Buying a 4890

[DarkAmeba]

Rooting around the net leads me to believe my current power supply will be just fine. I was planning on sticking with it until I saw the rebate deal today for a Corsair 620 watt modular on the cheap.

Stated requirements for a 4890 are only a 500 watt psu. I currently have:

PC Power and Cooling 510 watt ATX Deluxe
+5v @ 40a
+12v @ 34a
+ 3.3 @ 30a

Seems more than adequate. My concern comes from the fact that this PSU was designed/purchased nearly four years ago. Will this older, high end PSU be enough to run my future system? Also, one of my biggest concerns is that the PSU has no PCIE connectors. Will using a molex to 6 pin pcie adapter cause any issues?

Specs will be:
q8200 oc'd
x25-m
8gb ram
Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard
HD 4890

Thanks for the input!

 

[dualsmp]

PCP&C 510w should be more than enough. I tried a PSU calculator and it said 300w is enough for your setup.

I don't know of any issues using the adapters (should be ok), but I've never used one so I'll let someone else comment.

 

[Lunyone]

Well by the power consumption chart, your going to be using between 52-212 watts of power. Your PSU should be able to handle it, but since it's 4 years old and doesn't have the right connectors, you should just get a new PSU to handle your power hungry GPU. Your probably going to be spending about $20-30 on adapter connectors, so you might as well spend a little more and get a PSU that has the connectors and will last you another 4+ years of upgrades!!
GPU Power Consumption List

I'd consider Corsair 550vx/650tx models and Antec Earthwatts 500w on up. Even PCP&C 510w and up will do too. Just remember to get a PSU that is quality built and that has at least 2 x 6pin PCI-e power connectors. I'd even favor a PSU that has at least 1 x 8pin (6+2pin) PCI-e power connector, becasue that is becoming a little more common on higher end GPU's these days.

 

[PUN]

your psu is fine for 4890. Possibly even 2x 4890 as they draw 140w each at peak.

 

[Slakey]

The cheapest 4890 on Newegg right now comes with all the adapters you need gratis, so there's no extra cost involved. There's no real difference with 6 pin via adapters vs 6 pin off the PS the way yours is configured.

A comparable build quality replacement for your power supply is going to be over $80. I'm sort of in the same boat right now and I'll probably replace mine before it hits the 5 year mark, but that's more to ward off aging related failures than to fix any concrete problems.