Is this PSU enough to support these parts?

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Patrick Day

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Jul 3, 2013
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I'm getting a Radeon 7870 and a Phenom II X4 965 BE, and I just need to know if my 550w PSU can handle both of these parts.
Also, what's the minimum wattage for both 7870 and the Phenom combined, as I might want to get a cheaper PSU from Corsair that's still enough to support the GPU + CPU.
 
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ko888
For a system using a single AMD reference design Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition graphics card AMD specifies a minimum of a 500 Watt or greater system power supply. The power supply should also have a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 28 Amps or greater and have at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Sufficient Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) rated at 45°C - 50°C ambient temperature, is the most critical factor.

Overclocking of the CPU and/or GPU(s) may require an additional increase to the maximum combined +12...
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fatboytyler

fatboytyler

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430 is cutting it close. And on that 550W, I would highly suggest going with a better brand (Corsair, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, XFX, Antec). It'll be a bit more money, but the PSU is the heart of your PC. It goes and everything else is likely to go too.
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Jan 12, 2013
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I would stay away from anything that isnt seasonic or corsair (Or some of the newer Thermaltake/rosswell/XFX/antec) the 430 should run it just fine, but it would be cutting it closer. The 965 take 125 watts and the gpu recommends 500 watts(complete over estimate)
 
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Patrick Day

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Oh. I'm just going to do so stuff like play BF3, Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 3, do some video editing, 3-D animation. I know that overclocking eats up power, but I just want to know if the 430w can handle games like BF3, Bioshock infinite and still have some headroom.
 
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johnnyb105

johnnyb105

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Feb 18, 2013
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Yes I agree even corsair has a better PS unit and you can pick one up decent price at the egg for a 55o and if your PS unit fails it could take the rest of your system with it like board vid card mem ect its like playing suiscide with your pc parts a few bucks can save you lots of money in the end.
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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It can handle them, there wont be much headroom though.
 
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Patrick Day

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But is it enough headroom that won't crash and fry my desktop?
Really sorry, since i'm on a pretty tight budget
 
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fatboytyler

fatboytyler

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In my opinion its cutting it too close. Although you are right, it will handle it.
 
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Patrick Day

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Around how close?
I'm want to be specific, since I don't want to buy a decent PSU that won't destroy my desktop.
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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It wont ruin anything, but its close. I would strongly recommend when you get the money buy a better psu, it will work for the time being. I had to jump from 500 to 700 watts on my build.
 
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johnnyb105

johnnyb105

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at the end of the day you will have to choose what,s best for your system as always more is better less is waiting for chaos and mayham to happen in the 20 plus years I have been building computers I would rather have some elbow room to breath then just enough to manage because in the end just having enough to get by can always bite you in the ass. lol kudos night.
 
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fatboytyler

fatboytyler

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@Gam3r01 how do you know it runs at 500W? That seems incredibly high with just a 7750. My system with an i5 @ 1.32V and a 7950 with a heavy OC @ 1.250V draws just a bit over 500. Unless you X4 has a big OC.

As for you Patrick Day. If you went with a 500 - 650W power supply you'll have absolutely no issue with using up too much.
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Using various power calculators I confirmed my system uses that much. The 7750 is OC to 900MHz, I have a single HDD but I have multiple LED fans in the case. The X4 isnt OC as of yet due to the stock cooler being as loud as a jet engine until I can get an EVO.
 
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fatboytyler

fatboytyler

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I still find error in that calculation, but its whatever. GPU overclocks don't really draw that much more power until you start to crank up voltage. And the HDD wouldn't be but a few watts and the fans, even LED fans draw little to no power. As you said, you went with a 700W PSU which was a good decision so now you have plenty of headroom for overclocks and upgrading the PSU
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Yeah I dont really trust those, but hey, it gives a good guess of the usage with some headroom. My CX500 died for some reason that nobody could figure out so I got a brand new unopened one from warranty and am going to sell it to pay off this one. Getting the 700 on sale for 70 bucks and selling the corsair i got for 45 on sale for bout 55-60 sounds good to me.
 
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Guest

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Thanks for your hep guys!
I'm going to get the 550w for now, but i'll definitely upgrade to a CX 500w or something of the same tier.
 
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