450w gold sff psu and an r9 280x?

gomilly · Jan 18, 2014

so im really keen to make a mini itx system/ my own steam box, and in my country i can only really find and afford a 450w gold modular sff psu. its in a system with a 2600 i7. what high end cards can i run on this?

13thmonkey · Jan 18, 2014

depends which 450W psu, you may have to make some design choices so you can afford a 500-600W

gomilly · Jan 18, 2014

13thmonkey :

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/450W-SilverStone-Silent-Modular-Gold-Power-Supply/21556647

i was looking at this. what do you think? supposedly has 37 amps on the 12v rail

VincentP · Jan 18, 2014

You could run an R9 270X or GTX 760 if the power supply is rated at least 380W or 32A on the +12V rail (or combined 12V rails) and has two PCI-E power connectors. The Silverstone power supply you have mentioned should be OK for this. An R9 280X is too much for a 450W power supply.

jjs0891 · Jan 18, 2014

An R9 280X would work fine.

gomilly · Jan 18, 2014

has anyone tried it or know of it being safe? im getting one yes and one no at this stage

sancco · Jan 18, 2014

This looks all too familiar. One person saying it's not enough, another saying it's fine. Either could be right.

Let me say though, general opinion regarding power supplies is always swung way in favour of overkill in the interests of playing it safe. That's why you see people with 1kw+ PSUs.

BTW I don't know how limited your options are, but why bother with a gold PSU? Silver or bronze should be fine.

gomilly · Jan 18, 2014

sancco :

thanks. i will definatly take the safe route if i have to. its just that i already have the itx case around the house so i would have to spend a bit extra to get one that fits a standard psu size

_Vass · Jan 18, 2014

I wouldn't risk it. the r9 280x goes upto ~250W while gaming but upto 300+W while stress testing leaving you with 200-130w for the rest of the system. Theoretically it could be done tho. I suggest getting a gtx 760.

gomilly · Jan 18, 2014

sancco :

also i didnt seek out a gold sff psu its just the only one on this website

sancco · Jan 18, 2014

gomilly :

What I was trying to imply with the original message is that people don't need 1000w PSUs, but they get them to 'be safe'.

Check out this link. Power test 280x
This is a highly reputable site, and you can see in the 3rd graph the total power usage from the wall when running not just a game, but a benchmarking program designed to stress test the graphics card to the utmost extreme. Total power used didn't even pass 400w. The graph above that, the 2nd one, shows that if you're playing a GPU intensive game power supply won't pass 315w for the entire system.

You generally want to stay between 50% and 80% of your power supply's range during normal or gaming operation. So you need at least a 450w, but a 500w supply would be preferabble. Anything over would be overkill.

Feel free to google '280x system power' to see other sites reporting the same numbers.

_Vass · Jan 18, 2014

oh i used that graph as well but i misread it. i thought it said gpu power. Seems like 450w is indeed enough for a 280x.

a1blaster · Jan 18, 2014

too risky and definitely not worth it...buy a 550W gold rated

13thmonkey · Jan 18, 2014

sancco :

gomilly :

What I was trying to imply with the original message is that people don't need 1000w PSUs, but they get them to 'be safe'.

Check out this link. Power test 280x
This is a highly reputable site, and you can see in the 3rd graph the total power usage from the wall when running not just a game, but a benchmarking program designed to stress test the graphics card to the utmost extreme. Total power used didn't even pass 400w. The graph above that, the 2nd one, shows that if you're playing a GPU intensive game power supply won't pass 315w for the entire system.

You generally want to stay between 50% and 80% of your power supply's range during normal or gaming operation. So you need at least a 450w, but a 500w supply would be preferabble. Anything over would be overkill.

Feel free to google '280x system power' to see other sites reporting the same numbers.

so that not quite 400W from the wall, what rails is that across.

do we even know make and model yet. the 37amp unit would ok, if it does actually manage 37amps @ 12V.

13thmonkey · Jan 18, 2014

much better: at the same price as the silverstone http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/650W-FSP-Aurum-CM-Series-Modular-Gold-Power-Supply/21364579

VincentP · Jan 18, 2014

gomilly :

R9 280X is rated up to 250W
Core i7 2600 TDP 95W
Allow 40W for other components
Total draw up to 385W, mostly from the +12V supply.
You should not run a power supply above 80% of its rated power on any rail or on the total rated power because efficiency drops and lifespan will be reduced, particularly on cheaper supplies.

37A * 12V = 444W
385/444 = 87%
This is not enough.
To put it another way, 385 / 0.8 = 481W, hence you need a power supply with at least 481W on the +12V rails minimum to run the R9 280X.

An R9 270X is rated at 180W, hence the 450W power supply you have chosen will be fine for this.

VincentP · Jan 18, 2014

13thmonkey :

This is not an SFF power supply (small form factor).
Unfortunately power supplies for these small enclosures are more expensive.

gomilly · Jan 24, 2014

thanks for the help guys

i bought a different ITX pc case that fits full size PSUs. i made this decision after i found out that the case i was going to use didnt have the GPU space for a 280x

450w gold sff psu and an r9 280x?

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