GTX 970 400W

[Maximunzito]

CPU: Intel core i3 3240 3.4GHz
RAM: Corsair 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 (4GB x 2) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite 400w

Case: Cooler Master k380

Motherboard: H61M DS2H

 

I want to use a GTX 970 in this pc. i want to know if theres a problem.

i know that the recommendation is to use a 500w psu with a GTX 970

and if theres any problem using this motherboard:   H61M -DS2H with a GTX 970

[skullbringer]

you should be totally fine, the system wont use more than 300W.

and as long as the mb has a pcie 16x slot, its ready for any gpu, which it has.

[Maximunzito]

you should be totally fine, the system wont use more than 300W.

and as long as the mb has a pcie 16x slot, its ready for any gpu, which it has.

sure that a 400w PSU will handle it? 

and that the a GTX 970 will fit in the k380?  :blink:

[skullbringer]

sure that a 400w PSU will handle it? 

and that the a GTX 970 will fit in the k380?  :blink:

concerning power draw:

http://www.enermax.outervision.com/PSUEngine

 

concerning max gpu length:

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/k380/

 

nvidia just say 500W to cover up their butt

[Maximunzito]

concerning power draw:

psucalc.PNG

http://www.enermax.outervision.com/PSUEngine

 

concerning max gpu length:

k380.PNG

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/k380/

 

nvidia just say 500W to cover up their butt

Whoa, thank you so much =D

[Imakuni]

nvidia just say 500W to cover up their butt

Actually, they say that because they assume you'll use AMD CPUs, which consume a lot more system power than Intel CPUs.

 

Just don't try OCing it. Or leaving the PC on 24/7.

[Tacitus]

People really underestimate how much power GPUs use, and especially so concerning the 9xx series. It'll survive, but really, if you're going to overclock the power usage is going to rise and you'll want more. I'd say go ahead, but with an eye to upgrade the PSU sometime relatively soon.

[Maximunzito]

People really underestimate how much power GPUs use, and especially so concerning the 9xx series. It'll survive, but really, if you're going to overclock the power usage is going to rise and you'll want more. I'd say go ahead, but with an eye to upgrade the PSU sometime relatively soon.

i will buy a complete pc, but now i only have money for the GPU. Here in Brazil these things are really expensive =(

[Tacitus]

i will buy a complete pc, but now i only have money for the GPU. Here in Brazil these things are really expensive =(

 

Are second hand components an option?

[Imakuni]

i will buy a complete pc, but now i only have money for the GPU. Here in Brazil these things are really expensive =(

AHA! Mais um noob BR que nem eu! Qualquer coisa tamo ai

 

(AHA! One more noob BR like me! We're out there if you need it.)

[i_build_nanosuits]

it will run but you'll not see the real potential of this card until you upgrade to a better CPU...i'd suggest a core i5 or i7 that is supported by your motheboard...sandy bridge and ivy bridge cpu's are still very good but the i3 will not cut it!

[Maximunzito]

Are second hand components an option?

nope ;/

[Maximunzito]

it will run but you'll not see the real potential of this card until you upgrade to a better CPU...i'd suggest a core i5 or i7 that is supported by your motheboard...sandy bridge and ivy bridge cpu's are still very good but the i3 will not cut it!

yeah, sure. but i still have a gtx 650, so, it will be better anyway (lol). im just worried because the card that i want has 12,2 inches. I dont think that this card will fit in my k380 case

[i_build_nanosuits]

yeah, sure. but i still have a gtx 650, so, it will be better anyway (lol). im just worried because the card that i want has 12,2 inches. I dont think that this card will fit in my k380 case

time to take out the measuring tape my friend...cross your fingers

[-rascal-]

Cooler Master Elite 400W...as in this one?

http://www.coolermaster.com/powersupply/elite-power/elite-power-400w/

 

If so...GET ANOTHER PSU NOW!!!

That is a bottom-of-the-barrel unit. It can't even output NEAR the rated 400W. It's 276W max -- which is more closely to an actual mid-tier 300W unit.

 

 

Second of all, the GTX 970 requires two PCI-E 6-pin or a single 8-pin PCI-E connectors (depending on which GTX 970 you buy).

The PSU one has one PCI-E 6-pin. It doesn't even have the required hardware for a GTX 970.

[Maximunzito]

Cooler Master Elite 400W...as in this one?

http://www.coolermaster.com/powersupply/elite-power/elite-power-400w/

 

If so...GET ANOTHER PSU NOW!!!

That is a bottom-of-the-barrel unit. It can't even output NEAR the rated 400W. It's 276W max -- which is more closely to an actual mid-tier 300W unit.

 

yeah, i will have to buy another case and a PSU right now.  =(

[SteveGrabowski]

Your board is fine, your power supply isn't with only 276W on the +12V rail. The power consumption hype of the GTX 970 is somewhat BS, as it can spike to significantly more than 145W. Try to get a decent 500W or better power supply from a manufacturer like XFX, Seasonic, Antec, EVGA, etc. Better yet, check every power supply you're considering here:

 

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/PSUReviewDatabase.html

 

Anything whose OEM is Seasonic or Super Flower is going to be great. For other OEMs I would do my due diligence researching though.

 

As for the CPU, your i3 will bottleneck the GTX 970, but it's probably not going to be the kind of crippling bottleneck you'd have with a Pentium. You might consider waiting for the release of the GTX 960 to see if it or a possible GTX 960 Ti might be a more compelling buy than a GTX 970, and perhaps be better balanced with your CPU (which is still a pretty nice gaming CPU). The GTX 760 is already a great match with i3's though, so with them falling in price I think that would be a worthy match if you're not interested in upgrading to an Ivy Bridge i5/Xeon/i7 (no way I'd pay for a new board just to get Haswell when Ivy is damn near as good). Though I think you could probably go a bit higher than 760 without being too bottlenecked. Maybe one of the 960/960Ti would be more in line with 770 performance, for example. So many rumors with the 960 though, so it's hard to know what to expect other than a late January release.

[SteveGrabowski]

yeah, i will have to buy another case and a PSU right now.  =(

 

Don't buy the PSU with a case. The PSUs bundled with cases are almost never very good for gaming builds.

[Imakuni]

yeah, i will have to buy another case and a PSU right now.  =(

Nah, you don't need another case. Just the PSU is fine. 500W 80 Plus Gold should sufice.

 

As for the CPU, your i3 will bottleneck the GTX 970, but it's probably not going to be the kind of crippling bottleneck you'd have with a Pentium.

Oh yeah? Look at this. To OP: it's in portuguese. You are fine with an i3. No bottlenecks, your GPU will still run at 100% all the time.

[SteveGrabowski]

Nah, you don't need another case. Just the PSU is fine. 500W 80 Plus Gold should sufice.

 

Oh yeah? Look at this. To OP: it's in portuguese. You are fine with an i3. No bottlenecks, your GPU will still run at 100% all the time.

 

I saw nanosuits do a video with an i3 where his 780 was at 85%-95% GPU load in BF4 MP, if I remember correctly. Let me see if I can find it.

[i_build_nanosuits]

I saw nanosuits do a video with an i3 where his 780 was at 85%-95% GPU load in BF4 MP, if I remember correctly. Let me see if I can find it.

here it is, this is a 3.4GHZ dual core with hyper-threading run...as you can see it's ALMOST enough...but the op has a ivy bridge i3 so it's slightly slower...it would limit the performance of the card in some demanding modern games that's a given...

Also i think a 970 is even slightly faster than my overclocked GTX780.

It would be better for the OP to upgrade his CPU to a core i5-3570 or 3570K or similar at least...to have an optimal gaming experience in every titles.

 

You are fine with an i3. No bottlenecks, your GPU will still run at 100% all the time.

[SteveGrabowski]

Nah, you don't need another case. Just the PSU is fine. 500W 80 Plus Gold should sufice.

 

Oh yeah? Look at this. To OP: it's in portuguese. You are fine with an i3. No bottlenecks, your GPU will still run at 100% all the time.

 

Here's the video I was thinking of.

 

 

It's better than I was remembering. So I definitely withdraw my previous recommendation of the 760 and say to go 770 or better. That's a pretty impressive showing from the i3 considering BF4 can make really good use of 8 cores.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Here's the video I was thinking of.

 

 

It's better than I was remembering. So I definitely withdraw my previous recommendation of the 760 and say to go 770 or better. That's a pretty impressive showing from the i3 considering BF4 can make really good use of 8 cores.

in the settings i'm at 110% Scaling though...full on anti-aliasing as well...very GPU demanding settings...but yeah overall i would say a 770 or R9 280X is a good match for an i3 in most games.