Video Card power requirements

[SolMiester]

Hi all, can anyone put my mind to rest with regard to amperage for this card. My TT460 has dual 12v+ rails @ 15a, as the card requires 26a+, does that mean I need to combine both rails to a pcie connector, or just the 1 that is already on the PSU knowing that the PSU has 30a between the 2 rails?.

confused?

 

[SolMiester]

So does anybody know how this works? Does the PSU balance the amperature for the dual rails to the pcie connector or do i combine myself with split connectors 1 each on the dual rails?

 

[SolMiester]

bump.....

 

[Paratus]

You may be a little low.

I believe my X1950PRO needs 30A combined & at least 22A max per rail.

 

[A5]

You're fine. The "recommended" wattages and amp ratings are mostly to protect them from people with crappy PSUs saying that the card won't run. A reasonably efficient 380-450W PSU is enough for pretty much any non-SLI/Crossfire system.

 

[SolMiester]

Tx A5!...a feel a little better, card coming Thursday!

 

[SolMiester]

Do I just use the 1 PCIe connector supplied with the PSU then?

 

[SolMiester]

Okay, duh...the pcie connector is on the 5v rail and it is 30a, so all good!

 

[Makaveli]

Running fine on my 420Watt Enermax psu about 29a on the 12 combined. one rail is 14 other 15. I think it only the people with cheap PSU's that are running into issues

 

[SolMiester]

Well, something isnt working, must be a bad card, will get replacement this week!

 

[Stumps]

I should have posted in this thread earlier...

The AGP X1950pro and XT require 30A on the +12v (or 2x 17A=30A) and 450w minimum...they are funny critters and need a strict power requirement to run correctly...as a few other members of this forum have found out.

I'm not sure exactly why this is as the PCI-E based X1950Pro's don't have this requirement...but even just meeting the minimum requirements for the AGP X1950Pro won't always garrentee that it will work correctly, although that is primarily where the Sapphire and Diamond models are concerned...

 

[SolMiester]

Well Stumps, I have 2 x 15a 12v rails on 460w Thermaltake purepower, and 30a on 5v rail. the pcie connector has its own lead to the psu!?

So dont know why its not working, mostly it only falls over when trying 3d apps, 3dmarks and HL2 LC, management to play COD2 ok. It pc still keeps going, just the card stops sending signal to the lcd, so if it was a power failure, wouldnt the pc just shutdown period!

 

[Stumps]

Originally posted by: SolMiester
Well Stumps, I have 2 x 15a 12v rails on 460w Thermaltake purepower, and 30a on 5v rail. the pcie connector has its own lead to the psu!?

So dont know why its not working, mostly it only falls over when trying 3d apps, 3dmarks and HL2 LC, management to play COD2 ok. It pc still keeps going, just the card stops sending signal to the lcd, so if it was a power failure, wouldnt the pc just shutdown period!

Failing in 3D apps is a sign of not enougth power....it's not the +5v rail that is important with video cards, it's the +12v...for a X1950pro AGP it needs to be 30A or better.

I had spoken to a few suppliers of AGP x1950 hardware awhile back when the Sapphire and Diamond cards were having major issues and they all stated that they needed 30a on the +12v and 450w...an underpowered PSU was a major cause of those brands dying shortly after purchase.

Sad but true...

 

[evolucion8]

Try to use a splitter, probably the power will be more balanced.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: A5
You're fine. The "recommended" wattages and amp ratings are mostly to protect them from people with crappy PSUs saying that the card won't run. A reasonably efficient 380-450W PSU is enough for pretty much any non-SLI/Crossfire system.

nonsense

in the case of the x1950p it *needs* 30 a on the 12-v rail

my 480w TT couldn't cut it with a x1950p ... the pro died after 31 days

it *sounds* like you are underpowered

if you have ANY overclock - on anything - set it back to stock ... - remove everything except the HD, necessary fans and then UNDERclock your Pro to see if anything 'changes'

but i would NOT "trust" a minimal PS

 

[Tig Ol Bitties]

If this is your PSU:
http://www.legionhardware.com/pic.php?i...hermaltake_PurePower_460w/Image_04.jpg

You've got 200W dedicated to your +5V and +3.3V rail, leaving you roughly 260W for the remaining rails (the dual +12V rails for the most part). Divide that 260W by 12 and you roughly get your *combined* amperage of an unimpressive 22A. No, you don't have 30A on the +12V rail...you don't sum up the rail's amperages, never works that way and is a common misconception. Basically, you're starving the video card of amperage. I don't consider Thermaltake's lower end PSUs to be very good at all...their Toughpower series are decent though. Any one of these would power your card:

FSP Fortron 450W ~28A for +12V rail

Hiper 480W ~29A

Xclio 500W ...30A

ENERMAX 460W ...32A

The Enermax is easily the best unit here for amperage, but any of these would power a X1950pro. The 30A requirement is rather overstated IMO for quality-branded PSU units. I'm not the least bit surprised that a 480W Thermaltake couldn't handle this card considering its 18A on the +12V rail.

For power supplies with that kind of wattage, the +12V amperages are very unimpressive for a lot of the <500W Thermaltakes. For the X1950pro, I feel a 26A+ is a proper measure for the +12V rail so long as the PSU is a decent brand/model.

Example, the SeaSonic 430W PSU would easily power this card with its 29A through the +12V rails, but the PSU still costs close to $100, so I didn't suggest it....this is one of the few cases where the actual sum of the +12V rails IS the actual *combined* amperage (+12V1 = 14A, +12V2 = 15A, combined wattage 348W).

Hope this apparently long post helps.

 

[apoppin]

it is a decent summary
:thumbsup:

when the x1950p first came out, it *appeared* a 480w TT could handle it ... as long as the system was not "loaded"
--i was an 'early adopter' ... last year

30a on the 12v rail is "realistic" ... if your system is loaded
--or you want to be "safe"

 

[Ulfhednar]

What apoppin said, 15A is not enough.

 

[SolMiester]

Originally posted by: Tig Ol Bitties
If this is your PSU:
http://www.legionhardware.com/pic.php?i...hermaltake_PurePower_460w/Image_04.jpg

You've got 200W dedicated to your +5V and +3.3V rail, leaving you roughly 260W for the remaining rails (the dual +12V rails for the most part). Divide that 260W by 12 and you roughly get your *combined* amperage of an unimpressive 22A. No, you don't have 30A on the +12V rail...you don't sum up the rail's amperages, never works that way and is a common misconception. Basically, you're starving the video card of amperage. I don't consider Thermaltake's lower end PSUs to be very good at all...their Toughpower series are decent though. Any one of these would power your card:

FSP Fortron 450W ~28A for +12V rail

Hiper 480W ~29A

Xclio 500W ...30A

ENERMAX 460W ...32A

The Enermax is easily the best unit here for amperage, but any of these would power a X1950pro. The 30A requirement is rather overstated IMO for quality-branded PSU units. I'm not the least bit surprised that a 480W Thermaltake couldn't handle this card considering its 18A on the +12V rail.

For power supplies with that kind of wattage, the +12V amperages are very unimpressive for a lot of the <500W Thermaltakes. For the X1950pro, I feel a 26A+ is a proper measure for the +12V rail so long as the PSU is a decent brand/model.

Example, the SeaSonic 430W PSU would easily power this card with its 29A through the +12V rails, but the PSU still costs close to $100, so I didn't suggest it....this is one of the few cases where the actual sum of the +12V rails IS the actual *combined* amperage (+12V1 = 14A, +12V2 = 15A, combined wattage 348W).

Hope this apparently long post helps.

Wow, great informative post mate, that model is close, mine is the W0064 model, but the rating on the 1 you linked are the same.....

I have just convinced the supplier that the card is is a dud after stripping the system all all but the hard drive and still losing the signal to the lcd after testing 3d....

I cant believe these cards are so hungry....ATI needs to look to nvidia for power consumption cause this is ridiculous.

I have just spent $550 on a lcd and $440 on the card, I'm not sure if its worth another $200 for a another PSU after I only bought the 460W 3 months ago....Damn ATI. You suck !

New I should have stayed with Nvidia, I wonder if I can exchange it....?

Thanks for the nail guys!,,,,LOL

 

[SolMiester]

Okay then, trying to see if my supplier can get one of these. At least then I'm in no doubt if it can managed the entire system and room for upgrade next year.

 

[apoppin]

650w ... verrry nice !

:thumbsup:

 

[SolMiester]

Hey Pop, it only has a single 12v rail though, do you foresee any problems with that?...At any rate its 54a only that rail and will be a good match for my Silverstone TJ06 case!

 

[apoppin]

no problem

--the 'multiple rails' are mostly BS

i believe Silverstone has excellent ratings
[someone will correct me if i am wrong ]

 

[Modular]

The single 12v rail is much better than multiple 12v rails. Generally, due to the ATX standard that PSU manufacturers must adhere to a PSU with multiple rails must not exceed 240 VA (Volts x Amps). This means that they shouldn't exceed 20 amps per 12v rail. This not only limits the output of each individual rail to 20 amps, but it also limits the rails ability to feed one another. So if one rail requires only 8 amps but the other one wants 30, the 8 amp rail will not be "allowed" to share power with the 30 amp rail. I hope that's clear enough.

Cliffs:
A single rail system is able to carry as many amps as they can pack into it and therefore is preferable to a multiple rail system.

 

[SolMiester]

LOL.....didnt get the single rail psu in the end, could of been difficult cable management jobbie with my case so got this.

Only issue I see is that its not the quietest psu on the market but i guess you cant win them all...