Can a low-power PSU damage a graphics card?

theeighthbyte

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Mar 10, 2013
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I have an AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB 920MHz OC. I used to have a 750W PSU, but it failed on me, so my friend gave me a 450W temporary replacement.

However, the manufacturer suggests at least 500W for this card.

My other friend also told me that if you have an inadequate PSU, then it's possible that your GPU cores can permanently 'burn out'. Will 450W be OK for this card and is what he said true?

Other specs:

AMD FX-6100 @ 3.30 GHz
ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard
8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM @ 1600MHz
 

james77

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Aug 26, 2013
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1.) 450W is enough for an HD 7850.

2.) It is possible to permanently damage a GPU by using an inadequate PSU. However, the chance is very low. Usually, when a PSU is inadequate, the computer will just not boot but it won't damage any components.

WARNING: This is only applicable to branded PSUs. I heard that generic PSUs can destroy components.

If the 450W PSU is from a trusted brand, you should be fine.
 

theeighthbyte

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Mar 10, 2013
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Mine is overclocked slightly. Will I still be OK?
 

animal

Distinguished
a lot will depend on the quality of your PSU as previously stated by james77, but for oc'ing I would recommend something a little larger, probably in the 500-600W range if no SLI in the future. Look for quality PSU by Seasonic, XFX, Corsair (except CX series) or Antec.