# GPU supply questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2018, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302 "2018-04-29T09:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JakeRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/1 "2018-04-29T09:00:19Z")
As I am searching for gpu’s, I found out that they have some pins that go directly from the power supply, so I have 2 questions. 1. Does my current Radeon 7730 2gb even have a 6 pin connector or is it too weak to need one? (it’s 2, 3 times weaker than a gtx 1050 as a comparison and it’s from 2013) I didn’t find any connections to anything other than the pci e slot thing. [![](https://s20.postimg.cc/6pf6bx4a5/7730.jpg) ](https://s20.postimg.cc/6pf6bx4a5/7730.jpg) 1. Is this the 6 pin connector? I found this thing hanging from the PSU, but it’s not connected to anything, so if I got a Radeon 7850 or something like that, would it be combatible? Anything over 7850 requires an 8 pin (or another 6 pin) as well, so I’d probably prefer to stick with a single 6 pin card, to not have to buy a new PSU. [![](https://s20.postimg.cc/g9ysyslwd/6pin.jpg) ](https://s20.postimg.cc/g9ysyslwd/6pin.jpg) (The site doesn’t allow images, so I just put links to postimg instead, hopefully they work) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/2 "2018-04-29T09:27:46Z")
Yes and yes. Simple! But you should look for a Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti, which is much more powerful yet does not require any extra power. ---
**Author:** ![JakeRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/3 "2018-04-29T10:17:19Z")
Can’t afford it sadly (student from Serbia), so I’m only looking at used ones around that performance level. Another question, might as well ask it here: 1. Can I switch to a integrated gpu without taking the dedicated one out? I am thinking about selling my current gpu, so in the mean time I would like to use the integrated one (intel hd 2500) First I’d like to test it while the dedicated one is still in case, I don’t want to screw something up by taking out the dedicated one and then not have either of them working, so ideally I’d want to switch to the integrated one and only then try taking the dedicated one out. Not sure if this is possible though. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/4 "2018-04-29T10:31:11Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > Can’t afford it sadly (student from Serbia), so I’m only looking at used ones around that performance level. Then look at the 750 Ti and the 950 Ti. Possibly the Radeon RX 460. > [@](#): > > Another question, might as well ask it here: > > 1. Can I switch to a integrated gpu without taking the dedicated one out? Yes, first, go into the BIOS and check that onboard graphics are enabled, then just plug your monitor into the correct port. If you have two monitors you can plug one into each! ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/5 "2018-04-30T14:14:58Z")
The images aren’t working, but just wanted to say that if you can wait a few months to buy a new GPU, do so. The cryptocurrency market is expecting new dedicated chips to arrive soon, to alleviate the demand for GPUs. For gamers, they should get a lot cheaper soon. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/6 "2018-04-30T14:53:56Z")
Supposedly they’re already decreasing, [GPU Prices Are Falling - Slashdot](https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/04/29/1546210/gpu-prices-are-falling), although that mentions the GTX 1080, which the OP clearly is not in the market for. Neither am I. MSRP $600! ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/7 "2018-04-30T19:53:40Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Supposedly they’re already decreasing, [GPU Prices Are Falling - Slashdot](https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/04/29/1546210/gpu-prices-are-falling), although that mentions the GTX 1080, which the OP clearly is not in the market for. Neither am I. MSRP $600! I saw that, but “starting to decrease” is not the same as “half the price if you wait six more months”. They are still about $100 over MSRP right now, which is crazy considering that old graphics cards (especially the used market) should be several hundred dollars less by now. ---
**Author:** ![JakeRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/8 "2018-05-12T13:53:21Z")
Op here, I found a box for my PSU, this is what it says: 600W 20+4-pin connector 4-pin 12V 6-pin PCI-E SATA X 3 Molex x 1 So, is the 6 pin PCI-E still the only one I could use or are there some adapters or something to create another 6 pins or 8 pins? I read something like that on a different site, but I don’t remember the details. Most used GPU’s I am thinking of lately are at least 2x6 pin, some are even slightly better than the 1050 Ti, but buying a new PSU would probably mean that I could just buy a 1050 Ti instead and pay the same, and I basically want the most power I could get and those used cards (R9 380 and some older GTX’s) are ideal, I don’t care for mining, so efficiency is not important. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/9 "2018-05-12T14:14:35Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > As I am searching for gpu’s, I found out that they have some pins that go directly from the power supply, so I have 2 questions. > > 1. Does my current Radeon 7730 2gb even have a 6 pin connector or is it too weak to need one? (it’s 2, 3 times weaker than a gtx 1050 as a comparison and it’s from 2013) I didn’t find any connections to anything other than the pci e slot thing. it’s too low power to need one. If I recall correctly, the PCIe slot can deliver up to 75 watts to an installed card. > [@](#): > > 1. Is this the 6 pin connector? I found this thing hanging from the PSU, but it’s not connected to anything, so if I got a Radeon 7850 or something like that, would it be combatible? Anything over 7850 requires an 8 pin (or another 6 pin) as well, so I’d probably prefer to stick with a single 6 pin card, to not have to buy a new PSU. > > (The site doesn’t allow images, so I just put links to postimg instead, hopefully they work) there are wire adapters which let you supply power from unused disk drive power plugs, like so: [https://www.kenable.co.uk/images/6-Pin\_Power\_Adapter\_Cable\_video\_card\_kenable.jpg](https://www.kenable.co.uk/images/6-Pin_Power_Adapter_Cable_video_card_kenable.jpg) there exist adapters for both the old style 4-pin to PCIe, and the newer SATA to PCIe. So long as your current power supply can output enough on the 12 volt side, you should be able to use one of those and not need a new power supply. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/10 "2018-05-12T16:31:34Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > Op here, I found a box for my PSU, this is what it says: > > 600W > 20+4-pin connector > 4-pin 12V > 6-pin PCI-E > SATA X 3 > Molex x 1 This is ringing huge alarm bells. I would expect a real 600W PSU to have an 8 pin PCIe power connector AND a 6 pin one. What is the name of the manufacturer on the box? What is the model number. I fear it’s a Chinese piece of crap. ---
**Author:** ![JakeRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/11 "2018-05-12T17:44:37Z")
It probably is Chinese, it says Zeus on the box, it was the cheapest one my service guy could find, since we were upgrading a few years ago from a XP to Windows 7, so we had to change a bunch of parts (motherboard, cpu, psu, gpu, ram) and basically chose the low class of every part to fit the budget. It was fine back then since I only did casual gaming, but I am starting to work with 3d stuff and video rendering now, so I need something stronger, I upgraded the cpu from Celeron to I5, RAM from 4 to 8gb, motherboard is fine, it’s only the gpu that I need to upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gpu-supply-questions/813302/12 "2018-05-12T21:42:47Z")
Check the box again. Because Silverstone had a Zeus range of PSUs, and Silverstone are good. But if not, then you should replace the PSU with a decent one before stressing it with a GPU. A bad PSU can destroy all the components in your PC.