Power Supply Selection

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

I am going to be buying a graphics card soon and I have choosem the EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST.

http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-3658-KR

It requires a 450w power supply, and I currently have a 460w power supply. I am going to upgrade my power supply just to make sure I'm not cutting it too close. Also, it requires 24 amps on the +12V rail.

Here is my current PSU -

http://www.txcesssurplus.com/catalog/25834-DELL-7P3WV-L.jpg

I have found a PSU that I think meets the requirements of the new graphics card. Also its pretty cheap.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1375740&Sku=K450-0600

Will that PSU work for my graphics card?
If not, which one would you recommend I buy to make sure my PSU can handle my graphics card. Budget $100.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

bignastyid · Apr 20, 2013

I would suggest not wasting $50 on that power supply heres some better options.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu500cxv2
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1450sx2b9
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9
Close to the top budget but a great power supply
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr550rm

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

Just because a card is rated to have a 450W PSU doesn't mean you need a PSU with that capacity. Don't bother replacing your existing PSU if you already have a quality brand since in reality your system under full load with the GTX 650 Ti Boost will not consume more than 250 W.

However, if you are not comfortabe with your existing PSU, pickup a Corsair CX430M. It is more than enough juice for your needs.

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

bignastyid :

slomo4sho :

As I stated in my question, my current PSU is a generic Dell PSU. Isn't it true that if my power supply is under the specified watts, then the card will slowly fry my power supply?

tadej petric · Apr 20, 2013

awesomecarter :

bignastyid :

slomo4sho :

As I stated in my question, my current PSU is a generic Dell PSU. Isn't it true that if my power supply is under the specified watts, then the card will slowly fry my power supply?

New dells PSU are usually crap... But that It requires a 450w power supply is not so true. at max load it uses 300w and you can get to 450 w only with overclocking.

But I would say to go with cx500 or cx 600 (since its only a bit more expensive).

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

bignastyid :

tadej petric :

I am going to go with the Corsair cx500. Thanks for all your help guys!

bystander · Apr 20, 2013

tadej petric :

Don't forget the rest of the system in those numbers. The CPU and drives consume power as well.

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

bystander :

You have to try really hard to break 300W with a system with a single GTX 650 Ti Boost.

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

So, will the Corsair CX500 still work?

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

awesomecarter :

Yes. Like I said, even the CX430 is more than enough for your system. Consider sticking with the CX430 and using the saving to upgrade to a GTX 660 or HD 7850.

bystander · Apr 20, 2013

Yes, it'll work. It'll give you a bit of reassurance with the extra power. Even good branded and rated PSU's can fail you if you are too close to your systems requirements. I recently had to replace a 850 watt 80 bronze Antec PSU, which is 100 more watts than asked for, because it stopped providing enough power.

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

That sounds like a good plan, but I am still a little skeptical of the wattage of the CX430. The CX500 and CX430 are very similar in price. The CX430 is only like $6 cheaper.

bystander · Apr 20, 2013

If you are at all concerned, use this to help you decide what you need. You might even give yourself an extra 100 watts on what it says.
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

bystander :

Good to know, good to know.

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

bystander :

Being at 60-70% capacity at full load is perfectly reasonable. This is where the system should be built to. Having a PSU that only uses 30-45% of capacity at full load is just wasting money.

Also, your example is very poor. What was the actual load on the PSU? Are you certain the load was what caused the defect?

bystander · Apr 20, 2013

slomo4sho :

If there is almost no cost difference, give yourself some room. Heck, you might even find yourself wanting to upgrade down the road, and not having a little room to grow can be more costly. As your system ages, it will draw more power. If you use gaming keyboards, game pads and mouse, they draw more power. Why cut it close to save almost no money?

bystander · Apr 20, 2013

slomo4sho :

I'm am certain that if I removed one of my cards, the PSU continued to work. As soon as I hooked up my 2nd card, either my SSD or graphics card failed and crashed. I don't have the tools to see what the actual load was, but I can say that I replaced it with a 850 watt Corsair 80 bronze PSU, and my system is running great again. Dropping down to 750, the recommended by the PSU calculator I linked, I would have payed at most $10 less, unless going with an off brand.

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

bystander :

slomo4sho :

I'm am certain that if I removed one of my cards, the PSU continued to work. As soon as I hooked up my 2nd card, either my SSD or graphics card failed and crashed. I don't have the tools to see what the actual load was, but I can say that I replaced it with a 850 watt Corsair 80 bronze PSU, and my system is running great again. Dropping down to 750, the recommended by the PSU calculator I linked, I would have payed at most $10 less, unless going with an off brand.

So I should go with the more powerful CX500? because there is no price difference

bystander · Apr 20, 2013

awesomecarter :

If the price is the same, and the brands are equal, then get the better unit. You should also fill this out and see what it says: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

awesomecarter :

Where are you buying parts that there is no difference in price between the two? Newegg has the CX430M for $30 whereas the CX550 and CX550M are $50. If there is no difference in price it is always better to purchase the better components.

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

bystander :

It seems like you had a muli-rail unit and one of the rails failed.

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

bystander :

slomo4sho :

http://gyazo.com/86c872bfbfb6c1d06371d135f1e68da2
EVERY TIME!

awesomecarter · Apr 20, 2013

slomo4sho :

The CX430M is $30 after rebate. On amazon they are the same. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092ML1SC/ref=twister_B0092ML0MY?ie=UTF8&psc=1

bystander · Apr 20, 2013

slomo4sho :

Considering that it worked if I disabled either GPU, or SSD, no matter which rail was used, I'm not so sure.

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

awesomecarter :

Corsair only give 21 days to mail in the rebate. If you have no intent of redeeming the rebate, go with the CX500.

Power Supply Selection

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