Can I run an xfx r7970 gpu with a 450 watt psu if the psu is gold or platinum rated?

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thehankinator

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I currently have a 4 year old Raidmax 700 watt psu and would like to downsize to something more highly rated and energy efficient. I believe my card recommendations state I should have a psu around 500-600 watts. I recently read a hardware breakdown of a new Steam Machine here and the card they were using was a ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 3GB which has a recommendation of 700 watts. Their psu is a SILVERSTONE ST45SF-G 450W SFX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD. Explain how this works and is it possible with my card?
 
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goodguy713
most guys here tend to lean more on the more is better side of power supplies. As for you particular set up i would not put more than a r9 270 on it. so you really should look at getting another power supply ... I feel your pain getting raped by stupid markups only to get hit in the side by a power supply requirement.. :p
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goodguy713

goodguy713

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most guys here tend to lean more on the more is better side of power supplies. As for you particular set up i would not put more than a r9 270 on it. so you really should look at getting another power supply ... I feel your pain getting raped by stupid markups only to get hit in the side by a power supply requirement.. :p
 
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thechief73

thechief73

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Few things you have to factor in here to make a informed decision. Are you having issues with you current PSU or just prefer something better? The amount you are willing to invest in a new PSU? If your main goal is energy efficiency and not cost, one thing to keep in mind that these PSU's hit their peak energy efficiency rating at just a guesstimate to give you an idea, 40-60% draw of their rated wattage. It has been a while since I researched any new PSU models but I sure it still applies. As they work harder and the components heat up they become less efficient. Outside of that range of wattage draw efficiency will be lower to some degree. If you main goal is cost savings, purchasing a quality and efficient PSU may negate any energy savings all together. I would assume your current PSU is about 80% peak, so if you are looking to improve on that the price to achieve this will go up as well as you probably already noticed. In that case you may be better of just using what you already have.

Calculating power draw is a tricky subject unless you hold all the information. Sometimes calc's give you a low number and sometimes a high number. But as GoodGuy713 said going a little above and beyond is better because in the end you have room to add or upgrade components. You PSU will run more efficiently and cooler as a result of not running near it's peak wattage rating.

Check the link out in my signature for more info on PSU's
 
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thehankinator

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Thanks for the help! I was leaning more toward 1000w psu as I have several components but that breakdown of a steam machine kind of through me for a loop. I didn't figure that I could power all of my components with a single 450w psu no matter how it was rated but I thought, maybe, quite possible I could downgrade and save some energy costs. I'm getting, however, that it doesn't matter what your psu's capabilities are in terms of energy consumption because it will use however much it needs to power said components. The reason that particular model of steam machine could use a lower wattage psu was because it was using a microATX mb and had very few additional components requiring power. That being said, I agree with GoodGuy713 and thechief73; I should look into a psu with more watts.
 
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