Better PSU or something else?

khajiit2208 · May 12, 2014

Hi everyone, i am running an intel i5 3330, r7 265, 8GB 1600Mhz Ram and a 350W PSU. So when i got the gpu, about 2 weeks ago, i decided that i was going to try and run it with my current PSU, so i lowered the PSU usage in catalyst to -5% and stock clocks. However i knew i had to buy a better PSU someday, but seeing that it ran perfectly with the current one i was thinking about buying something before it, and end up getting it around late June or early July. So what you guys think i should do? I am perfectly fine with staying with this one as long as my components are not being damage seeing that i have ran the card at about 80% without getting any type of shutdown. BTW im 14 so thats why i cant buy both things at the same time.

Dark Lord of Tech · May 12, 2014

You need a quality power supply for a stable system:

Made by the best = SEASONIC , best deal on the web.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $47.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-12 19:42 EDT-0400)

rhysiam · May 12, 2014

The combined TDP of your graphics card and CPU is well under 250W, so if you have a decent quality PSU you'll be fine. The real question is whether your PSU is decent quality.

Can you grab the make and model for us?

These questions are always really hard to answer definitively though because in the end of the day it comes down to risk. There is still a risk that a top of the line Seasonic PSU will catastrophically fail and take components with it, the chances of this happening are just far, far less than with a cheap PSU. No one can tell you categorically whether your PSU will fail or not, but the cheaper the PSU and the closer you run it to the limit the greater your chances of damaging components are. The other thing to bear in mind that cheap PSUs can actually reduce the life of your components even if they don't fail. Everyone will have a different take over what's a suitable level of risk to take.

IMHO, if you have a decent quality PSU with at least 320W on the 12V rail, you're probably safe enough for my liking. Others will no doubt see it differently. If you have a dodgy PSU (tell us the make and model!), I'd be taking it out as soon as possible.

khajiit2208 · May 17, 2014

rhysiam :

The combined TDP of your graphics card and CPU is well under 250W, so if you have a decent quality PSU you'll be fine. The real question is whether your PSU is decent quality.

Can you grab the make and model for us?

These questions are always really hard to answer definitively though because in the end of the day it comes down to risk. There is still a risk that a top of the line Seasonic PSU will catastrophically fail and take components with it, the chances of this happening are just far, far less than with a cheap PSU. No one can tell you categorically whether your PSU will fail or not, but the cheaper the PSU and the closer you run it to the limit the greater your chances of damaging components are. The other thing to bear in mind that cheap PSUs can actually reduce the life of your components even if they don't fail. Everyone will have a different take over what's a suitable level of risk to take.

IMHO, if you have a decent quality PSU with at least 320W on the 12V rail, you're probably safe enough for my liking. Others will no doubt see it differently. If you have a dodgy PSU (tell us the make and model!), I'd be taking it out as soon as possible.

The PSU is the one that comes with the Cooler Master Elite 241 which i believe is this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermal-Master-TM-350-PSSR-M3-ATX12V-350W-/121167568092

Dark Lord of Tech · May 17, 2014

Included power supplies are cheap.

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Better PSU or something else?

khajiit2208

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rhysiam

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