Radeon HD 3870 Advice.

slim_radio

slim_radio

New Member
So I picked up a refurb asus today from bestbuy's website found HERE
It's a good deal for the price $300 for:

750GB HDD
2.6GHZ intel pentium dual core
6 GB DDR2
built in wireless LAN
anda 300W PSU

Problem is I also picked up THIS today:


Radeon HD 3870

Pretty awesome right? and even though I'm really excited that I'll soon be playing call of duty and crysis on my pc I have one major problem. Will the 300W power supply support the graphics card?
Local PC store owner and ex-amd technician says yes it will be fine worst case the pc wont boot.
online forums say don't do it and that it may ruin your CPU/GPU/ or Mobo
Honestly I really don't want to take any chances. If this thing could F-up my pc I would rather wait 2 weeks and get the 450W PSU.
But on the other note I have dealt with weeks of paypal and ebay just to get the money to buy it. I just want to play my games!
Does anyone have past experience with this?
 
lol i wouldnt try. I dont have experience with putting parts in without the proper power supply but i do have experience selling stuff and the answer is "yes it will be fine" :p lol dont do it is my advice.
 
I'm in the same boat, but I'm going to upgrade to at least a 500 watt! Plus I need the 6-pin connectors which my current 430watt doesn't have. :(
 
Is your 3870 GDDR4 memory? Your link doesn't work.

It would be best to have atleast a 400w PSU for that setup.

The 3870 is OK, but I wouldn't expect to be playing crysis at anything more than 1024x768 resolution with no AA/AF. Call of duty, well depends on which one but with World at War I get acceptable frame rates (60's or higher) at 1680x1050, full 1080p runs the frame rates down into the 40's which I don't like, gives a little lag. Also don't expect to be able to run antialiasing or filtering, the 3870 doesn't take kindly to it at all.

Be sure to get a good brand PSU. Just because it's 450w doesn't mean it won't blow up and take out your motherboard/etc with it. Spend a few bucks extra and get a good PSU that will last you years and through several setups as you upgrade.
This raidmax is decent-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028
 
The tech guys over at Best Buy (Geek Squad?) don't know too much. Don't take a chance...

By the way, both of your links are broken.
 
I'd like to know which pentium dual core it is. If it's an E5300, not bad...but if they are pulling a fast one with a Pentium D, thats no good.
 
Yea I'm not to worried about the power supply having the 6 pin I got an adapter for it.

I was only looking to put 45 bucks into a power supply. Thing I'm wandering is if i need a special kind to make the sata stuff work.

# Intel® Pentium® processor E5300
Yes! I do have the better processor!

Other than that I'm just glad I'll be running something better than combat arms on low detail with more lag than should be bearable.

Here is the link to the pc:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...ssor/9720981.p?id=1218159403345&skuId=9720981
 
Don't cheap out on the power supply. If it goes it can take the whole system with it. Anyway, you can get molex to SATA adapters, but all new PSU's even cheap ones come with SATA power connections so you should be OK. And go with at least a 450 watt, because your going to want to upgrade in the future. I love my 3870 it's a great card but there's way better out there. Like I said, don't cheap out on the PSU, it's the heart of the system and if it doesn't work then nothing will.
 
slim_radio said:
Yea I'm not to worried about the power supply having the 6 pin I got an adapter for it.

I was only looking to put 45 bucks into a power supply. Thing I'm wandering is if i need a special kind to make the sata stuff work.

# Intel® Pentium® processor E5300
Yes! I do have the better processor!

Other than that I'm just glad I'll be running something better than combat arms on low detail with more lag than should be bearable.

Here is the link to the pc:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...ssor/9720981.p?id=1218159403345&skuId=9720981
Click to expand...


Well the one I linked too on newegg up there was $50....can you stretch $5 to get a good PSU? Thats just initial cost though, it does have a $10 mail in rebate.
 
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Do yourself a favor and read all the reviews on that PSU. 47 people gave it 1 egg which is way to much for me, and it blows heat inside the case. Brand name 400 watt units aren't that much more, and if they do go they won't take the rest of your machine with it.
 
JLuchinski said:
Do yourself a favor and read all the reviews on that PSU. 47 people gave it 1 egg which is way to much for me, and it blows heat inside the case. Brand name 400 watt units aren't that much more, and if they do go they won't take the rest of your machine with it.
Click to expand...

Raidmax is a decent brand, it's probably the lowest of the brand names but it's still a brand name.
So what exactly is your magic number of people that give it one egg that you'd still buy a product :rolleyes: I guess it doesn't matter that 79% gave it 4-5 eggs :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Yeah you could get this 400w corsair for $55-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

But it has 21 people that gave it one egg....OH NO can't get that either I guess :rolleyes: It must only be 1/2 as much a piece of crap then.


Oh snap look this one has 90 one egg reviews, it must be a complete piece of garbage!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006


This one should be much better than that corsair above, it only has 16 one egg reviews-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817182006
 
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Holy crap, that's a lot DOA's for Corsair. And I know what your getting at, I guess bad eggs don't mean everything. BTW, how is the I3 your using? I've been looking at that same processor and I've been thinking about getting an 1156 board, I think socket 775 days are numbered.
 
I little off topic, but the I3 is pretty nice. It overclocks like a dream, and doesn't get real hot. I guess 32nm is to thank for that lol. Yeah 775 is starting to become obsolete. With the I5 750 around, there's really no reason at all to build a new core 2 quad system. And now that the I3's are out, that takes out the E8x00 series because the I3's are better and cheaper.
 
Yeah didn't mean to go off topic, I just needed an opinion from someone who's owned it and someone who knows what there talking about. Anyways back on topic, to the OP, did you get a PSU yet?
 
the Raidmax will power the system, but it is crap compared to others at the same wattage. Bare in mind it is modular, which shoots the price up and it has a little blue light in ;) It is made from cheap parts, blows hot air INTO the case rather than draws it out and is easily betwen by the better brands (Silverstone, Corsair, Seasonic etc).

From those 3, their 400W products are more explensive and for a reason: They are better. They are more stable, less likely to blow and more efficient. Your PSU is the most important part of the system, them goes and your system usually goes with it, either a few parts, or the whole thing. Spend the extra for the peace of mind and the stability.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151078

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256060
 
No Haven't gotten a new PSU yet. You have all convinced me to get a better one. Probably gonna go for a 500W brand name one.

So I payed $80 for that card it came white box(it was a display)
This is the exact one:

http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=19483&c=67

So it's 512MB GDDR4. Not so sure if that's good or bad price for what it is.

It just sucks I may have to wait 2 weeks before I have enough just to ORDER the new power supply.

Also when this is all said and done I am thinking about upgrading to a new case and a better processor so I am taking suggestions on that. Try to keep pricing within $200 if you would like to make one. Thanks a lot for everything by the way. I can't wait to get this over with and start gaming!
 
Aastii said:
the Raidmax will power the system, but it is crap compared to others at the same wattage. Bare in mind it is modular, which shoots the price up and it has a little blue light in ;) It is made from cheap parts, blows hot air INTO the case rather than draws it out and is easily betwen by the better brands (Silverstone, Corsair, Seasonic etc).

From those 3, their 400W products are more explensive and for a reason: They are better. They are more stable, less likely to blow and more efficient. Your PSU is the most important part of the system, them goes and your system usually goes with it, either a few parts, or the whole thing. Spend the extra for the peace of mind and the stability.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151078

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256060
Click to expand...

That corsair looks good I'll probably end up getting that... though I thought I needed 450w. Keep in mind guys I only have one graphics slot so card upgrades are pretty much out of the question. If 400 will push it safely than ill go with that.
 
We need to know what motherboard you have to give options for upgrading CPU's. As for a case, an Antec 300 would be a great choice.


BTW, I just sold THAT exact model 3870 to someone...I haven't even shipped it yet it's going out this morning. It's about equal with a 9800gt in performance, so not bad.
 
slim_radio said:
That corsair looks good I'll probably end up getting that... though I thought I needed 450w. Keep in mind guys I only have one graphics slot so card upgrades are pretty much out of the question. If 400 will push it safely than ill go with that.
Click to expand...

400W would deal with it fine, but if you want to ensure that in future if you plan on upgrading again, go for a 500+W one. Only use a reputable, high end brand though for the stability, efficiency and long life.

For your case, any ATX case will do, because of your budget, get a cheap one and if you ever need to add more fans or whatever, you can mod it. It is easy, just use a dremel or tinsnips to makes your hole, dremel or drill to make the screw holes. That will give you more money to spend on the processor, or, you could use the money saved on an aftermarket HSF so you can overclock your CPU
 
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