Should I Upgrade??

Hi guys,

So I have a Silverstone ST56ZF 560 watt PSU (38 am single 12v rail) that has been powering my main rig since late 2006, when Core2Duo came out. It's now 5 years later and I have an overclocked i5 750, (3.8ghz @ 1.3v) a GTX 260 core 216, 1 DVD drive, 5 hard drives and an SSD. In addition, I've also got 8 gigs (4x2gb) RAM, a sound card, and 3 120mm fans.

I got in on the $200 (AR) HIS 6970 from slickdeals. I know this card consumes more power than my current card. Also, it has an 8 pin power connector. So, in order to make all of the connectors fit, I will need to use a convertor that turns my 2 6 pin pci-e's into one 8 pin. Then I'll need to use a converter to turn 2 molex's into a pci-e 6 pin. I already have a bunch of molex to sata converters being used as well.

I've always heard that it's not optimal to use a ton of converters and it's best to use the power supplies native plugs if you can. Should I just bite the bullet and purchase a quality power supply (I'm thinking Corsair 650-750TX) to replace this one? Or should I go ahead and get the proper converter I need and run the 6970 off my curret (and old!) power supply?

Do power supplies degrade as long as their are no broken/leaking caps? I know my current PSU is quality and has lasted me many years, but I need your guys expert opinion on what to do here. Thanks.

If it were me, I would updgrade PSU's... With PSU aged over 5yrs and the fact that the system will draw around 590W (with the ATI HD6970) at peak you should get a 650W PSU at minimum. Obviously this pwoer demand is greater than your current PSU... this plus the fact that you dont have the right connections and age etc just sound a bit too risky.

King107s said:

If it were me, I would updgrade PSU's... With PSU aged over 5yrs and the fact that the system will draw around 590W (with the ATI HD6970) at peak you should get a 650W PSU at minimum. Obviously this pwoer demand is greater than your current PSU... this plus the fact that you dont have the right connections and age etc just sound a bit too risky.

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+1 for new PSU, go to newegg.com and get yourself a Corsair or Seasonic

I would definitely upgrade. As you have already seen a PSU will live longer than most builds so dont skimp out. A 650w should take care of whatever you need for a few builds unless you plan to go with a multiple GPU configuration sometime down the line.