Power needed for overclocking 5870

anachronox · 8 Jul 2011 at 22:22

I have both adapters, 1 x 4pin molex to 6pin pcie and the (y splitter) 2x 4pin molex to 6pin pcie, currently using the 1 to 1 adapter and the 5870 runs perfectly fine at stock speeds but it dont like to overclock, if i used two molex to power a pcie do u think it will help with overclocks?

each molex produces 75w right? how much juice does a 5870 need?

stulid · 8 Jul 2011 at 22:24

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5870-review-test/13

The card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 40 Amps available on the +12 volts rails.

Reaper 392 · 8 Jul 2011 at 22:35

the fact that you need an adapter suggests your PSU isnt powerful enough for the card, or is a low quality PSU

anachronox · 8 Jul 2011 at 22:47

oh the psu has 1x 6 pin pcie, but 5870 requires 2x 6pin pcie so have to use adapter for one of them, my psu is 580w crossfire certified.

I just thought there must be a reason for making 2 molex adapter versions, ie they would provide more juice.

Confused Stu · 9 Jul 2011 at 08:45

580W crossfire certified? That sounds like the claim on my old Hiper Type-R PSU. If it is sTyle-R you have, change it and change it soon. They have a well deserved reputation for going wrong without warning and taking out some/most/all of your other components. I thought everyone was exaggerating until the day mine made killed my SSD by burning out a chip inside it.

Even if it's not a Type-R, the fact it only has 1 PCI-E power connector isn't a good sign. I would say change it for a quality 750W model and then you'll be fine to overclock it and even go Crossfire if you want to later (or go for a 600W if you never plan on crossfiring).

anachronox · 9 Jul 2011 at 09:30

heya, mine is type M

http://www.hipergroup.com/products.php?lv=4&cate=1&type=7&pid=15&action=Specification

I did hear some horror stories, but this one has worked solid for several years, no signs of fault, i dont plan to go crossfire, just minor overclock on 5870. But i suspect its the card that does not like to be overclocked.

Think it was mainly the type R that had problems?
http://www.hipergroup.com/products.php?lv=1&cate=1