Help with buying HD5870 - PSU Good enough?

rico798321

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Will a corsair tx 650 be enough for a HD5870 video card?

Hi,
Im thinking of buying a HD5870 graphics card. I have a Phenom II x4 965 quad processor which im going to OC to 3.6/7. My systems specs (current) are as below:
PSU Corsair TX650w 52 amp on 12v rail
Phenom II X4 965
Mobo MSI C45 770
6gb of Kingston Hyperx ram DDR3 1333mhz O'clocked to 1600mhz with 1.8v
Soundblaster Audigy sound card
Artctic Freeze pro rev 2 cpu fan
2 regular 7200rpm Sata HDD
Pioneer DVDR/RW
about 5 case fans
my current GPU is a PNY GTS250 1gb

The other thing is will the HD5870 show a huge improvement in performance on my games (Crysis,BC2,Metro 2033) over the 250? If my psu is not powerful enough (Isuspect it is when i checked the corsair calculator) will I be better off with the HD5850 and again will it significantly improve over the GTS250?

Please help as I have the money available as a one off and really want to buy the right card?

Any help advice would be hugely appreciated.
Cheers
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Premium 64 bitPhenom II x 6 1100T8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked ...Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Build
OS
Windows 7 Premium 64 bit
CPU
Phenom II x 6 1100T
Motherboard
Asus Crossair IV Formula (I think)
Memory
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked to 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Sound Card
Soundblaster Audigy
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 32" LED 1080P Active 3D
Screen Resolution
1080P
Hard Drives
Samsung F3 1TB
PSU
Corsair TX 850W
Case
Coolermaster Nice one dont know what :)
Cooling
Corsair H50
you would see a very drastic improvement in your fps... and hm.... how many volts are on the 12 volt rail?
 

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Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vist...AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channe...ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer Aspire M1201/Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vista 32 Bit, Ubuntu 9.10 32 Bit
CPU
AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
Motherboard
Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
Memory
4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel (4-4-4-12)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Sound Card
Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
Monitor(s) Displays
22" Acer X223 Widescreen
Screen Resolution
1680 X 1050
Hard Drives
320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
500gb Seagate SATA II (Windows 7 Beta)
1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
PSU
ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
Case
NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
Cooling
1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm
Keyboard
Microsoft Sidewinder X6
Mouse
Microsoft Sidewinder X5
Internet Speed
6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
Other Info
AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
If it were me (it's not) I would make a decision about the specific gfx card I wanted/needed based on my needs. If, after running it, I decide I need more power, I would upgrade the PSU.

BTW, I think many believe massive PSUs are required to run the machine - which is, generally not true. Consider one's house power supply: there might be a 200 amp service panel for the house but if you add up all of the breaker capacities, you find there might be 300+ amps worth. Fact is, one does not place a maximum demand on every circuit simultaneously. So too with computers. I have a Zalman 750 PSU but run an XFire array.

Monk
 

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Dual boot XP Pro SP3x86 and Win7 Pro x64AMD Phenom II x3 720 BE OCed to 3.3 GHz2x2GB OCZ OCZ2RPR10664GK PC2-8500 DDR2Sapphire ATi Radeon 4830 HD x2 (XFire)
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Dual boot XP Pro SP3x86 and Win7 Pro x64
CPU
AMD Phenom II x3 720 BE OCed to 3.3 GHz
Motherboard
Asus M3A79T Deluxe
Memory
2x2GB OCZ OCZ2RPR10664GK PC2-8500 DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
Sapphire ATi Radeon 4830 HD x2 (XFire)
Sound Card
Integrated (SoundMax)
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual: LG L227WTG/LG M237WD
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050; 1920 x1280
Hard Drives
3 WDC WD7501AALS-00J7B0
PSU
Zalman 750HD Modular
Case
Antec 900
Cooling
4 120mm, 1 200mm fans
Keyboard
Black with lots of keys
Mouse
Razer Lachesis, Logitech RumbePad2, Logitech Marble
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Who counts
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7:1 SS

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Win 7 Ultimate x64FX-8350 @ 4.6 GHz so farADATA XPG V1 Series Black 8GB DDR3 1600Sapphire R9 270x Dual-X
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Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Me
OS
Win 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
FX-8350 @ 4.6 GHz so far
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Asus M5A97 EVO
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ADATA XPG V1 Series Black 8GB DDR3 1600
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Sapphire R9 270x Dual-X
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Xonar DGX w/ Corsair Vengence 1300
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Acer S232HL Abid
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1920x1080
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120 GB OCZ Vertex 3
500 GB Seagate 7200.12
PSU
Antec Earthwatts 650W Green
Case
Antec Three Hundred
Cooling
Cooler Master 212 EVO
Keyboard
Logitech G510
Mouse
Logitech G500s
Internet Speed
35000/3000
ah ok you should be just fine with that one then
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vist...AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channe...ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer Aspire M1201/Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vista 32 Bit, Ubuntu 9.10 32 Bit
CPU
AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
Motherboard
Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
Memory
4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel (4-4-4-12)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Sound Card
Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
Monitor(s) Displays
22" Acer X223 Widescreen
Screen Resolution
1680 X 1050
Hard Drives
320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
500gb Seagate SATA II (Windows 7 Beta)
1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
PSU
ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
Case
NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
Cooling
1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm
Keyboard
Microsoft Sidewinder X6
Mouse
Microsoft Sidewinder X5
Internet Speed
6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
Other Info
AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
PSU = Ok

Huge difference = Significant improvements will be noticed - although don't expect to be running metro maxed...

For BC2, use the 10.4a preview drivers + the April 7 profiles over the 10.4 official for the improved loading time fix
 

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8 Pro x64i7 3770K 4.6GHz16GB G.Skill Trident X 2666mhzx2 EVGA 780 Ti Superclocked SLI
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Systems by SmartEyeball
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8 Pro x64
CPU
i7 3770K 4.6GHz
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ASUS P8Z77 WS
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16GB G.Skill Trident X 2666mhz
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x2 EVGA 780 Ti Superclocked SLI
Sound Card
SB X-FI Surround 5.1 PRO USB / ATH-AD900 Headphones
Monitor(s) Displays
x3 Dell U2410 / 58" Samsung
Screen Resolution
5760*1200/ 1920*1200
Hard Drives
2x Intel 520 240GB (RAID 0) * 2x WD Caviar Blacks 2TB (RAID 0) * 2TB WD Caviar Black * Sony Optirac DVD
PSU
Silverstone Strider Evolution 1200W
Case
Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition
Cooling
Noctua NH-D14
Keyboard
Topre Realforce // Ducky Shine MX Black // Filco Ninja TKL
Mouse
Thermaltake Theron (Highly Recommended) + Razer Imperator
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GT Extreme V2 Sim Racing Cockpit + 40" LCD and K/B Mouse stand ▼
Fanatec CSR Elite Wheel + Clubsport V1 Pedals + CSR shifter/7G-H ▼Saitek X52 Pro ▼ TrackIR 5 Pro
Buttkicker v2 Seat Rumbler with Dedicated 5.1 and Sub Woofer attached to frame ▼
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Bloody Big Grin
you would see a very drastic improvement in your fps... and hm.... how many volts are on the 12 volt rail?

More than enough,

View attachment 73032
Thank you for your answers all. Im not going to be running at hugely high reolutions as the monitor im using is a samsung 23" 1080p full hd so i am going to try and run at the tvs max res if I can. Will I be able to use this set up to run Bad company 2 at full? Rather like the idea of seeing myself get slaughtered constantly on multiplayer!

Also I would like to try and run Crysis at its highest settings if I can at either 720p or 1080p. Will this GPU run it at that?

Thanks also Pizzaman for your answer. Im kinda new at PC building and at the moment my CPU is the x2 550 BE unlocked to a x4 B50. The Phenom II x4 965 is to be installed on Monday as part one of my upgrade followed by the HD5870 within the next four weeks. I did look at the 5850 but im definately leaning towards the 5870 as I want the most powerful I can afford/run.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Premium 64 bitPhenom II x 6 1100T8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked ...Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Build
OS
Windows 7 Premium 64 bit
CPU
Phenom II x 6 1100T
Motherboard
Asus Crossair IV Formula (I think)
Memory
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked to 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Sound Card
Soundblaster Audigy
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 32" LED 1080P Active 3D
Screen Resolution
1080P
Hard Drives
Samsung F3 1TB
PSU
Corsair TX 850W
Case
Coolermaster Nice one dont know what :)
Cooling
Corsair H50
PSU = Ok

Huge difference = Significant improvements will be noticed - although don't expect to be running metro maxed...

For BC2, use the 10.4a preview drivers + the April 7 profiles over the 10.4 official for the improved loading time fix

I tried metro 2033 at max on the gts 250 it got a little jerky on the first part when i went outside. Thanks for the recommendation with the drivers. Ive been using Nvidia cards since I started. Im a bit annoyed at nvidias driver updates as Crysis and crysis wh run better for me on the old 185 drivers from last year but i lose frames and eventually bsod with the newer drivers. Ive been switching between the two as BC2 artifacts on the older drivers! I dont think switching between is good for the card somehow.

Again thanks all for your advice- ive been trying to decide what card to get for the past week but im definately heading for the 5870. Just gotta got the wife to give me final authorisation!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Premium 64 bitPhenom II x 6 1100T8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked ...Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Build
OS
Windows 7 Premium 64 bit
CPU
Phenom II x 6 1100T
Motherboard
Asus Crossair IV Formula (I think)
Memory
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked to 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Sound Card
Soundblaster Audigy
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 32" LED 1080P Active 3D
Screen Resolution
1080P
Hard Drives
Samsung F3 1TB
PSU
Corsair TX 850W
Case
Coolermaster Nice one dont know what :)
Cooling
Corsair H50

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 8.1 Pro x64Intel Core i7 4790k8GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHzMSI TwinFrozr GeForce GTX770
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built
OS
Windows 8.1 Pro x64
CPU
Intel Core i7 4790k
Motherboard
MSI Z97S Krait Edition
Memory
8GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz
Graphics Card(s)
MSI TwinFrozr GeForce GTX770
Sound Card
ASUS Xonar DX/XD 7.1
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell 24" S2409W + Dell 20" E207WFP
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 + 1680x1050
Hard Drives
1x 120GB OCZ Agility 3, 1x 750GB Western Digital Caviar Black, 1x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue
PSU
Corsair HX850 modular
Case
Fractal Design Define R4
Cooling
Corsair H60 w/ twin Corsair SP120 fans
Keyboard
Logitech G510S Keyboard
Mouse
Logitech G500S Laser Mouse
Internet Speed
40Mbps
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
LG Blu-Ray player

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vist...AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channe...ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer Aspire M1201/Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vista 32 Bit, Ubuntu 9.10 32 Bit
CPU
AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
Motherboard
Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
Memory
4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel (4-4-4-12)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Sound Card
Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
Monitor(s) Displays
22" Acer X223 Widescreen
Screen Resolution
1680 X 1050
Hard Drives
320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
500gb Seagate SATA II (Windows 7 Beta)
1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
PSU
ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
Case
NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
Cooling
1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm
Keyboard
Microsoft Sidewinder X6
Mouse
Microsoft Sidewinder X5
Internet Speed
6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
Other Info
AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
you would see a very drastic improvement in your fps... and hm.... how many volts are on the 12 volt rail?

More than enough,

View attachment 73032
Thank you for your answers all. Im not going to be running at hugely high reolutions as the monitor im using is a samsung 23" 1080p full hd so i am going to try and run at the tvs max res if I can. Will I be able to use this set up to run Bad company 2 at full? Rather like the idea of seeing myself get slaughtered constantly on multiplayer!

Also I would like to try and run Crysis at its highest settings if I can at either 720p or 1080p. Will this GPU run it at that?

Thanks also Pizzaman for your answer. Im kinda new at PC building and at the moment my CPU is the x2 550 BE unlocked to a x4 B50. The Phenom II x4 965 is to be installed on Monday as part one of my upgrade followed by the HD5870 within the next four weeks. I did look at the 5850 but im definately leaning towards the 5870 as I want the most powerful I can afford/run.
very welcome :) and for crysis....... you'll come very close at least
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vist...AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channe...ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer Aspire M1201/Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vista 32 Bit, Ubuntu 9.10 32 Bit
CPU
AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
Motherboard
Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
Memory
4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel (4-4-4-12)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Sound Card
Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
Monitor(s) Displays
22" Acer X223 Widescreen
Screen Resolution
1680 X 1050
Hard Drives
320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
500gb Seagate SATA II (Windows 7 Beta)
1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
PSU
ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
Case
NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
Cooling
1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm
Keyboard
Microsoft Sidewinder X6
Mouse
Microsoft Sidewinder X5
Internet Speed
6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
Other Info
AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
Thank you for your answers all. Im not going to be running at hugely high reolutions as the monitor im using is a samsung 23" 1080p full hd so i am going to try and run at the tvs max res if I can. Will I be able to use this set up to run Bad company 2 at full? Rather like the idea of seeing myself get slaughtered constantly on multiplayer!

Also I would like to try and run Crysis at its highest settings if I can at either 720p or 1080p. Will this GPU run it at that?

Thanks also Pizzaman for your answer. Im kinda new at PC building and at the moment my CPU is the x2 550 BE unlocked to a x4 B50. The Phenom II x4 965 is to be installed on Monday as part one of my upgrade followed by the HD5870 within the next four weeks. I did look at the 5850 but im definately leaning towards the 5870 as I want the most powerful I can afford/run.
very welcome :) and for crysis....... you'll come very close at least

Cheers mate:D
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Premium 64 bitPhenom II x 6 1100T8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked ...Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Build
OS
Windows 7 Premium 64 bit
CPU
Phenom II x 6 1100T
Motherboard
Asus Crossair IV Formula (I think)
Memory
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333mhz Overclocked to 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte HD7970 2GB
Sound Card
Soundblaster Audigy
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 32" LED 1080P Active 3D
Screen Resolution
1080P
Hard Drives
Samsung F3 1TB
PSU
Corsair TX 850W
Case
Coolermaster Nice one dont know what :)
Cooling
Corsair H50
cheers :D
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vist...AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channe...ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer Aspire M1201/Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ulitimate Beta 32 Bit, Windows Vista 32 Bit, Ubuntu 9.10 32 Bit
CPU
AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
Motherboard
Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
Memory
4gb Patriot Viper PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel (4-4-4-12)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
Sound Card
Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
Monitor(s) Displays
22" Acer X223 Widescreen
Screen Resolution
1680 X 1050
Hard Drives
320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
500gb Seagate SATA II (Windows 7 Beta)
1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
PSU
ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
Case
NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
Cooling
1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm
Keyboard
Microsoft Sidewinder X6
Mouse
Microsoft Sidewinder X5
Internet Speed
6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
Other Info
AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
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