PSU Recommendation for GPU upgrade (R9 270x)

By DWk
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DWk

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Hi guys,

I'm thinking of upgrading my video card to an AMD R9 270x in the next couple of months. I don't believe I have enough power for it, so probably also need to consider a PSU upgrade - naturally, I come to you for suggestions and recommendations to this. 

Future scenario: I don't overclock and don't expect to do any SLI in the future (although might be good to have the option for multi-GPU). I could also consider an additional hard drive, but very likely I would only replace one of the older ones. I do however, might like to have a PSU in case I do decide to do a computer upgrade in 2-3 years (hoping my current setup can get me so far! tongue.gif )

From the calculations I've done with the different online PSU calculators (on some, using the HD 7870 as the R9 270x isn't yet available, which I believe is the closest), the answer varies: it goes from as low as 379W to a recommendation of a 700W PSU.

I also have a BFG Tech 550-Watt LS-550 PSU lying around that I bought a few years ago (unused, still boxed), so if that would be enough let me know.

Overall, I'd prefer not to go over $100 for one.

Here is the list of my current components:

Thanks for your help guys!

Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

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The R9 270X is not a power hungry card as you can see here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-280x-r9-270x-r7-260x,3635-18.html - it probably consumes less power than your current video card, so you should be fine even with your current PSU.

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DWk

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Thanks for the replies.

 

I don't think it consumes less than my current one though (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4850,1957-20.html)? It does seem to consume less than nVidia's though...

 

If I do want to upgrade the PSU (for the computer upgrade in the future), any recommendations? What setup are you guys running?

Mentor

psionicinversion

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the replies.

 

I don't think it consumes less than my current one though (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4850,1957-20.html)? It does seem to consume less than nVidia's though...

 

If I do want to upgrade the PSU (for the computer upgrade in the future), any recommendations? What setup are you guys running?

 

Depends if you may want to do sli/crossfire in the future, if you do and want to cover yourself upto high end cards then probably get a 1000w PSU. but im running an i7 950 12GB ram and overclocked 280x (uses upto 360watt under load) on a 650watt but maybe get a 750 watt cus the lower the percentage of the PSU's max power is used the longer itll last

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DWk

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Yes, I agree it will be a bottleneck considering the components available nowadays. However, I'm not expecting to do that upgrade just yet (because that would be another $400-$500 that I don't want to spend just yet.

 

I simply want to stay current, not really expecting the max out of the components.

Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Thanks for the replies.

 

I don't think it consumes less than my current one though (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4850,1957-20.html)?

Make sure your PSU has 2x6pin PCI-E connectors: http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/R9/Pages/amd-radeon-hd-r9-series.aspx#5

Proficient

WildWayz

Posted
Posted

 

1 x 6pin and 1 x 8 pin :P

 

Do they have to be on different rails? My PSU had a 2 x 8 pins (well, 2 pins + 4 pins x 2) on a single rail, but had a cable to provide another pair (for 2 x GPUs).

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