Can my power supply support a GTX 750 ti?

JackTaylor

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Alright, so a couple of years ago I bought a pre-build pc. So far it's done the job, but always slacked a little behind on graphics performance. Then I saw an article about the 750 ti and how to would only require a 300w power supply to run. Which is perfect for me as that's what's currently in the pc. So I started doing some research and saw some posts like it won't work on a 12v rail blah blah blah. This made me doubt if it would run on my pc. After some more research I learned the the PCI-E can only deliver 75w, I then proceeded and tried a few PSU calculators with my system specs minus my current GPU and for the most part I got around 220-226. I know these can't be exactly accurate but it made me wonder. The 750 won't take more that 75w and these calculators estimate that I'll have roughly that amount of wattage left. Which once again made me curious if my system could run it.

Anyway my current system specs are
Processor: Intel Core i3 2120 @ 3300 MHz
Mainboard: MSI H61M-E23 (MS-7680)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 430
Hard Disk: Hitachi HDS5C3020ALA632 ATA Device (2000GB)
DVD-Rom Drive: ATAPI iHAS122
Physical Memory: 8192 MB (2 x 4096 DDR3-SDRAM )
Power supply: LPA-300C
Here is a picture of the sticker on my PSU.
fDhvqlo.jpg


That just leaves my question, can my pc run a Geforce GTX 750 TI?


Thanks,
Jack Taylor
 
Solution
Amperage is what matters, not wattage, Dell tends to underrate their PSUs while others like these have overrated wattages

12 amps on the +12v rail means an output of 144W, I wouldn't exactly trust it

pcgaming98

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No it can't. Your PSU is a cheap quality one, made by an unknown manufacturer. Running it on that PSU is risky, and the people saying "It wont run on 12v rails blah blah blah" are correct. It's more to a PSU than raw wattage. Components require amps too, and this one only has 12 amps on the 12V rail....that's pathetic...

If you want me to suggest you some good quality , cheap 400 Watt PSUs that can run the 750Ti, I'm all for it.
 

JackTaylor

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Damn. Unfortunately that was the reply I was expecting.
Alright give me some good quality, cheap 400w power supplies.
 

Norrec69

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Yeah it can. Alienware uses a card that uses much more power on only a 240w psu. Your psu should be able to hand the 750 ti. Even Nvidia only recommends a 300w supply. So you're good to go.

You're gonna be happy with the gaming performance you get out of your pc by just slapping a 750 ti in there. You'll likely get a 10x or 15x performance boost.

 

Siana Gearz

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Compared to your current GPU, you're adding maximum of 20W of extra power consumption, so i don't think hell will break lose.

However, your power supply is only specified to deliver 140W on the +12V rail (note the 12A value), the rest of the power is on the (basically unused) +5V rail. This is what Norrec hasn't considered - his Alienware has its complete power available on +12V because of its construction. He also greatly overestimates the performance benefit - the GPUs are now about twice as power efficient, so you'll probably about triple your graphics power.

You have 65W CPU and can assume about 40W max for harddisk + mainboard + optical drive on the +12V rail, which just about leaves enough power for your current GPU. Powering a new GPU will work still, but is unsafe, a replacement is highly recommended. A nice 300W power supply is Cougar A300. Corsair CX series tend to be noisy, but they work. Mhm what else... Seasonic SS-300ET maybe on the cheap. XFX are good, FSP are OK if they fit the spec. There's of course plenty of other decent brands, so best tell us where you shop.

PSUs without 80+Bronze (or better) certificate should not even be considered, even if you don't care about efficiency - they are either old designs with weak 12V rail, or garbage that could combust during a routine test.
 

Norrec69

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You have to also take into account that the card has gpu boost. It boosts the clock based on how much power there is. So pretty much this card will work perfect for any 300w power supply. Thats what it was designed to go into anyways.
 

Siana Gearz

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No, it boosts the clock to use performance reserves while remaining within its power envelope, which is programmed into it! The power envelope is programmed with regard to maintaining the specified TDP, which is relevant to power supply and cooling. The 750ti is specified as having a power envelope of 60W. It has no idea what power supply you're using it on and "how much power there is".

It doesn't help that by current ATX standard, the PSU which the OP has would count as a 170W PSU tops, not a 300W one! He has an ATX 1.2/1.3 PSU, and i'm sure you'll find that nVidia specifies an ATX 2.x or better PSU, where the standard was changed to account for PCI-express extension cards and for changes in CPU voltage regulator circuits, among other things.

OP's PSU is, in either case, loaded close to the limit on 12V rail in the peak, while it has very little load on 5V. In ATX 1.x PSUs like this, it causes the rise of 5V rail and drooping of 12V rail, which in turn causes extra heat dissipation on some PSU components, on CPU VRM and on GPU VRM, as well as potential of overvoltage damage on the USB bus and harddisks. It's an all around bad situation.
 

Norrec69

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All info I seen shows that it boosts to the tdp. So his psu should be fine.

It also explains why a 60w card without card without gpu boost requires a higher psu. When the 60w Gtx 750 ti only requires a 300w psu.

 
That PSU is 300W only in name, if they branded this one honestly it'd be a 180-200W PSU

Back to Dell, one of my older Dell machines had a 250W unit with 16A on the +12v rail, essentially 48W more output than that "300W" unit

A 65W CPU and a 60W GPU is already 125, leaving only 19W for the rest of the system if you use that PSU, which is not safe at all. Lower quality units also aren't rated well under continuous operation and stress at those levels

Siana wrote an entire mini essay telling you why, it'd be a good idea to read it, "wattage" is always branding and usually a lie from crappy OEMs

Haven't seen a PSU that weak for a while, most prebuilts carry around more powerful units than that

Good thing OP will probably be getting a decent replacement, wouldn't want that PSU taking anything else out if it blew
 

Nach671

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That picture is a little small, but with 15A on each rail you should have enough power to run a 750 Ti, my buddy has a weak Thermaltake PSU with 14A and 16A on two rails and can run an r9 270 so you shouldn't have any issues with a 750 Ti

Assuming that +12v1 is reserved for the CPU and mobo, and +12v2 is for auxiliaries, you should be fine since most PSUs are designed so that the +12v rails are bridged

Please start your own thread next time, thanks
 
also keep in mind that the GTX 750Ti runs entirely off of its PCIe slot and requires no molex connectors to the PSU, so you'd definitely want your PSU to be able to provide the current (Amperes) necessary to power it since it's going to be funneled into your motherboard, and if your PSU can't take it sparks will fly, possibly literally.

the GTX 750Ti is rated for 60W, but the recent Tom's Hardware review showed that it averages around 50W but has reached 100+ under load, you really don't want a PSU that can only supply 12A x 12V = 144W through its lone rail powering it, especially when it's an unknown brand, we can't even confirm its efficiency under xx% load
 

Siana Gearz

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With these 500W looking like an exact sum of all its outputs, Nach's PSU markings are inconclusive and suspicious. Two 15A 12V rails would be borderline suitable for a 350W PSU - you might easily go over spec on one of them even in a 300W computer. What brand/model is it at all, maybe UL number?

If we were though to assume that you can trust the PSU to deliver at least the power marked on either of its rails (though not necessarily the sum), it should still be able to power Nach's computer, which easily fits into 200W.

Not knowing what the PSU is, i don't think Roland's comparison with a Thermaltake unit is necessarily justified - their markings are also on the barely sensible side, but they aren't made out of refined Explodium, and there's even headroom. Luxury compared to what the less scrupulous vendors offer.
 

Redmar Belle

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Yes you can ! I bought today an MSI Gtx 750 Ti OC and i run it with no problems on my mini itx motherboard and 220 WATTS PSU. But remember dont overclock it will freeze your screen. System reboot is required. i play some games at 1080p at 60 fps at high setting like BF3 and BF4
 
Again, the amperage on the +12v rails is what matters, not the wattage

Crappy manufacturers can label their PSUs as they please, even if the true output of that unit would only be on the lines of a 200W unit

12A on the 12v rail = 144W of total output

That PSU is on the lowest end of the spectrum possible, Dell's wattage-underrated PSUs have more output than that

And yeah, if Nach's unit is one from a dubious manufacturer then I'd be suspicious, however it should certainly be capable of powering a low powered card like a 750/750 Ti (the 270 has a TDP more than twice as much anyhow :lol:), though no one would want a ticking time bomb in their system
 

Morbeous

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I'm currently running a 640 with no problems and nvidias site recommends higher for that too
 
well honestly under regular use in idle state a GPU never reaches its recommended power and amp requirements, it's mostly for system stability caution.

as I said, I wouldn't recommend it, but you can try if you want to. If you run a 640 without any problems then it might work for you, but assuming you are trying to upgrade to a 750 to get more out of your system you should still be careful.
Though I admit I am cheating a bit also, my current computer is an mini tower alienware (which uses an external power supply), and even though the recommended power output for my reference GTX 670 is 30A on 12V rail (in other words 360W) and a 500W PSU, I am getting by with a 330W power brick that supplies 16.9A on a 19.5V rail, weird I know.