Computers real power consumption is a lot lower than minimum?

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darkstar845

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Mar 29, 2010
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When I read benchmarks about processors or video cards and go to the total system power consumption, I see that most of the high end computers with 7970 have peak power consumption of 450-550 watts (example: http://bit.ly/1f1tarY) but AMD recommends a minimum of 600w on the 7970. I am asking this because I have a decent 610w power supply that is already three years and wondering if it is still safe to use with new video cards like R9 290 though I will most likely wait for the next gen.
 
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ko888
For a system using a single AMD Reference Design Radeon R9 290 graphics card AMD specifies a minimum of a 600 Watt or greater system power supply. The power supply should also have a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 40 Amps or greater and have at least one 6-pin and one 8-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...
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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look at youtube video of power supply testing. most power supplys when there not maxed out run fine. it when there put near there max output and kept there you see if the video that they can fail with a loud pop and die or they ripple out. if they get to hot too long the newer unit will just turn off to save them-self. the second issue is the parts in a power supply age (capacitor aging) the hotter some unit run with cheap caps the sooner they fail. at some point in a power supply life a cap will fail. the bad failures are when they leak or pop.
the good failures are when they dry out after 5-10 years.
the real bad failures are when a no name unit fails and catches on fire or takes out your whole rig.
 
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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your unit was good at the time but it has one issue. it a spilt rail unit.
your going to have a hard time powering a power hungry gpu. on your power supply you have 18amps on one rail what do you do if a video card needs 30 amps?? that why most of the newer power supply are one rail units.
 
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ko888

ko888

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Feb 18, 2009
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For a system using a single AMD Reference Design Radeon R9 290 graphics card AMD specifies a minimum of a 600 Watt or greater system power supply. The power supply should also have a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 40 Amps or greater and have at least one 6-pin and one 8-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 Volt continuous current ratings, recommended above, to meet the increase in power required for the overclock. The additional amount required will depend on the magnitude of the overclock being attempted.

The GIGABYTE Superb 720 (GE-P610A-C2) power supply unit, with its maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 42 Amps and with two (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is sufficient to power your system configuration with a single Radeon R9 290 graphics card.
 
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