the 4-PIN and 6-PIN PCI-E connecters

[NYCboy]

i have a question.you now the 4-PIN and 6-PIN PCI-E connecters.well some of the video cards have it right? do you HAVE to use them? im buying a ATI HD 2900XT. it has a 4-PIN and a 6-PIN PCI-express connecters.and some people say that you have to use it and some say you dont. do you really have to use those PCI-E 4/6 PIN connecters i have a 450 watt power supply. will i have to use 4/6 PIN express connectors? thanks for your responce!:wave:

 

[Tempest70]

I can't vouch for the 6-pin connector on my 8800GS as I haven't tried firing it up without it being connected, but my old system had a 6800Ultra that had two molex connectors. It wanted two separate feeds from my power supply - you couldn't plug in 2 connectors from the same cable or leave one unplugged as it would emit a loud noise from its onboard buzzer upon startup.

Basically the cards nowadays require more power than can be drawn from the AGP/PCIe bus that they are connected to hence the need for external feeds.

Regards, Kev

 

[NickyVeee]

Most cards medium-high to high end cards require a PCIe power connector. You need to use it, otherwise the card will not function properly. PCIe power alone simply isn't cutting it for the high demand of power needed in high performance cards.

Also when I checked your card for requirements, it required a power supply greater than 550 Watts. 450 Watts is obviously below that, and if you're running several other peripherals (CD/DVD Drive, Hard Drives, etc) I would probably consider going bigger. I have a 400 watt power supply, and with a card upgrade, I'll probably need to upgrade it sometime soon.

 

[NYCboy]

Most cards medium-high to high end cards require a PCIe power connector. You need to use it, otherwise the card will not function properly. PCIe power alone simply isn't cutting it for the high demand of power needed in high performance cards.

Also when I checked your card for requirements, it required a power supply greater than 550 Watts. 450 Watts is obviously below that, and if you're running several other peripherals (CD/DVD Drive, Hard Drives, etc) I would probably consider going bigger. I have a 400 watt power supply, and with a card upgrade, I'll probably need to upgrade it sometime soon.

how about if i use the HD3870 with no power connecters?

 

[NickyVeee]

You're fine then, I'll just drain from the PCIe power from the mobo. Anything the requires seperate connections will obviously mean harsher requirements for the PSU, especially if the device has its own cooling block for the GPU.

 

[NYCboy]

You're fine then, I'll just drain from the PCIe power from the mobo. Anything the requires seperate connections will obviously mean harsher requirements for the PSU, especially if the device has its own cooling block for the GPU.

so well the perfermence be effected or its just that i cant overclock it?

 

[NickyVeee]

The performance shouldn't be affected if it doesn't require external power. But I checked the HD3870 needs 6 pin power. Virtually all ATI cards that require 6 pin power, need at least 500 Watts to run without problems.

And we already covered this. Without 6 pin, the card doesn't run well, if at all.

So honestly if you're going to consider running any of these cards, you should definitely get a "beefier" PSU.

 

[psycho_aussie]

I agree. Attempting to run a PCI-e video card that requires external power without it is very unwise (or just plain stupid). I do not believe that any PCI-e card that needs external power would run well enough to play games, or at all. When I bought my HD 3870 a few weeks ago, I didn't even consider not plugging in the external 6 pin power.

I have an Antec Neo HE 550W PSU, and it runs my system extremely well. Almost any 500W, or larger PSU should suit your needs, but I would recommend someone like Antec, Thermaltake, Enermax or Codegen (in roughly that order).

Chris

 

[omber]

Starting up a system without these connectors plugged in will results either in damage to card or system telling you there is not enough power going to it - windows will start but only in minimum resolution in minimum colors.

 

[Stagefright]

Not really on topic, so forgive me...

My stepson has a card that says it requires 450w. His power supply is 400w and it seems to be running ok. How do you know if your power supply is being overtaxed? Are there any symptoms (besides complete failure, of course?)

Thanks,

Darrel

 

[NickyVeee]

I don't know. I'm just telling you what the support website says. Though it may be 550W if you're doing Crossfire or the other advanced settings. It also depends on how many other peripherals you're running on your computer.

There's no real way besides an actual power loss symptom that your power supply isn't pushing out enough.

Though I wouldn't run a video card like that with a 400-450 Watt power supply if I had 2 CD drives, 2+ Hard Drives, a floppy, and other peripherals.

 

[NYCboy]

well my motherboard is really old its the ASUS A8 VESE. nad its running a 450 watt power supply. what kind of power supply should i buy for this mother board?

 

[NickyVeee]

Your power supply is fine for the motherboard. It's the video card that it has a problem with. We went over this... Above 500 Watts should be fine.

 

[Tempest70]

The only thing I would add is that it's not just about the wattage numbers. Personally I would rather have a quality 450w PSU that put out stable voltages etc. than a 600w that is all over the place.

Regards, Kev

 

[johnwhelan]

The only thing I would add is that it's not just about the wattage numbers. Personally I would rather have a quality 450w PSU that put out stable voltages etc. than a 600w that is all over the place.

Regards, Kev

Same for me. A 450 watt Antec over a no name 500 watt every time.

What brand / model is the power supply?

Thanks John

 

[sethmcs]

Is there any way to figure out power supply w/o opening the Case?

How can you tell what type of power supply you have without opening the case?

 

[NYCboy]

Same for me. A 450 watt Antec over a no name 500 watt every time.

What brand / model is the power supply?

Thanks John

i really dont now but i just want to now if i can still run the HD 3870 with out a 4/6 PIN PCI-EXPRESS connecter and with a 450wtts power supply.

 

[johnwhelan]

i really dont now but i just want to now if i can still run the HD 3870 with out a 4/6 PIN PCI-EXPRESS connecter and with a 450wtts power supply.

The 3870 is fairly power efficient so I would expect it to run on a name power supply of 450 watts such as Antec, I suspect yours is probably no name so it might not be wise, you could end up having to replace both the video card and motherboard besides having problems when writing to the hard drive. Running without the external connector, should run about fifteen minutes before frying your motherboard that is if it runs at all.

The 3850 isn't a bad card, still needs external connectors two of them but isn't so power hungry. Should be fine even on a 450 watt brand X power supply.

The problem is there are many ways to measure power supply watts, Tomshardware.com noted that an ANTEC 450 provided more stable power than Brand X 550 watts power supply.

Cheerio John

 

[NYCboy]

The 3870 is fairly power efficient so I would expect it to run on a name power supply of 450 watts such as Antec, I suspect yours is probably no name so it might not be wise, you could end up having to replace both the video card and motherboard besides having problems when writing to the hard drive. Running without the external connector, should run about fifteen minutes before frying your motherboard that is if it runs at all.

The 3850 isn't a bad card, still needs external connectors two of them but isn't so power hungry. Should be fine even on a 450 watt brand X power supply.

The problem is there are many ways to measure power supply watts, Tomshardware.com noted that an ANTEC 450 provided more stable power than Brand X 550 watts power supply.

Cheerio John

ok fine ill get the HD 3850 OC 1GB edition. should be about 160$ in best buy

 

[NickyVeee]

How can you tell what type of power supply you have without opening the case?

Not usually. Some power supplies have power ratings on the back, but that's more for power going into the device, not coming out of. If you know the model number of your power supply, or if you know the model number of your computer, usually you can look it up online.