Is my cheap 400 watt psu strong enough for an RX 470?

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Averyo

Commendable
Dec 6, 2016
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The age old " is my cheap psu strong enough" question

With Christmas coming up i'm looking to upgrade my graphics card to a RX 470 because my pc is getting pretty outdated. The problem is, my psu is rather cheap.
I roughly added up the wattage of all of my components, and it adds up to about 162 watts without a graphics card. Apparently the 470 only sips about 120 watts, so I feel like i should be ok, but with a recommended minimum of 450 watts, and my psu being pretty cheap, i'm just not sure.

I appreciate any opinions i can get,
Avery
 
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W


Step two that I listed is very important. Failing to drain the remaining power could result in you getting shocked.

I'm aware that the only parts that should be charged are the pins that are hidden away in the connectors, but with these lower quality units you never know if there could be a short within the PSU casing. You don't want to get shocked, so remember to hold that power button before handling the PSU itself.

I was shocked once because I was an idiot and opened up a unit... My brother told me...
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weberdarren97

Glorious
Aug 10, 2015
8,137
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The 1050 ti will do fine at 1080p as long as you don't need to play at ultra settings. It will do fine at high settings in most games, medium settings in others. Just remember not to crank the AA settings more than you need to. In my opinion, anything past 4x is a waste. I can't notice a difference between 4x and 8x on my 1440p monitor with a GTX 1070, but I do notice a slight drop in framerates when using a higher AA setting.

The 1050 ti doesn't produce much heat at all, so you can get the mini version for cheaper and be fine with only one fan. I've put SR-71 Blackbird's PSU suggestion and a GTX 1050 ti into a PCPartPicker list for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ B&H)
Total: $188.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-06 20:06 EST-0500
 
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Averyo

Commendable
Dec 6, 2016
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OK, this is a very likely possibility for me. Would you suggest that i even bother getting a new psu since the minimum for a gtx 1050 ti is 300 and my psu is 400 watts?
 
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Averyo

Commendable
Dec 6, 2016
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Alright that's what ill be doing. This will be the first psu ive replaced, anything else i need to have do so? ill probably just follow a basic youtube tutorial.
 
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weberdarren97

Glorious
Aug 10, 2015
8,137
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Prepping a system for a new graphics card is pretty much as simple as making sure it has a PCIe slot and a decent power supply. After that, it's up to the user to decide on aesthetics (if applicable).

I hope that I only posted this once... I had to push the button like four times before it appeared to actually do anything.
 
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weberdarren97

Glorious
Aug 10, 2015
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For an experienced builder, it's a simple chore that's no more complicated than loading the washing machine.

How to replace a PSU safely:
1) Turn off the machine and unplug it
2) Press and hold the power button for three seconds to drain all remaining power
3) Disconnect all power connectors from your components
4) Unscrew the power supply and remove it
5) Insert the new power supply and screw it in
6) Connect the appropriate power connectors
7) Plug it in and turn it on

If it doesn't turn on properly, check your connections as well as the switch on the rear of the PSU before you begin to panic. Remember, computers are machines of logic. If they there is a problem, it can be solved via running through a checklist:
1) Check that your PSU is plugged in to an active power source
2) Check that your PSU is turned on and is set to the correct voltage (some units have a switch to go from 115V to 230V)
3) Check your power connectors
 
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A

Averyo

Commendable
Dec 6, 2016
26
0
1,530
Holy cow this helps so much! My pc certainly wont be amazing, with my amd fx 4300 and my 1050ti, but i think it should be able to handle things like overwatch and wow XD And there is no way i could afford a new cpu+motherboard.
 
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weberdarren97

Glorious
Aug 10, 2015
8,137
6
45,615


Step two that I listed is very important. Failing to drain the remaining power could result in you getting shocked.

I'm aware that the only parts that should be charged are the pins that are hidden away in the connectors, but with these lower quality units you never know if there could be a short within the PSU casing. You don't want to get shocked, so remember to hold that power button before handling the PSU itself.

I was shocked once because I was an idiot and opened up a unit... My brother told me that he drained the power, apparently he didn't. It wasn't a lethal shock (most aren't unless you're an idiot and directly touch the caps or their wiring), but it sure hurt.

I'm not trying to scare you, but rather explain how important it is to follow safety procedures. If you drain the unit and don't tamper with it, you'll never be in harms way.
 
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