Upgrading GPU Question For My Current Small Build

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Erodedpretzel

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Jul 22, 2012
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So I am looking to upgrade my GPU,with a price range of 300-400, which is currently a Radeon HD 7850 that I have had for about 3 and a half years. Since then, I have changed my setup a couple of time to what I currently have. The problem is that I have a 450w sfx power supply due to the size of my case. My question is, do I have many options with this psu and if so what would be the best option(I was looking at the Radeon r9 390 or MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4G) or would I need to upgrade the psu?
My current build is:
Case: Ncase m1 (beautiful case)
PSU: Silverstone 450w sfx
GPU: Radeon HD 7850
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60
Harddrives: 2 Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB SSD's
1 Samsung 830 128 GB SSD
Motherboard: ASRock Z77E-ITX
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB
Fans: 80mm Cooler Master Sleeve Bearing
120mm Noctua NF-F12 (on the H60 cooler)
120mm Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition
120mm H60 Stock Fan
 
Solution
N3rdR4ge
gtx 970 recommendation 500w
r9 390 recommendation 650w

your best off with a gtx 960 4gb version. still a good upgrade. recommendation 400w.

you will probably get by ok with a 970, but you are cutting it pretty close. i would hold off on any overclock, including your cpu if you attempt it. that psu does mention its designed for 450w of continuous 24/7 operation and it has more than enough amps. you will just lose some efficiency at load really. also keep in mind that your psu technically only outputs 432w. hard to tell if its worth attempting it or not.
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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Jun 16, 2014
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gtx 970 recommendation 500w
r9 390 recommendation 650w

your best off with a gtx 960 4gb version. still a good upgrade. recommendation 400w.

you will probably get by ok with a 970, but you are cutting it pretty close. i would hold off on any overclock, including your cpu if you attempt it. that psu does mention its designed for 450w of continuous 24/7 operation and it has more than enough amps. you will just lose some efficiency at load really. also keep in mind that your psu technically only outputs 432w. hard to tell if its worth attempting it or not.
 
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Erodedpretzel

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Jul 22, 2012
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I don't plan on doing any overclocking on either the CPU or GPU. Would I really be pushing it if I did the GTX 970 and if so, are the risks worth the difference between the GTX 970 vs the 960? I couldn't really find any other PSU greater than 450W and it would kind of stink having to buy another PSU when I just bought the one I have now about 5 months ago but I would consider it.
 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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well anything can happen if you are shorting power to your system. best case it shuts down or blue screens. worst case you fry components. the 970 is hands down the better card. your looking at maybe 60% increase over the 960. the 970 is really the ideal card for 1080p.

your build calculates to around 300w, so most likely your psu will be more than enough. personally i wouldnt feel comfortable with 432w for a system with a 970.
 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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yea i said its most likely more than enough. also he didnt ask if he had a decent quality psu, he asked if he needs to upgrade. that psu is rated 432w on the 12v rail. it is definitely a good enough psu in terms of quality. im not sure what you are getting at.
 
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Erodedpretzel

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Jul 22, 2012
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So what you are saying is that it should be fine but you wouldn't feel comfortable doing it yourself? If I went with the 970, would I be okay if when I have a load on it I would make sure to have as little power drawn by anything else as possible?
 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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i don't like to cut things close with expensive electronics. nvidia recommends 500w minimum. they have more experience as a company than anyone here. more than likely this is for safety measures.

though the 970 is rated 145w, there are other factors to consider such as:
-brand
-factory overclock
-cooler
-peak wattage (can go as high as 250w+ under heavy load)

so your systems rule of thumb wattage is 300w if you account a generic 970 at 145w. what about a 260w peak on a factory overclocked card with an aftermarket cooler for example? thats hitting your psu with 415w.

while, your machine's power consumption is acceptable for that psu. you are still cutting it close at 432w. long, graphically intense gaming session has potential to peak you higher than your power supplies max wattage, which is never a good situation.

is it doable? yes.
will it probably be fine? yea.
would i do it? nope.
 
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maxalge

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you can always downclock the 970 to stay within your power limitations, it would still be a major update from a 7850 even then


because of your case i would make sure it was a reference cooler version as well
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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I would say you're fine if you go with one of the lower clocked models.

As in either the mitx gigabyte & evga cards or maybe the Asus 970 turbo.

The Asus to me is the better solution - used that card myself - you won't see more than 180w from it even under a 100% load furmark test.

You can't really upgrade the PSU as in all honesty the only 'better' SFX model on the market is the gold rated version of that same PSU.
It us better quality but only offers around the same on the 12v.
Its also dammmn expensive.
 
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Erodedpretzel

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Is there any version of the 970 that you would recommend? Or would there be any other card that doesn't use as much power or could I cut down on some things to not draw as much power from other components?
 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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i prefer evga cards.

as far as i could find pretty much every 970 i could find has a max wattage of 300 under load. dont know every cards max wattage. there is no comparison i know of. most of the tests i saw were asus/msi/evga.

you won't be able to cut down power elsewhere.
 
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