what to do?

[zytok]

Cheers for the advice. I'll give it a go and see how she does. If I get obvious issues I'll probably stump for a

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-018-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

or a

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-193-CM&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1103

 

[Sycho]

I wouldn't trust that psu, get a XFX 650w with the £229.99 Gigabyte GTX480 card and you would be fine for a good while.

The cooler on it is brilliant too....around 20c less on load temps.

 

[zytok]

This is getting a bit out of hand
Would the 6950 be a better bet in terms of power draw then? Don't really wanna spend another £100.

 

[subbytna]

a 480 will usually beat a 6950

see here.... http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=309

if you are gaming on big screen size then 2 gig might be a good option but the 480 has 1.5gig and the 6950 has 2 gig of RAM

 

[gareth170]

u need to remember the psu is the most important thing in your case...

 

[gareth170]

if you are gaming on big screen size then 2 gig might be a good option but the 480 has 1.5gig and the 6950 has 2 gig of RAM

it's not about screen size , it's about the res

 

[zytok]

I am now asking about power requirements though. I can't afford to buy a new psu as well as the other stuff I already ordered. Would the 6950 run ok on the psu I have? How about a 6870?

 

[gareth170]

I am now asking about power requirements though. I can't afford to buy a new psu as well as the other stuff I already ordered. Would the 6950 run ok on the psu I have? How about a 6870?

6870 should be ok..

6950 maybe ok

but it's up to u

 

[zytok]

load wattage for 480 is around 420W, for the 6950 it's 290W, massive difference. Figures seem to be similar between the 2 ATI cards?

 

[gareth170]

your psu is about a 520-540w on the 12v line. so it should be ok but don't unlock the 6950 until u get a better quality psu.

 

[zytok]

6950 says 320W under Furmark load, 6970 - 361W, 480 479W 5870 - 306W.

 

[tommybhoy]

Thing is you can get the Gigabyte SOC for similar money which is on a par with 580GTX performance without the potential issues that come with crossfire.

The Gigabyte SOC has potential issues too.

 

[arc@css]

The Gigabyte SOC has potential issues too.

Indeed it does in comparison to normal failure rates, though this is still low (fingers crossed for mine).