MSI RX480 Armor OC 4GB... (hoping somebody helps me in Crypto section)

[imre]

Hi, i have been finding conflicting reviews of this card online.
I would like to know from somebody what is the real power usage of this card.
The MSI RX480 Armor OC 4GB, not the 8GB

Is the consumption 120 Watts or 150 Watts?

I have the following cards:
RX470 Saphire Nitro+ 8GB which uses as much a 132 Watts, ive never seen it climb beyond this.
RX470 PowerColor 4GB which uses as much as 121 Watts, ive never seen it climb beyond this.

Please assist me in confirming the usage of the - MSI RX480 Armor OC 4GB
And is this a decent card to use for mining along with the above.

I was considering an RX570 Aorus 4GB but i am not sure about the power consumption of this card either/also BUt something tells me they are worse off. Though what i find confusing is that some sites show that some brands of the RX570's use 120 watts so now i really dont know anymore, and then to top it off u get people giving you 1 liners with insufficient information or irrelevant information pertaining to what you are actually asking in the question/s (no offense to those trying to provide decent help) .

I was told that the RX cards should use the same power if they are set to that, to me this is not a good enough explanation and i clearly do not see this when i mine whatever coin it is i mine. Although MSI afterburner is syncing the settings i choose on the slider bars, the wattage consumption in GPU-Z or MSI Afterburner proggy shows me a difference of 10-15 watts.

I am just trying to establish the best possible card i can buy as an addition to my existing 2 cards.
Thank you .

 

[mkrohn]

with the number of bios mods in the mix the possibilities are endless. Buy a killawatt.

 

[KD5ZXG]

We've gone through this exact same question with you before.
MSI Armor heatsink (specifically the variant for AMD RX with
a single over and under S shaped pipe, may look like two) is
garbage for mining or anything else, and gaps on either side
of the single pipe do not provide proper contact with the GPU.

On other hand, Armor VRMs are separately sinked, therefore
conversion to water is pretty simple. Masterliquid Lite 120 fits,
or at least the holes line up, its on you to procure four screws.
Unless one is thrown at you for such a discount that you can
afford a $50 water upgrade, I would simply avoid MSI Armor.

With water fix, crowds out three cards from my rig, so I would
not recommend going that route unless you have the space.

Variations of power draw between similar cards that are not
self-explained in monitoring software could be related to VRM
switching frequency, fan power draw, current sensing, or bios
limits. Its not all about the GPU.

Real consumption is a difference you can only measure at the
wall, not in monitoring software. Stop screwing around, get to
a hardware store, and buy a Killawatt or whatever works with
the outlets in your part of the world.

----

There is more than one Armor heatsink out there. I've seen
two or more real pipes, but never on an RX.

----

Just occured to me that a thin copper shim might fix most
of the Armor heatsink's problems. Maybe even aluminum
foil if you were on a zero budget. Try to remember when I
get home this morning to upload photo that shows exactly
why this sink causes so much trouble.

 

[imre]

with the number of bios mods in the mix the possibilities are endless. Buy a killawatt.

Hi , thanks , i get that you are saying with the many bios mods out there i have options to tweak the settings which link to power usage ?

We've gone through this exact same question with you before.
MSI Armor heatsink (specifically the variant for AMD RX with
a single over and under S shaped pipe, may look like two) is
garbage for mining or anything else, and gaps on either side
of the single pipe do not provide proper contact with the GPU.

On other hand, Armor VRMs are separately sinked, therefore
conversion to water is pretty simple. Masterliquid Lite 120 fits,
or at least the holes line up, its on you to procure four screws.
Unless one is thrown at you for such a discount that you can
afford a $50 water upgrade, I would simply avoid MSI Armor.

With water fix, crowds out three cards from my rig, so I would
not recommend going that route unless you have the space.

Variations of power draw between similar cards that are not
self-explained in monitoring software could be related to VRM
switching frequency, fan power draw, current sensing, or bios
limits. Its not all about the GPU.

Real consumption is a difference you can only measure at the
wall, not in monitoring software. Stop screwing around, get to
a hardware store, and buy a Killawatt or whatever works with
the outlets in your part of the world.

----

There is more than one Armor heatsink out there. I've seen
two or more real pipes, but never on an RX.

----

Just occured to me that a thin copper shim might fix most
of the Armor heatsink's problems. Maybe even aluminum
foil if you were on a zero budget. Try to remember when I
get home this morning to upload photo that shows exactly
why this sink causes so much trouble.

Thanks please do, so what you are saying is that the MSI Armor card is not stock standard really prepared for mining because of heat issues?
If i have to ask you though? would you get the MSI card the 480 Armor OC 4gb or would you just get an RX570 Aorus 4gb or an RX480 Red Dragon 4gb ?
To make it more simple? because maybe im trying to launch a rocket here ? i should just killawatt meter or similar, and just get a dam card?
I have already ordered a Red Dragon Rx480 , but i am tempted to get an Aorus 570 OR an Asus Rx470 Mining edition card locally.....not sure what your take is ?
I dont know how you managed to be brave and even change heat sinks and use foil and stuff, i mean these cards , for me at least , are expensive.
Anyways, thanks though for the feedback, let me know further

 

[Airbrushkid]

I don't think there is a bios to monitor power usage. That's why he said buy a Kill a Watt. You plug the power cord from power supply into it then it in to wall socket. You'll see the power readings on it and if you watch it when you bench mark. You will see the power jump up and down in watts.

https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q


I have one on each of my rigs.

Hi , thanks , i get that you are saying with the many bios mods out there i have options to tweak the settings which link to power usage ?

 

[imre]

I don't think there is a bios to monitor power usage. That's why he said buy a Kill a Watt. You plug the power cord from power supply into it then it in to wall socket. You'll see the power readings on it and if you watch it when you bench mark. You will see the power jump up and down in watts.

https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q


I have one on each of my rigs.

no man, not sure what i said, but i know there is no such thing. I meant to say that it seems there are many BIOS edits from what i understand, that can allow u to tweak the power settings?
anyways im not that brave to flash my card , well i have already but i gained about 1 megahash or something silly, but i only flashed the one card and not the other one and i was getting alot of blue screens and nonsense.maybe because i need to flash both my cards so that they work in harmony a bit better?
I will indeed invest in a killawat meter they do have one here in SA, i saw online at a shop called geewizz.

Anyways, i guess maybe i am reading in to this too much and trying to launch a rocket.

Maybe the question i should be asking is, would you get the MSI card the 480 Armor OC 4gb or would you just get an RX570 Aorus 4gb or an RX480 Red Dragon 4gb ?
As i have mentioned i already have RX470 Saphire Nitro+ 8Gb and RX4 PowerColor Red Revil 4GB
I have already ordered an RX480 PowerColor Red Dragon 4gb from over seas but i am scared to hold my breath and get the news that it is no longer available or whatever.
I was considering maybe buying a card from here locally, it is an RX470 ASUS Mining edition card.....
what is your take on my options and what i want or have in mind.... ?

 

[Airbrushkid]

All my rigs are Nvidia so as for AMD I cannot help on picking. There some AMD people somewhere here.

 

[KD5ZXG]

This is why RX Armor isn't worth your grief, and one inconvenient way to fix it.
No, it doesn't hash any faster for the water cooling, just eats three slots now.
I suppose any normal mining speed is faster than heat related crashing.

Gap pads are only covering a few of the rams, and one
row of ceramic inductors. I suspect the pads exist only
for balance, and not for cooling. The VRM has its own
low profile sink, and wasn't in the way of adding water.
I got a thin 50mm fan jimmied right over the VRM sink.

I have another of the same problem that still wants fixing.
A simple copper shim might be worth trying.