Is My Graphics Card Getting Enough Power?

[avrona]

So my PSU wasn't really built for 2 8 pin graphic cards like the 1080 Ti I have now. Probably because 2 8 pin cards didn't even exist when it was made. My PSU only comes with 1 8 pin, a 6+2. So instead I use an adaptor that converts 2 6 pins into 1 8 pin, so I use that for the other 8 pin slot. However, my PSU only has 1 6 pin, meaning I could one use up one of those 6 pin slots in that adaptor. Is that bad or is my graphics card ok? I've had it since October and had no issues thus far.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Nah, you'd want at at least a 650w to be on the safe side with that system.

The main problem is that CPU bottlenecking the 1080Ti though....

 

[avrona]

Nah, you'd want at at least a 650w to be on the safe side with that system.

Is it needed though? Because I can't really afford a new PSU.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Is it needed though? Because I can't really afford a new PSU.

Depends if you want things to explode or not. You should of taken that into consideration before buying your 1080Ti. I know you play at 4k but that setup is going to hurt you

 

[Vayra86]

For the time being you could use a reduced power target for your 1080ti, chances are you won't even notice it at, say 85% power target but it will take the stress / risk out of your gaming.

 

[avrona]

Depends if you want things to explode or not. You should of taken that into consideration before buying your 1080Ti. I know you play at 4k but that setup is going to hurt you

Well I didn't pay for the 1080 ti though. It was a surprise upgrade.

For the time being you could use a reduced power target for your 1080ti, chances are you won't even notice it at, say 85% power target but it will take the stress / risk out of your gaming.

What's the risk exactly though, and how likely?

 

[Vayra86]

Well I didn't pay for the 1080 ti though. It was a surprise upgrade.

What's the risk exactly though, and how likely?

Failure in power delivery can break components behind the PSU, so that is the 'exact' risk, and you've created a situation that is potentially out of spec for this GPU / rig. Lowering power target will bring it back in line, for a good part at least. The exact and how likely depends on quality, age and degradation state of caps on your PSU. You've also increased the rate at which that all happens.

Bottom line, you can't really tell but its not recommended to leave as is.

But another consideration is your CPU which limits the 1080ti anyway, so lowering power target is hardly even noticeable. Its firmly in the 'why not' category for you right now.

 

[Jetster]

Don't like adapters as they can cause problems . But if you can't afford a proper power supply F it and run it. Just realize it c an break something

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Since you say you can't afford a new PSU to insure that your "surprise 1080ti upgrade" is safe to run, and that it's paired with a CPU that will bottleneck the hell out of it, you should sell the 1080ti and buy a 1060 or 1070 and pocket the extra $200-300.

 

[avrona]

Since you say you can't afford a new PSU to insure that your "surprise 1080ti upgrade" is safe to run, and that it's paired with a CPU that will bottleneck the hell out of it, you should sell the 1080ti and buy a 1060 or 1070 and pocket the extra $200-300.

Well that's the one thing making my system run well, and there is actually very little bottleneck.

 

[newtekie1]

You shouldn't need any adapters to use your graphics card. That PSU, according to XFX, comes with two 6+2 Pin PCI-E power connectors. Those are the connectors you are supposed to use when you have an 8-pin connector on your graphics card. That PSU can plug dirrectly into the two 8-pin connectors on your graphics card.
Nevermind, I just saw that XFX has an older version of the TS 550 that doesn't have two 6+2 Pins, and instead has a two 6-pins and one 6+2. In that case, use the adapter, it isn't ideal, but it should work. The wattage is a little concerning, especially on an older PSU, as they degrade over time. A decent 750w can be had for $75, and it's worth it to make sure your PSU doesn't fail and kill everything in your system(and yes, that is a risk).

As for the FX-8350 bottlenecking the 1080Ti, that is going to depend on a lot of factors. I think the OP is playing at 4k, so the bottleneck will be a lot less noticeable, if not completely gone, because even a single 1080Ti starts to struggle at that point.

 

[Vario]

Get a new power supply. It is insane to risk your entire computer for $50 to 75. You can often buy a 650 watt gold in that price range.

 

[avrona]

Get a new power supply. It is insane to risk your entire computer for $50 to 75. You can often buy a 650 watt gold in that price range.

Ok but that is still way too expensive for me.

 

[Vario]

Ok but that is still way too expensive for me.

You did buy a 1080Ti. Cheaping out on power supply is generally a bad move.

 

[avrona]

You did buy a 1080Ti. Cheaping out on power supply is generally a bad move.

I didn't though. I got it for free.

 

[eidairaman1]

You shouldn't need any adapters to use your graphics card. That PSU, according to XFX, comes with two 6+2 Pin PCI-E power connectors. Those are the connectors you are supposed to use when you have an 8-pin connector on your graphics card. That PSU can plug dirrectly into the two 8-pin connectors on your graphics card.
Nevermind, I just saw that XFX has an older version of the TS 550 that doesn't have two 6+2 Pins, and instead has a two 6-pins and one 6+2. In that case, use the adapter, it isn't ideal, but it should work. The wattage is a little concerning, especially on an older PSU, as they degrade over time. A decent 750w can be had for $75, and it's worth it to make sure your PSU doesn't fail and kill everything in your system(and yes, that is a risk).

As for the FX-8350 bottlenecking the 1080Ti, that is going to depend on a lot of factors. I think the OP is playing at 4k, so the bottleneck will be a lot less noticeable, if not completely gone, because even a single 1080Ti starts to struggle at that point.

Heres info.

If in doubt upgrade the psu.

You did buy a 1080Ti. Cheaping out on power supply is generally a bad move.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I didn't though. I got it for free.

What graphics card did you have before? Sell the old one and put money ontop to buy a better PSU

 

[bug]

Don't like adapters as they can cause problems . But if you can't afford a proper power supply F it and run it. Just realize it c an break something

These adapters are ok, they were widespread in the early days of 8pin PCIe power connectors.

@OP The thing is, we can't really tell you whether you're ok or not, that depends on the load on each of your PSU's rails and that, in turn, depends on each component in your system. In general, a video card not getting enough juice will either refuse to boot, crash when going in 3D mode, or, if you're lucky, just refuse to up clocks past a certain point.
Your specs say you also run a rather power hungry CPU with an overclock on top. I would run it stock, to reduce the risk of trying the PSU.

Also, sometimes when PSUs give up the ghost, they take the mobo with them. You've been warned.

 

[avrona]

These adapters are ok, they were widespread in the early days of 8pin PCIe power connectors.

@OP The thing is, we can't really tell you whether you're ok or not, that depends on the load on each of your PSU's rails and that, in turn, depends on each component in your system. In general, a video card not getting enough juice will either refuse to boot, crash when going in 3D mode, or, if you're lucky, just refuse to up clocks past a certain point.
Your specs say you also run a rather power hungry CPU with an overclock on top. I would run it stock, to reduce the risk of trying the PSU.

Also, sometimes when PSUs give up the ghost, they take the mobo with them. You've been warned.

My PSU doesn't have rails, and thankfully my graphics card hasn't been doing anything weird ever since I've got it in October. Also my CPU isn't overclocked.

 

[krusha03]

So you have 1x6 pin and 1x8 pin and you use them as 2x8 pin. Do you have a power meter to check what you are pulling off the wall at load? Otherwise as previously suggested I would run the GPU at reduced power target of 80% until you get a new PSU.

A 6 pin connector gives you 75W, a 8 pin 150W and the PCI-E another 75W. So you config is good for up to 300W. With 2x8 pin + PCI-E you have 375W which at 80% is 300W

 

[DR4G00N]

So my PSU wasn't really built for 2 8 pin graphic cards like the 1080 Ti I have now. Probably because 2 8 pin cards didn't even exist when it was made. My PSU only comes with 1 8 pin, a 6+2. So instead I use an adaptor that converts 2 6 pins into 1 8 pin, so I use that for the other 8 pin slot. However, my PSU only has 1 6 pin, meaning I could one use up one of those 6 pin slots in that adaptor. Is that bad or is my graphics card ok? I've had it since October and had no issues thus far.

Seems fine to me, if it works it works.
The 6-pin & 8-pin PCIE power connectors are exactly the same anyway, the 8-pin only has an extra sense pin that get's connected to the existing sense pin in the 6-pin to tell the card that it can draw more power.

Basically you just need to connect the two sense pins together with a paperclip or wire and your "6-pin" is now an "8-pin". This is what your dual 6-pin to 8-pin adapter does, the second 6-pin connector is just a dummy.

 

[EarthDog]

Didn't we go over this in one of your other threads already????????

 

[phill]

As everyone else has said... If you want to run the risk of loosing a $600 graphics cards for the sake of $60 then so be it.. Failing that if you can't afford it, don't use it until you can. If you've not had issues since October that's great, but trying your luck is only risking the card and your system even more. If it breaks, you could risk loosing everything.

It's up to you, how much you value your 'free' upgrade. Sounds like to me sadly, not very much at all....

 

[eidairaman1]

As everyone else has said... If you want to run the risk of loosing a $600 graphics cards for the sake of $60 then so be it.. Failing that if you can't afford it, don't use it until you can. If you've not had issues since October that's great, but trying your luck is only risking the card and your system even more. If it breaks, you could risk loosing everything.

It's up to you, how much you value your 'free' upgrade. Sounds like to me sadly, not very much at all....

The PSU is pretty stout despite the age.

44 Amperes should be plenty.

 

[avrona]

As everyone else has said... If you want to run the risk of loosing a $600 graphics cards for the sake of $60 then so be it.. Failing that if you can't afford it, don't use it until you can. If you've not had issues since October that's great, but trying your luck is only risking the card and your system even more. If it breaks, you could risk loosing everything.

It's up to you, how much you value your 'free' upgrade. Sounds like to me sadly, not very much at all....

I do value it a lot, it's just that there's literally not much I can, and thankfully from what I read I don't I do need to do much as most 8 pins only have one ground wire more and sense.