Will this bottleneck?

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:06

I have a Phantom II AMD x4 and I was thinking about getting a Asus ATI Radeon HD 6950

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-255-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

I currently have a MSI 5850 Twinfrozer II

Now my question is. will my CPU bottleneck the GPU?

I am using CCC to overdrive the CPu to 3.8 and I can go all the way up to 4.3 if I want using it. So advice please

Thanks

lrlcr · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:09

It shouldn't do, but why are you upgrading?

It's not a huge improvement and new cards are around the corner.

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:11

Oh I didn't realise new ones were coming out that soon. and I was thinking about upgrading because I always intended to get a new one the 5850 I got second hand. but if there are new ones coming out soon I might wait. Do you know any coming out soon that be roughly what I'm looking for? (The same sort of range as my 5850 etc)

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:18

CBrooksC said:
Oh I didn't realise new ones were coming out that soon. and I was thinking about upgrading because I always intended to get a new one the 5850 I got second hand. but if there are new ones coming out soon I might wait. Do you know any coming out soon that be roughly what I'm looking for? (The same sort of range as my 5850 etc)

As above its not a huge improvement at all. The new 7*** range should be due in Jan of next year.

It also might be worth looking at adding another used 5850 if your mobo & psu supports Xfire.

I did exactly that and saw a fairly notable bump in performance and smoothness.

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:21

ManCuBuS said:
As above its not a huge improvement at all. The new 7*** range should be due in Jan of next year.

It also might be worth looking at adding another used 5850 if your mobo & psu supports Xfire.

I did exactly that and saw a fairly notable bump in performance and smoothness.

i did think about adding a second 5850 but i couldn't find any anywhere with the twinfrozerII

i might just wait till janurary

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:24

CBrooksC said:
i did think about adding a second 5850 but i couldn't find any anywhere with the twinfrozerII

i might just wait till janurary

Doesn't have to be the TwinFrozr any 5850 will do, it just depends how picky you are.

I'm not and as my case is under my desk and doesn't have a window I use an Asus 5850 and Powercolor 5850.

However if you have a window in your case and like things to be uniform I can understand why you would want the same card.

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:27

Yeah... Kinda.

My pc doesn't have a window and is also under my desk LOL. But I still like it to look nice. How much do you think a 5850 is now? and I'd need to get a new powersupply. I'm currently have a 530w. I'm guessing i'd need to get a 700w? because I also plan on having a second HDD.

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:34

CBrooksC said:
Yeah... Kinda.

My pc doesn't have a window and is also under my desk LOL. But I still like it to look nice. How much do you think a 5850 is now? and I'd need to get a new powersupply. I'm currently have a 530w. I'm guessing i'd need to get a 700w? because I also plan on having a second HDD.

I paid £80 for the used Powercolor a couple of weeks ago. The problem is your PSU, I doubt its going to have enough juice. What brand / make is it?

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:38

be quiet 530w

I was thinking about getting a bequiet 600w because I was thinking about having one gpu, 2 HDD and the other stuff LOL

But now if I'm planning on crossfireing/xfire not sure what it's called. then I will proberly need a lot more right?

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:46

CBrooksC said:
be quiet 530w

I was thinking about getting a bequiet 600w because I was thinking about having one gpu, 2 HDD and the other stuff LOL

But now if I'm planning on crossfireing/xfire not sure what it's called. then I will proberly need a lot more right?

Well you might be ok believe it or not. Firstly you have a very decent PSU which isn't going to crumble when being tested.

Secondly my rig pulls around 460w from the wall under stress which comprises of:

Mobo, CPU, 2x HDD's, RAM, 2x 5850', Corsair H50-1, 6x 120mm fans, 2x 1TB USB Drives, various other USB devices. Add in its also heavily overclocked.

Whats the spec of the 12v rail on your PSU?

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 13:52

ManCuBuS said:
Well you might be ok believe it or not. Firstly you have a very decent PSU which isn't going to crumble when being tested.

Secondly my rig pulls around 460w from the wall under stress which comprises of:

Mobo, CPU, 2x HDD's, RAM, 2x 5850', Corsair H50-1, 6x 120mm fans, 2x 1TB USB Drives, various other USB devices. Add in its also heavily overclocked.

Whats the spec of the 12v rail on your PSU?

Whats the 12v rail? =D

Also, The system I have atm. I bought my second HDD and installed it and the PC wouldn't start. I assumed it was because i didn't have enough power... But I also discovered the other day that a molex cable was touching the side of my case and making my Pc turn off randomly. Think I acutally have enough power and it might have just been that?

Like what is it. And i'll try to let you know LOL

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 14:44

Well put simply, your power supply delivers its 530w across various 'rails' at differing voltages. Certain components use different rails of the PSU to draw power and each of these rails has an amps rating.

Just as important as the amount of wattage a PSU supplies is the amounts of amps supplied on its rails, the most important bit for you being the 12v rails.

There should be a labels on the side of your PSU telling you what amps each rail delivers. It will look something like the below. We are particularly interested in where it say 12v1 & 12v2 etc.

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 14:49

+12V Rails 2
Rated Wattage 530 watts
Modular No
ATX 4+4 Pin CPU Connector 1
4 Pin Molex Connector 4
Floppy Connector 1
SATA Connector 5
Warranty 2 Years
ATX 20+4 Pin Motherboard Connector 1
Amps per 12V Rail 18
PCI-E 8 Pin Connector

These are the specs for the PSU I have. I'm currently at college so cant check the box. Will when I get home. ^^^ Let me know if that helps if not I'll look for more info

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 15:17

CBrooksC said:
+12V Rails 2
Rated Wattage 530 watts
Modular No
ATX 4+4 Pin CPU Connector 1
4 Pin Molex Connector 4
Floppy Connector 1
SATA Connector 5
Warranty 2 Years
ATX 20+4 Pin Motherboard Connector 1
Amps per 12V Rail 18
PCI-E 8 Pin Connector

That above suggests 2x +12v rails with 18a on each. That's obviously 36a total.

Which means you are currently running on about the maximum of what your PSU will supply.

MSI's specs here suggest 35-40a for a single 5850 or 55-60a for 5850 Xfire.

In other words you haven't got enough juice.

I'd suggest upgrading your PSU before looking at any GPU upgrade tbh, as any bump in performance 'usually' comes with a comparable bump in power needs.

Also as we don't know what the newer 7*** series cards are going to need yet, so it would be a safe bet to get yourself future proofed by getting a more substantial PSU in there.

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 15:20

ManCuBuS said:
That above suggests 2x +12v rails with 18a on each. That's obviously 36a total.

Which means you are currently running on about the maximum of what your PSU will supply.

MSI's specs here suggest 35-40a for a single 5850 or 55-60a for 5850 Xfire.

In other words you haven't got enough juice.

I'd suggest upgrading your PSU before looking at any GPU upgrade tbh, as any bump in performance 'usually' comes with a comparable bump in power needs.

Also as we don't know what the newer 7*** series cards are going to need yet, so it would be a safe bet to get yourself future proofed by getting a more substantial PSU in there.

AH, ok. Thanks

Any ideas on a power supply then? Are we looking at like 700w?

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 15:37

CBrooksC said:
AH, ok. Thanks

Any ideas on a power supply then? Are we looking at like 700w?

I'd say at least 700w but of course as in everything PC component related it depends on your budget and if you want modular or not.

Antecs 750W modular PSU is very good for the money.

This XFX 750W is also very good but not modular.

A bit cheaper is this OCZ 750W.

There is also a shed load of others that would be very suitable but personally I'd go with the Antec purely because its very good value and its modular.

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 15:44

ManCuBuS said:
I'd say at least 700w but of course as in everything PC component related it depends on your budget and if you want modular or not.

Antecs 750W modular PSU is very good for the money.

This XFX 750W is also very good but not modular.

A bit cheaper is this OCZ 750W.

There is also a shed load of others that would be very suitable but personally I'd go with the Antec purely because its very good value and its modular.

I don't mind either the Antec or XFX. I don't mind it not being modular seeing as I only open the case when i need to. But obviuosly I like it too be neat enough to get around inside it.. And I have no budget. Technacly. But I dont want to go full out and spend loads of money. LOL

Thanks for your help BTW =D

SO should I still get a 750w if I wait till 7*** series?

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 15:55

CBrooksC said:
I don't mind either the Antec or XFX. I don't mind it not being modular seeing as I only open the case when i need to. But obviuosly I like it too be neat enough to get around inside it.. And I have no budget. Technacly. But I dont want to go full out and spend loads of money. LOL

Thanks for your help BTW =D

SO should I still get a 750w if I wait till 7*** series?

I would just be future proof. If for example you ever wanted to Xfire the new 7 series at a later date then you aren't worrying about power requirements.

Also by the looks of things you are already on the very limits of your existing PSU which means adding something as simple as a HDD leaves you out of power which in itself should be reason enough to change it.

I for example bought an OCZ 900W Modular with 4x +12v rails giving me 80a total. I'll never need that much but I'll also never have to worry about not having enough.

CBrooksC · 15 Dec 2011 at 16:07

ManCuBuS said:
I would just be future proof. If for example you ever wanted to Xfire the new 7 series at a later date then you aren't worrying about power requirements.

Also by the looks of things you are already on the very limits of your existing PSU which means adding something as simple as a HDD leaves you out of power which in itself should be reason enough to change it.

I for example bought an OCZ 900W Modular with 4x +12v rails giving me 80a total. I'll never need that much but I'll also never have to worry about not having enough.

Ok,cool. So those two I said I liked the XFX and the antec, are there any difference? or is it just that one is modular? so are there no difference in performance ?

Columbo · 15 Dec 2011 at 16:46

Both about same in terms of efficiency, cables etc.

The XFX provides 62a on a single 12v rail, the Antec provides 100a over 4x 12v rails.

A single rail provides apparently better 'compatibility' but I'd put it down to marketing spiel tbh. I've never had a single issue with multi rail PSU's and never heard of anyone else that has.

I'd still go with the Antec personally. I've also linked to 2 reviews from Jonnyguru who knows his stuff on PSU's.

XFX Review

Antec Review