Is a 500W PSU (corsair CX500) too low for my PC build? Is it dangerous, I've been running it for a few weeks seems good so far

CosmicSaz

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Hello awesome people of tomshardware, is it dangerous to have the corsair CX500 psu with my PC?

Here's my list of components with a calculated wattage at the top: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2TNaY

I've been running it for a few weeks and also the temperatures are good so far.

Also a friend of mine has the same PSU, but a better GPU and Mobo. He has had his for a few weeks longer. But the next question i'm trying to ask is that, my room smells of my pc if the makes sense? when i am gaming that is, i think its my psu, but my friend does not experience the same smell he says. But my pc has been running fine, should i not worry about it? or should i be very worried? I can't really smell it if i'm sitting down using my pc, but when i walk in my room i can. It sits on my desk next to me. if i ever add anything in the future would it been safe just to add a few more case fans?

Thanks, i know the questions i asked were not explained out very well - sorry!
 
Solution
For a system using a single NVIDIA Reference Design GeForce GTX 760 graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 500 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 30 Amps or greater and that has at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors. Some of the non-Reference Design GeForce GTX 760 cards have a single 8-pin (e.g. ASUS GTX 760 DirectCU II OC) or two 8-pin (e.g. MSI GTX 760 HAWK) or one 6-pin and one 8-pin (e.g. Gigabyte GTX 760 WindForce OC, EVGA GTX 760 SC w/ACX Cooler, MSI GTX 760 TwinFrozr Gaming) PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the...
For a system using a single NVIDIA Reference Design GeForce GTX 760 graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 500 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 30 Amps or greater and that has at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors. Some of the non-Reference Design GeForce GTX 760 cards have a single 8-pin (e.g. ASUS GTX 760 DirectCU II OC) or two 8-pin (e.g. MSI GTX 760 HAWK) or one 6-pin and one 8-pin (e.g. Gigabyte GTX 760 WindForce OC, EVGA GTX 760 SC w/ACX Cooler, MSI GTX 760 TwinFrozr Gaming) 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) 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 Corsair CX500M (SKU# CP-9020059-UK) power supply unit, with its maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 38 Amps and with two (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is sufficient to power your system configuration with a single GeForce GTX 760 graphics card.

I wouldn't recommend any overclocking of the CPU though.
 
Solution

CosmicSaz

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how long are we talking here? Is one year enough time? i can change my psu 1 year later :/.
 

qbsinfo

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Core i7 Test System Specs

Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition (3.30GHz)
x4 2GB G.Skill DDR3-1600(CAS 8-8-8-20)
Gigabyte G1.Assassin2 (Intel X79)
OCZ ZX Series (1250w)
Crucial m4 512GB (SATA 6Gb/s)
HIS Radeon HD 7770 (1024MB) Crossfire

that will draw ~60 more watts than your i3 set up:
Power.png


the PSU gold rate efficiency taken into account (we'll use 90% but it would be closer to 87%)
393*.9= 353.7 watts then subtract the 60 watts to account for the i7 sandy-e and you i3 haswell. (btw, the x79 chipset uses a few more watts but we'll leave it there.)

(rounded up) 354-60= 294 watts.

XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze £34.14