Ok, I'm currently in the process of rebuilding my PC. I currently have an MSI K9n6SGM-V, Athlon X2 5000+ BE, 4GB Cruicial 667mhz, HIS IceQ HD4670 Turbo with a Pioneer 111-D and a WD Cavier 500GB HDD. I just bought a Gigabyte GA-MA785G-Ud3H to replace the old MSI and I was planning on just swapping over all my components till the new year where I will buy a Phenom 2 X4 CPU (not sure exactly which one yet), 4GB of 1066 Ram with CAS:5 mem time:5-6-6-18, and I'm going to step up to a 1GB HD4870. I'm running my current setup on a Rosewill 500W PSU as my setup only uses roughly 340W but the new setup will put me at about 522W according to newegg's PSU calculator tool. So I'll need an upgrade here. Thats where my question comes in... Am I better getting a new PSU for the whole PC that will handle the new load or should I just buy a dedicated PSU for the 4870? I've never dealt with this kind of thing before so I'm unsure of the benefits or drawbacks of using dedicated GPU - PSU's. *edit* After actually looking for a dedicated PSU, I can't seem to find any, tons of reviews and info, but it seems no1 sells them. Am I missing something?
"*edit* After actually looking for a dedicated PSU, I can't seem to find any, tons of reviews and info, but it seems no1 sells them. Am I missing something? " AFAIK, dedicated PSUs for the video card do not exist, since PC power supplies are switched through the motherboard and cotain circuitry that monitor other voltages coming out of the power supply. Even if you were to "rig" one, how would you switch it on and off?
They do exist. Google Thermaltake Power Express 250W and you will find a PSU thats for your GPU only. It actually does connect to your PC's PSU wiring so that it can turn on/off with it properly.
What I meant was I couldn't find any FOR SALE. Unless I'm just looking in the wrong places, I couldn't find them on newegg.ca, tigerdirect.ca, ncix or any local shop... So I'm wondering if they are just rare or have they kinda faded from the market. Seems like a genius idea to me. And the reviews were great. But I'm guessing I'll have to buy a new PSU as well. Upgrades always cost more than I plan for heh.
I realize that you are in Canada so this may not help. http://www.fspgroupusa.com/BOOSTERX.asp Available at: http://www.fspgroupusa.com/FSPWHERETOBUY/wheretobuy.html , among them http://www.allway.ca/fsp.htm Maybe they can special order for you. Thermaltake appears to have discontinued their GPU only PS. But someone may have old stock lying around.
Just use your current PSU. i don't think you'll max 500 watts. Im running a AMD Kuma 7750BE OCed to 3.2Ghz, 2 HD3870, 4GBs of 1066(533), X-fi, And an Intel Pro PCI-X add in card. on a 500 Watt Asus Power Supply. i game For Hours and im rock solid
Yea I cheaped out on the Rosewill as my current power consumption was tiny. But this one might be pushing it. I wouldn't feel comfortable pushing this one close to its limits at all. Anything over 425-450 would make me worry. Since it seems dedicated PSU's didn't really take off, I think I'll just get a 700+ OCZ or Corsair or something..
