Sapphire r9 280x + AMD CPU recommended PSU advice

FantasticFranco

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Jun 8, 2015
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I am running a FX-8320E. I've read that at stock with boost clock this CPU will eat up about 150-160 watts.

I just bought a Sapphire R9 280x Vapor-X Tri-X gpu (the blue one with 3 fans). Overclockers has found that it consumes around 300 watts at full load stock settings.

I have an EVGA 500 w 80+ PSU. Will this be enough if I remove Boost from both the CPU (4.0 -> 3.2ghz) and GPU (1100mhz -> 1000mhz)?
 
Solution
evga psu-s are usually solid so you could trust it to power down correctly if the power draw exceeds the max allowed... you should get a newer/better psu, it's much safer. especially on the long run.

edit" that max draw on the gpu i guess is the total system draw on the test system, 300 alone for the card seems a bit exaggerated even if overclocked. i'd say it drwas about 200 max. and 100-150 for the cpu so the total system will be about 400 on stock clocks - which is a bit close to the limit of the psu for my personal taste...

i'd say try it, and start saving up for a new psu. power it down and downclock the gpu/cpu at the first sign of instability.
evga psu-s are usually solid so you could trust it to power down correctly if the power draw exceeds the max allowed... you should get a newer/better psu, it's much safer. especially on the long run.

edit" that max draw on the gpu i guess is the total system draw on the test system, 300 alone for the card seems a bit exaggerated even if overclocked. i'd say it drwas about 200 max. and 100-150 for the cpu so the total system will be about 400 on stock clocks - which is a bit close to the limit of the psu for my personal taste...

i'd say try it, and start saving up for a new psu. power it down and downclock the gpu/cpu at the first sign of instability.
 
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FantasticFranco

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Jun 8, 2015
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Yeah, I do plan on getting a 600w or 650w (silver minimum) PSU by January. I just bought this one back in July so I'm not ready to replace it.
 
150 CPU + 300 GFX card + 50 watts (system) = 500 watts.

That's cutting it a little tight, especially on an overclocked system.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_radeon_r9_280x_top_review,8.html

This is Guru3D's generic power supply recommendation for the R7 and R9 series:

AMD R9 280X - On your average system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit.
AMD R9 280X Crossfire - On your average system the cards require you to have a 750 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

If you are going to overclock GPU or processor, then we do recommend you purchase something with some more stamina.

EVGA 500 watts or Corsair 500 watts doesn't really tell us anything. These companies don't make PSUs they just slap their logo on something an OEM made. A Corsair HX / AX would mean the PSU is very good (excepting 1000 and 1050 models) ... Corsair CX, CS or RM would be a bad thing. With EVGA, the G2, P2, GS series are well regarded .... the others, especially in the smaller sizes are perhaps a bit weak for gaming loads.

Not saying don't use it, but I would stay away from overclocking.