Getting a new graphics card, need a better psu to power it

David Ralph

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I'm getting an evga 750ti ftw edition and I know that my little 350watt psu isn't going to cut it. I am looking for a 500 watt psu that doesn't break the bank but also doesn't break my entire system. I don't know if this will help any but I have a amd fx 4300 processor and an msi motherboard from the 760GM-P34 (FX) series (Read that from the cover of the book) currently have a little Nvidia geforce gtx 610, 8gigs of ram, 1 terrabyte hard drive. That's covers about everything, thanks for the help! :)
 
Solution
Hi,
Your 350w PSU, if it is good one, it will be able to power the system. I believe the total wattage usage of your system will be 200w under load or gaming.
For the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti FTW w/ EVGA ACX Cooling [02G-P4-3757-KR] graphics card EVGA states that the minimum is a 300 Watt power supply with an available 6-pin PCI-E power connector.

What is the brand and model of your 350 Watt PSU?
 
Your entire system with the 750 Ti will draw around 175w at full load. This puts your power supply at peak efficiency at gaming load, which is better than what a 500w unit will give you. The 750 and 750 Ti were built for low-powered power supplies.

The GTX 750 Ti uses only about 20-30w more power than the 610 does thanks to Maxwell architecture :)
 

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*shrugs*

The 350W is probably a stock PSU. The power rating is probably a peak power rating rather than a continuous power rating. The CX will be able to power the card and not be overloaded like the stock PSU.

$40/$20 is a probably a decent investment for a peace of mind.

My 300W stock bestec was heating up like crazy powering a Sapphire HD 7770 / r7 250x with a max TDP of 85 watts.
 
The 7770/250x will have a system power draw of around 225w at peak load, which is about 50w more than the 750 Ti. So you're looking at almost 30% more power draw on a power supply that is rated about 17% lower.

The 750/750 Ti was built for OEM systems with the weak power supplies - the 7770/250x was not.
 

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Oh. I don't know. I just thought that it would be $20 well spent. I had 250W PSU that powered my x4 630 along with a GT 240 go out on me since it would no longer provide enough electricity to the video card for it to be recognized upon boot up, so it would revert to the onboard graphics. My HP desktop has a MSI motherboard as well, so I just thought the PSU is definitely OEM and will be less efficient than the cx430 and the GTX 750 Ti usually recommends a PSU of 400 watts or more. I have have no idea. I just assume that PSU will start having issues eventually though mine lasted for 3 years.


I have been keeping up with PSU prices since I don't have a proper PSU for my x4 630 system with the HD 7770 / r7 250x after putting the CX430 with my A4 - 3420 with a powercolor HD 7790 / r7 260x 1GB and the XFX TS550 with my a6 - 5400k with MSI HD 7790 / r7 260x 2GB. so I am obsessive about PSU at the moment.
 

David Ralph

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Not sure of the model but the brand is Thermaltake 350watt psu. It came with it when I bought my computer. (Obviously)
 


Knowing the exact model number is critical.

There are at least ten or more Thermaltake 350 Watt PSU models. Some are sold by their 350 Watt peak power rating. There are at least three or more of these models that have an insufficient maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating to power a system with an EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti FTW w/ EVGA ACX Cooling [02G-P4-3757-KR] graphics card. Only three of the models (i.e. TR2 QFan W0191, Lite Power W0292 and Lite Power W0311), that I know of, have a PCI Express supplementary power connector and would be sufficient for your system.

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 followed by a sufficient number and type of PCI Express supplementary power connectors.
 


The OP is getting an EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti FTW w/ EVGA ACX Cooling [02G-P4-3757-KR] that does require one 6-pin PCI-E power connector despite your denial that it doesn't have one.

EVGA_GTX_750_Ti_FTW_with_ACX_Cooling.jpg
 

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Stop worrying about it. Hopefully OP got the CX430 when it had the $20 rebate. They asked for a power supply and we recommended one. Everything is good and OP is probably playing games on the video card while we are arguing lol
 

David Ralph

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Little late for me to respond back eh? Well it was just one year XD. Anyway the 350's been working fine, and I have a monster of a case (Not that its good, its just massive) Thanks for the help!