Max GPU I can use with my PSU and Components

dauntlessds

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Feb 17, 2012
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Okay, so it's a bit of an older build... lol, getting really old but I would like to update my GPU to something I can handle. PSU is super important in this case and making sure I have the power to handle everything is where I am right now. Would anyone care to help me determine what my maximum GPU would be without upgrading the PSU, or even better, teach me how to accurately discover my maximums.
Here's my system build:
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold 650W PSU
ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+
Cooler Master MegaFlow 200
AMD FX8120 Zambezi 8-Core (Non-Overclocked)
•2 Sets (4 Sticks total) of AMD Performance Memory 8GB (2x4GB)
Zalman CPU Cooler CNPS9900 Max-R (Really really love this cooler but that's irrelevant)
2x PowerColor AX7850 Radeon HD 7850 (in Xfire mode)
WesternDigital 2TB Caviar Black 7200RPM
Samsung 850 EVO 120GB SSD

External Components
Black Widow Ultimate 2013
Wacom Intuos 3
Toshiba 1TB Portable HDD
Orbweaver
Jabra Evolve 80 Headset
Logitech G9X Mouse

That's everything nothing extra. Just case fans that came with the CoolerMaster HAF932 so I hope you guys would able to educate me on making sure I make better decisions!
 
Solution
There's no need to change the power supply, it is a fine part and easily capable of powering any single card you throw at it.

TBH, I'd advise you leave the system as it is, even now it's a little overbalanced with more graphics muscle than the CPU can handle.

If you have a 'stock' 60Hz HD (1080) monitor and have some issues with Crossfire drop in a 4Gb RX480, it's a bit overpowered for the CPU but the next step down is probably not quite enough, and as a PC gamer I like to bring a little extra silicon to a firefight than really nessasary. ;)

Normally I would not advise this but you'll save a great deal of cash by hunting through Craiglist or E-bay for something used, cards like the GTX970/R9 390X/R9 290X are all pretty similar in...
There's no need to change the power supply, it is a fine part and easily capable of powering any single card you throw at it.

TBH, I'd advise you leave the system as it is, even now it's a little overbalanced with more graphics muscle than the CPU can handle.

If you have a 'stock' 60Hz HD (1080) monitor and have some issues with Crossfire drop in a 4Gb RX480, it's a bit overpowered for the CPU but the next step down is probably not quite enough, and as a PC gamer I like to bring a little extra silicon to a firefight than really nessasary. ;)

Normally I would not advise this but you'll save a great deal of cash by hunting through Craiglist or E-bay for something used, cards like the GTX970/R9 390X/R9 290X are all pretty similar in terms of performance, both with each other and your dual HD7850s with the Nvidia card using less power and so producing less heat.
 
Solution

Asusprime

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With a seasonic 650w the only limit you have is your wallet.

The cpu you have is the only real bottleneck i see component wise. Maybe upgrading to an FX 8370 is also in your future and with your current cooler even a little OC is possible if you are into that. Even after upgrading you might see a bottleneck depending on games and resolution of your monitor.

Cards I recommend are the RX 480, R9 290X, R9 390X, GTX 780, GTX 780 Ti, GTX 970, GTX 980, GTX 980 Ti, GTX 1060 and GTX 1070. If buying new just get the GTX 1070, anything above that would be a waste if you are not gaming at 4k with a current Intel i5 or i7

 

Asusprime

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James Mason, the Seasonic gold 650w has 54A on the 12v rail which equals to a maximum of 648 watts on it. The TDP on the HD 7850 is 130w and 230w for crossfire, even overclocked on everything I doubt it would put enough stress on the PSU to say its not enough.
 

dauntlessds

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I very much appreciate knowing this. I have always enjoyed having the extra cores for rendering and photoshop and manga studio art projects. So you're saying that my processor is bottlenecking my graphics? Would you imagine that an FX 8350 would be a suitable step up to compensate and remove the bottlenecking?
 

dauntlessds

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My wife has almost the same setup as myself with a few exceptions, one being the FX8350 and she is rocking a EVGA GTX970 4GB FTW and while she can only get a max of 60FPS, it's the smoothest I've ever seen. I am slightly jealous but I want her to have the best lol. I have an ASUS VG248QE so I would like to take advanatage of all 144hz but my current graphics can only push about 125fps on LOW settings for Overwatch. I would also like to stream for a few of my friends on facebook and kind of rub it in their faces when they can't "git gud" lol. So bottom line is, upgrade CPU, THEN worry about graphics.
 

Asusprime

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maybe the reason your wife only gets 60fps is V-sync.

The fx 8120 had horrible single thread performance compared to the older phenoms and newer Vishera FX CPUs.

An RX 480 and an FX 8350 should put you on par with yours wife setup and get you plenty of FPS. Crossfire setups are known to give horrible minimum FPS, Try playing Overwatch on a single HD 7850 if you havent tried (its all about testing lol)
 

dauntlessds

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Oh it's only because her display is only capable of 60FPS due to it being a 60HZ dell display. I'll try running Overwatch on just the single card and see what happens. I'll try and update tonight on my findings. I know I won't get the full 120 fps I was getting but steady is WAY better than fluctuating.
 


Well, i said "single strongest" because he couldn't put like 2 Titan Xs in there. Or two 1080s either.
 

Asusprime

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Maybe not the gtx 1080 TDP 180w but the GTX 1070 are TDP 150w which would allow that PSU to run 2 of them in SLI

 

Asusprime

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Actually i searched online for Multi GPU setups with that particular PSU and people were doing Crossfire with HD 5870's which are 188W TDP GPUs.

You are underestimating the PSU.