Quick question.

Razor-BladE · 28 Jul 2010 at 17:20

Will the Corsair HX 520w power this spec comfortably?

GA-EP43T-USB3 mobo
Q6600 @ 3.5Ghz
2x2gb G. Skill Ripjaw 1600mhz
Blu ray drive
2x HDDs
Asus Xonar DX
5770 1gb or 4850 512mb

Tealc · 28 Jul 2010 at 17:48

Yes. Depends how comfortable you want to be though. According to some PSU calculator is puts the system at around 480W. That's assuming of course that you happen to be at 100% load on everything. I'd be surprised if the system would hit 480W though.

The 5770 has a lower power draw than the 4850 but will be faster in 3D operation. The 5xxx series cards are more energy efficient than the 4xxx series.

The same calculator puts my system usage at 533W but the highest I have ever seen with 100% loading on CPU and GPU is a lowly 433W.

Razor-BladE · 29 Jul 2010 at 03:47

Thanks for that. Yeah i'm thinking the 5770 will be better but just thinking whether it's worth an extra £50-£100 depending on whether one comes up 2nd hand or have to buy new.

trentlad · 29 Jul 2010 at 06:12

Is there any such thing as a single GPU system that can't run on a PSU above 500W.

I think these large PSU's are mainly for dual GPU cards.

Tealc · 29 Jul 2010 at 09:06

trentlad; said:
Is there any such thing as a single GPU system that can't run on a PSU above 500W.

I think these large PSU's are mainly for dual GPU cards.

I suppose a system with lots of HDD, watercooling, massive overclock etc would push a 500watt supply over the edge. It's worth having headroom with PSUs, better to run a supply at 50% than 90%. Some people have 1000w supplies with similar systems.

A 5770 isn't that much better than a 4850 to be worth twice the price, however it is newer kit and when paired with another 5770 in crossfire it becomes very capable indeed. I'd probably go for the 5770 for future upgradeability.