4870 questions...

[KillerCars]

Hi,

I read a few threads but my questions are kind of specific. I think my board (Gigabyte GA-P35c-DS3R) only has a PCI-E 1.0 slot.. will the 4870 (PCI-E 2.0) take a performance hit due to limitations by the slot?

Also, I've had a bit of a look but I haven't really seen any sizes for this card.. just need to know if it'll fit in my Cooler Master Wave Master case. Does anyone know?

Finally, I have the 520W version of this power supply. It only comes with one PCI-Express 6 pin connector but it looks like it could take 2 if I bought another cable for it. Anyone know if this would be good enough to run the 4870?

If you haven't gathered, I really want a 4870 card but don't really have the money to fork out on new mobo, PSU or case so I need to be sure what I have is good enough if I did buy one.

Any answers would be appreciated.

Thanks,
KC.

 

[Jakus]

Yes, You should be able to run the HD4870 OK, I suspect the rest of You system will hold the Card back from pulling it's potential max power so You will be OK PSU wise....Get it ordered

 

[KillerCars]

Thanks for the answer. My system is as follows:

E6750 @ 3.2Ghz
Gigabyte GA-P35c-DS3R
2GB Geil 800MHz DDR2
Western Digital Raptor 74GB & 500gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Dell 2408WFP (mainly why I need the upgrade - so I can play at 1920x1200 better).
OCZ ModStream 520w PSU


Would this hold back the card? I didn't buy it that long ago but I know things have been moving pretty quickly. And will the PCI-E 1.0 slot slow the card down? This is one thing I don't really know anything about... logically I would have though a PCI-E 2.0 card in a PCI-E 1.0 slot would be held back but I don't know if this is the case.

I think I have about 10.5" of space in my case.. how long is the 4870?

As for the PSU.. you say it should be ok but I will need to buy another 6 pin PCI-E connector.. do you know if I can buy just any old 6pin pci-e connector? (I don't think i'd be able to get the exact cable for that PSU as they have stopped making it). And I know with these new cards you need to make sure you have enough amps per rail or something (my friend was banging on about it).. are you sure mine has enough amps?

Thanks,
KC.

 

[Talrinys]

As long as the PCI-E slot is 16x it'll be fine
There are however some problems with compatability, are you absolutely sure that the Gigabyte mobo has a PCI-E 1.0 slot? It's a new motherboard so i would have though it would have a 1.1 slot?

 

[reflux]

All P35 boards are PCI-E 1.1. PCI-E 1.0a was an early version and is most commonly seen in old motherboards from the socket 939 AMD era. Therefore there will be no compatibility problems. Your card will be fine. Not sure if it will be bottlenecked though...I would say no, as I don't think that PCI-E has moved that far on in the past few months.

I'm not sure what size your case is, but if it's a standard midi-tower/full tower you should have no trouble. The 4850 is quite small.

 

[LoadsaMoney]

Yeah 4870 should work on that board fine, i was running a PCI-E 2.0 8800 GT fine and dandy on a p965 DS4.

 

[KillerCars]

Thanks for that. I wasn't sure about my PCI-E slot.. I just went off what some sysinfo tool said but it didn't seem right anyway. So case size and slot should be ok.

Does anyone know about the amps question on my psu? Not sure if it'll make the grade and I really want to be sure before I buy.

Thanks for your help so far!

 

[Jakus]

Thanks for that. I wasn't sure about my PCI-E slot.. I just went off what some sysinfo tool said but it didn't seem right anyway. So case size and slot should be ok.

Does anyone know about the amps question on my psu? Not sure if it'll make the grade and I really want to be sure before I buy.

Thanks for your help so far!

Like I said, doubtfull You system will strech the 4870 which means it will not need as much power..You will be fine until someone on here measures load power we only have indications on review sites, I have found Wizard's reviews on techpowerup more like My own findings.

 

[KillerCars]

Thanks, I'll have a look.