card. So I took it back and tested the Cooler Master Real Power 750Watt, what an extremely awesome Power supply, the cost was R1250, as opposed to the R699 for the Extreme power, and about R400 for the iSonic 600Watt, but I thought if it works then great, and also I wouldn't have to buy a PSU for a long time. My card showed the exact same results. I'm now convinced there may be something wrong with my card. Is it possible to have video cards checked out, or even repaired? I heard that one can Flash the BIOS of a Video Card, is this true, and does\can it work?
 
TheBOSS

TheBOSS

New Member
ceewi1 said:
What exactly was the problem you were having?
Click to expand...

Well my card, is showing lower clock speeds, then what is claimed(501 instead of 740ish-core clock, and 514 instead of 1000 Memory clock), this is what is showing up in the ATi Catalyst Control Centre.
 
ceewi1

ceewi1

VIP Member
Sounds to me like Catalyst Control Centre is showing the 2D clocks instead of the 3D clocks - these cards should increase to the full rated speed when a 3D application is run.

You could try downloading the AMD GPU Clock Tool, it allows you to log the clock speeds. Run a 3D application like a game or 3DMark and read the log afterwards to see what's happened to the clock speeds.
 
TheBOSS

TheBOSS

New Member
ceewi1 said:
Sounds to me like Catalyst Control Centre is showing the 2D clocks instead of the 3D clocks - these cards should increase to the full rated speed when a 3D application is run.

You could try downloading the AMD GPU Clock Tool, it allows you to log the clock speeds. Run a 3D application like a game or 3DMark and read the log afterwards to see what's happened to the clock speeds.
Click to expand...

Thanks again, I have downloaded, and indeed it does show both the 2d clocks, and the 3d clocks. The card is running at full clock rates. Thanks a million!!!
 
hermeslyre

hermeslyre

VIP Member
TheBOSS said:
Well my card, is showing lower clock speeds, then what is claimed(501 instead of 740ish-core clock, and 514 instead of 1000 Memory clock), this is what is showing up in the ATi Catalyst Control Centre.
Click to expand...


Regarding the memory clock, just so you know, GPU VRAM is based on SDRAM DDR. In other words the memory is running at only 500mhz, no more, yet it is capable of sending data twice per clock. Specifications list this as a 'doubling of the clock', in order to be relative to the consumer. It causes much confusion..
 
TheBOSS

TheBOSS

New Member
hermeslyre said:
Regarding the memory clock, just so you know, GPU VRAM is based on SDRAM DDR. In other words the memory is running at only 500mhz, no more, yet it is capable of sending data twice per clock. Specifications list this as a 'doubling of the clock', in order to be relative to the consumer. It causes much confusion..
Click to expand...

Ya I have been told that whatever memory speed I read, I actually double, therfore making it 2000Mhz. The lower clock speeds are my 2D clocks as Ceewi1 pointed out.

I didn't know quite as much as you have just informed me of, and for this new found knowledge, I thank you.
 
shenry

shenry

Member
9600 GT:

Requirements
Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 26 Amp Amps.)
Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 28 Amp Amps.)
An available 6 pin PCI-E power connector (hard drive power dongle to PCI-E 6 pin adapter included with card)
Click to expand...

Source

Hope this helps :)
 
O

oscaryu1

VIP Member
Regarding the memory clock, just so you know, GPU VRAM is based on SDRAM DDR. In other words the memory is running at only 500mhz, no more, yet it is capable of sending data twice per clock. Specifications list this as a 'doubling of the clock', in order to be relative to the consumer. It causes much confusion..
Click to expand...

DDR = Double Data Rate :)

Wow! That 9600 sure is power saving!
 
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