multi rail psu help

[slitherin96]

i am making gradual upgrades to my pc and i found a really good deal on an r9 290. i have a 600w nJoy Agon powersuply ( i know its not from a "trusted manufacturer" but it's reliable according to two friends who have been using the same for about 3 years) it has 2 12v rails, one with 20 and one with 19 amps. will i be able to use that card with this config, or will i have to get creative with a molex adapter. from what i understand one rail is to MOBO and CPU, and the other is to the pcie cards, but is the wattage combined or separated?

other pc specs: FX 8320 @ 3.7ghz; 2x4gb ddr3 ram; 2tb HDD

[STRMfrmXMN]

i am making gradual upgrades to my pc and i found a really good deal on an r9 290. i have a 600w nJoy Agon powersuply ( i know its not from a "trusted manufacturer" but it's reliable according to two friends who have been using the same for about 3 years) it has 2 12v rails, one with 20 and one with 19 amps. will i be able to use that card with this config, or will i have to get creative with a molex adapter. from what i understand one rail is to MOBO and CPU, and the other is to the pcie cards, but is the wattage combined or separated?

other pc specs: FX 8320 @ 3.7ghz; 2x4gb ddr3 ram; 2tb HDD

Just because two of your friends have had it for 3 years doesn't mean it's good. Replace pronto.

[slitherin96]

jeez man it came with a 300 month warranty. even if i had the money for another psu id have to reconsider.

[kkpatel87]

i am making gradual upgrades to my pc and i found a really good deal on an r9 290. i have a 600w nJoy Agon powersuply ( i know its not from a "trusted manufacturer" but it's reliable according to two friends who have been using the same for about 3 years) it has 2 12v rails, one with 20 and one with 19 amps. will i be able to use that card with this config, or will i have to get creative with a molex adapter. from what i understand one rail is to MOBO and CPU, and the other is to the pcie cards, but is the wattage combined or separated?

other pc specs: FX 8320 @ 3.7ghz; 2x4gb ddr3 ram; 2tb HDD

 

I cant comment on the PSU itself considering i cannot find any English documentation. It looks like generic supply.

 

There should be a sticker showing 12V1 and 12V2, since there are two rails with 20A on 1 and 19A on 2, then you have 240W and 212W split. If you are confident, you can create a bussing system to do so. What is the R290 power draw? Compare that against the power split since the PCIE connector is powered through one rail and the auxiliary connection on the card is powered through the other. You could get creative but it would take a lot of understanding about the PSU and will require you to open up the PSU which is dangerous if you dont know what you are doing.

 

My recommendation is to get a new PSU unless you are willing to open up hte PSU and do some testing. 

[slitherin96]

I cant comment on the PSU itself considering i cannot find any English documentation. It looks like generic supply.

 

There should be a sticker showing 12V1 and 12V2, since there are two rails with 20A on 1 and 19A on 2, then you have 240W and 212W split. If you are confident, you can create a bussing system to do so. What is the R290 power draw? Compare that against the power split since the PCIE connector is powered through one rail and the auxiliary connection on the card is powered through the other. You could get creative but it would take a lot of understanding about the PSU and will require you to open up the PSU which is dangerous if you dont know what you are doing.

 

My recommendation is to get a new PSU unless you are willing to open up hte PSU and do some testing. 

the r9 290 pulls 275w total. i read that a pcie slot safely delivers 75w. does this mean that the other 200 are delivered via the 6pin cables? if so then i have no problem. right?

[kkpatel87]

the r9 290 pulls 275w total. i read that a pcie slot safely delivers 75w. does this mean that the other 200 are delivered via the 6pin cables? if so then i have no problem. right?

 

No. It's 200 W nominal...not maximum. And even if it was maximum 200W draw, 12W is not a good enough safety margin accounting for spikes, aging wiring and components, etc. Considering that the PSU has been used for nearly three years, the rail probably provides around 200W or less of power.

 

Not saying that it wont run the R9 290, but it would unwise to do so.