Tri rail PSU vs GTX 970

[Cracklingice]

Ok...
So a friend is going to gift me his old GTX 970 but the issue I am running into is that he has bought a third party board design that uses an 8 pin + 6 pin design instead of the reference 6+6.  My RS650 PSU has 3 12V+ rails rated at 19A each.  I cannot for the life of me find out what connectors hook up to what rail.  Is it possible that the three rails connect internally in parallel to deliver power to all 12V+ devices?  If so I should be capable of just using a 6 to 8 pin converter to connect the 970s 8 pin to my 6 pin PSU connection?  If I could find information on what rails are hooked to what connectors, I'd know already; but sadly after 30 mins of googling I just cannot find it.
A new PSU is out of the question at this time.  Either I can put in the GPU with this PSU in my i5-2400 build or I wait to use it until I buy a new case, cooler and PSU at the same time to use the 2500k/mobo/ram he's also sending at the same time.
Links to the newegg pages for the items are provided.

[Sakkura]

It is a piece of crap anyway, regardless of the rail distribution. It's made by Acbel Explodytech Polytech.

[Cracklingice]

3 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

It is a piece of crap anyway, regardless of the rail distribution. It's made by Acbel Explodytech Polytech.

Thanks for the remarkably useful comment.  The PSU is adequate.  It's lasted 8.5 years so far.

[Cracklingice]

So I've pretty much come to the decision that it must be fine since the reference card used two 6 pins and the card in question comes with a 6 to 8 pin adapter in the box.  My friend says he even has the original box so he'll see if he still has the adapter.

 

Although if someone has info on how these tri rails work it'd be much appreciated.

[Bananasplit_00]

19A*12V is 228W so you should be fine here, the PSU is of questionable quality though but it should have enough power for you

[Cracklingice]

1 minute ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

19A*12V is 228W so you should be fine here, the PSU is of questionable quality though but it should have enough power for you

My concern was that aren't tri rails typically something like 1 rail handles molex/sata devices, 1 for the eps, 1 for the gpus or something of the like?

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, Cracklingice said:

My concern was that aren't tri rails typically something like 1 rail handles sata devices, 1 for the eps, 1 for the gpus or something of the like?

yah they split them up, one for SATA, one for PCI-e and one for everything else, but 228W should be enough for a 970

[Cracklingice]

Just now, Bananasplit_00 said:

yah they split them up, one for SATA, one for PCI-e and one for everything else, but 228W should be enough for a 970

Gotcha.  That's what I figured since the reference design is dual six pin.  I'll just keep an eye out for vdroop and if needed, clock the card lower.  I mean the 970 is 4 times the performance of my current HD 6870 so even if I down clock it heavily it's still a huge upgrade.  lol

[Cracklingice]

Also, I'm aware it's basically a tier 4 PSU at this point; but it's also the best PSU I've ever owned (easily tier 2 or 3 when I bought it in 2008).  My next build will have an EVGA G2 650 or 750.  Ironically it's basically the same price for that PSU as I paid for this RS650 back then ($99).

[MeDownYou]

1 hour ago, Cracklingice said:

Thanks for the remarkably useful comment.  The PSU is adequate.  It's lasted 8.5 years so far.

If you've had that PSU for 8.5 years I wouldn't push it past 75% load, and I'd consider a replacement due to gradual deterioration that occurs in all psu's (which you seem to wish to do when you next upgrade/change build)

[Cracklingice]

19 minutes ago, MeDownYou said:

If you've had that PSU for 8.5 years I wouldn't push it past 75% load, and I'd consider a replacement due to gradual deterioration that occurs in all psu's (which you seem to wish to do when you next upgrade/change build)

It's only been in use for about half of that time.  My build unfortunately lost reliability to chinese caps so this PSU sat for about 3 or 4 years before I bought the HD 6870 used for $40 and needed the PSU instead of the OEM PSU in the Gateway that I used prior to upgrading to this dell optiplex I hacked into a standard PC case.
Current build is linked in my signature.

[Stefan Payne]

3 hours ago, Sakkura said:

It is a piece of crap anyway, regardless of the rail distribution. It's made by Acbel Explodytech Polytech.

Do you have any proof for your acusations?!
As far as I know it was a decent PSU at the time - but that was 10 years ago.

 

Due to age (=wear and tear) I'd replace the PSU with something new...

[Cracklingice]

1 minute ago, Stefan Payne said:

Do you have any proof for your acusations?!
As far as I know it was a decent PSU at the time - but that was 10 years ago.

 

Due to age (=wear and tear) I'd replace the PSU with something new...

Yes it was decent.  I'd say strong tier 3 weak tier 2 minimum, but yes it is old and will be replaced for a new build.

[Stefan Payne]

9 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

Yes it was decent.  I'd say strong tier 3 weak tier 2 minimum, but yes it is old and will be replaced for a new build.

A 1972 Mercedes S-Class (W116) was a great car at the time.

Today? Not so much...

 

And in the last decade there were so many changes that you absolutely shound NOT ever use a PSU from that time with modern rigs...

[quan289]

9 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

Yes it was decent.  I'd say strong tier 3 weak tier 2 minimum, but yes it is old and will be replaced for a new build.

Around the time of release, units like the Antec Signature, Silverstone Zeus / Etasis ET850, even the Seasonic M12 / Corsair HX*20w, etc. would been placed in those higher level tiers (especially the Signature and Zeus), as such, I wouldn't put the CM RPP near those units in the tier 2 or even 3, tbh. Unless, of course, you have very condense level of tiers...Either way, I don't like tier list, so I guess it doesn't matter.

 

But yeah, regardless of what tier it was in, I'd would replace it due to its age. Your system isn't particular demanding that I've seen and know people who powered it on a Seasonic G360. So an inexpensive, modern solution like the Corsair CX450M would be plenty. I'm pretty sure it has a rebate that effectively makes it a ~$30 PSU atm.

[Cracklingice]

19 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

A 1972 Mercedes S-Class (W116) was a great car at the time.

Today? Not so much...

 

And in the last decade there were so many changes that you absolutely shound NOT ever use a PSU from that time with modern rigs...

Sure, given there is an alternative don't reuse a PSU - but this isn't a new build, it's just some used parts I'm being given.  It can either sit in the box and do nothing or I can run it off this decent PSU instead of a new quality one.

1 minute ago, quan289 said:

Around the time of release, units like the Antec Signature, Silverstone Zeus / Etasis ET850, even the Seasonic M12 / Corsair HX*20w, etc. would been placed in those higher level tiers (especially the Signature and Zeus), as such, I wouldn't put the CM RPP near those units in the tier 2 or even 3, tbh. Unless, of course, you have very condense level of tiers...Either way, I don't like tier list, so I guess it doesn't matter.

 

But yeah, regardless of what tier it was in, I'd would replace it due to its age. Your system isn't particular demanding that I've seen and know people who powered it on a Seasonic G360. So an inexpensive, modern solution like the Corsair CX450M would be plenty. I'm pretty sure it has a rebate that effectively makes it a ~$30 PSU atm.

No intention on spending cash on any PSU other than what will be used in my next full build.  Currently that's a 750W EVGA G2.  As said to Stefan, this PSU gets used or the 970 has to sit in the box for months.

[Cracklingice]

Trust me, I'm not the kind of person that would re-use a PSU for a new build - in this case I look at it as throwing a free graphics upgrade at my computer to help get me by better until a full new build and if cash is strapped, until I can get the case, psu and water cooler for a full new build but use the 2500k OCd like it's not mine and the 970.

My friend wanted to reuse his EVGA GQ PSU that he got back from an RMA in his new Ryzen system.  I told him to give up anything in the parts list or go cheaper on things like ssd and ram rather than reuse an RMA unit of a meh PSU.  I get it, I do, but I apply it to new parts with warranties more than to old free parts - no matter how good they are.
This PSU is far better than a new tier 5 or 6 unit and probably easily on par with a tier 4.

[quan289]

1 hour ago, Cracklingice said:

This PSU is far better than a new tier 5 or 6 unit and probably easily on par with a tier 4.

The Cooler Master GM series is classed as a "Tier 4" unit by some list. It's based on a more modern DC-DC regulated unit, than the group-regulated design that the Real Power Pro is based off of. It  should offer better efficiency and much better load regulation, line regulation, crossload regulation, and transient load response. So no, it wouldn't be easily on par with a "tier 4" PSU.

 

Btw, these list is in consideration of when it is new... So even if it was a "tier 4" PSU back then, the condition your particular unit made it function more like, I don't know, a "tier 8" PSU, and as such may require to be service (open it up, clean the dust out, recap it, re-lubricant or change to an appropriate fan, etc) - assuming that you know the necessary safety precaution of doing so. An example of one that my need to be re-serviced would be this Silverstone Olympia 1000w @ HardOCP. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/03/09/silverstone_olympia_1000w_power_supply_7_year_redux/1

 

It was able to complete Paul's test at first, but 7.5 years later, it failed to complete it. It also violated specs @ 750w load during the 100VAC test (operating in conditions where it is out of specs for an extended period of time can lead to stability issue as well as negetively affect the lifespan of the components). Your particular CM RPP is a lower-end power supply. Basically, what I'm saying without know the condition by properly testing and examining innards of the PSUs, you can't really say it would be fine because it is "decent", "tier x", or whatever, as it isn't operating as optimally as you first got it.

 

Anyways, if you want to used it just so it will last up until you get a new PC, then that's up to you and just ignore me. On the other hand, it isn't a bad idea to have a modern day spare at hand either. It's good to have when you need to troubleshoot or in need a PSU that can power another system for a time being. Getting my suggested CX450M for $30 after MIR may not necessarily be a bad investment.

[Cracklingice]

My PSU is actually pretty clean.  I've had far far worse OEM PSUs as far as dust survive shockingly long.  Nothing like cleaning out a client PC that's like a few years old and having to pull dust bunnies out (carefully) with toothpicks and such.
It's probably worth it for me to get the PSU at my earliest convenience instead of waiting til I can get together the 300 for the case and AIO at the same time, but I'm not at all interested in buying a cheap one that I know I won't use long term.  I already have several known good PSUs that I can use in a testing situation so it wouldn't even be useful for that afterword.  Plus I had two cheap PSUs go out on me before getting the one I have now so I'd much rather buy right once like I did the last time.

[Sakkura]

13 hours ago, Stefan Payne said:

Do you have any proof for your acusations?!
As far as I know it was a decent PSU at the time - but that was 10 years ago.

 

Due to age (=wear and tear) I'd replace the PSU with something new...

Poor manufacturer, mediocre 12V rail rating, and voltage regulation shit the bed here.

[quan289]

AcBel is a manufacturer catered towards various of industry including telecom and the power meter inside of your home. They are similar to CWT, FSP, Delta, Hipro etc. in regards to that they will built accordingly to the specs that their customers provide and is willing to pay for. If you only willing to pay for crap and then overrated it (which Cooler Master had done in the past), then you will get an overrated PoS. But if they wanted to, they can provide something good. The Cooler Master UCP was a good unit for it's time. I wouldn't class them off as a "poor manufacturer".

 

The 12V rating is indeed rather low by today's standard even for a group-regulated design. Although there was quite a few units at that time with rather low 12V rating too. Like the Delta build Antec Earthwatt 650w with a 45A / 540w rating. Regardless, that 12V rating is plenty for a GTX970 + non-oced i5 that draws <300wDC.

 

As for the v.reg results at Tech Report. Hmm, it looks odd, and the 550w model seem to have done just fine. Before being split by shunts/coils and monitor by the protection IC, the CM RPP 650w has a single 12V source where both the 12V and 5V share the same output choke like your typical group-regulated PSU. Because of that, the 12V2 shouldn't have deviated largely from the 12V1. If there is, then any variances may be due to cables, connection, and the amount of current being past through those wires - assuming that their make-shift load tester is accurate and adjusted correctly during time of the test. What it look like here is that somehow, near the end of the test, there is a large amount of resistance on the PEG cable that caused the 12V to severely drop. I've seen voltages deviation cause by a poor connection with adapters before when it drop beyond 5% and got fix when it had been removed and the voltages stayed within 1~2%.

[maz]

All i have to say is get a good single rail PSU for $80 and be done with it.

[Cracklingice]

Maybe I should rename this thread to "Please bash my PSU".

If anyone wishes to employ me for an EVGA G2 750W, that's fine with me; but at this point a new PSU is something I cannot justify.  I would not even be upgrading anything in my system for a few months if it wasn't for the parts I am getting from a friend.  On paper it looks like the 970 isn't going to pull any more power than the 6870 I am currently using so I'll be fine power delivery wise on my current PSU until I can afford something better.

[quan289]

1 hour ago, maz said:

All i have to say is get a good single rail PSU for $80 and be done with it.

Or he could get a quality multi-rail unit as it offer extra safety in an event of a failed components shorting out.

As long as he get a quality unit, he shouldn't limit his options simply due to it being single rail or multi-rail (which the EVGA G2 is indeed a good unit)

 

51 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

Maybe I should rename this thread to "Please bash my PSU".

Well, while it didn't address the multi-rail concern (FYI, a portion of that power will come from the PCIe slot that's the 12V1 rail from the 24-pin connector powering, so there will be a lesser load on the 12V2 that the PEG cables is hooked up to), I think my and Stefan comment on wear and tear and how it may no longer providing power safely due to it is a valid point. If you can't buy a new PSU, then it could be said that we are also suggesting to not used that PSU and do what you had originally planned:  "Either I can put in the GPU with this PSU in my i5-2400 build or I wait to use it until I buy a new case, cooler and PSU at the same time to use the 2500k/mobo/ram he's also sending at the same time."

 

In the end, what you do is up to you. Hope that everything goes well with your build.

[Cracklingice]

Just now, quan289 said:

Or he could get a quality multi-rail unit as it offer extra safety in an event of a failed components shorting out.

As long as he get a quality unit, he shouldn't limit his options simply due to it being single rail or multi-rail (which the EVGA G2 is indeed a good unit)

 

Well, while it didn't address the multi-rail concern, I think my and Stefan comment on wear and tear and how it may no longer providing power safely due to it is a valid point. If you can't buy a new PSU, then it could be said that we are also suggesting to not used that PSU and do what you had originally planned:  "Either I can put in the GPU with this PSU in my i5-2400 build or I wait to use it until I buy a new case, cooler and PSU at the same time to use the 2500k/mobo/ram he's also sending at the same time."

 

In the end, what you do is up to you. Hope that everything goes well with your build.

As it stands, it looks like the 970 won't consume any more power than the 6870 does so I intend to use it, however I will invest in the PSU I want in the long run before waiting until I can afford the case and cooler too.