How Much Watt Do I Need?

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Amaan909

Commendable
Jul 11, 2016
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I just want to know how much watt I require for my build as I was going to get a 700w just to be sure but someone told me, the more watts I have does not mean the better performance.
My Specs:
i5 6500
8GB RX 480 Nitro
AS-Rock H110m-dgs
8gb Ram
1tb Hard Drive

Thanks
 
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raisonjohn


Your Intel i5-6500 has a TDP of 65W based on Intel specs (https://ark.intel.com/products/88184/Intel-Core-i5-6500-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_60-GHz), which can be roughly translated to a 65W power draw (for the CPU alone) at +12V DC. Tests made by HardwareCanucks show that the i5-6500 draws an average of 84W (for the whole system) at full load and 46W (for the whole system) when idle...
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
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Your graphics card is a highly overclocked version that requires more than the normal 6 pin aux power connector.
It needs an 8 pin connector that will normally be supplied by a quality 500w psu.
I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say 20%.
It will run cooler, quieter, and more efficiently in the middle third of it's range.
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.
Of more importance is the quality of the psu.
Buy a tier 1 or 2 unit from a list such as this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
Seasonic is always good.

And... FWIW

I will never again build without a ssd for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do much quicker.
120gb is minimum, it will hold the os and a handful of games.
But, many things default to the "C" drive.
When a SSD nears full, it will lose performance and endurance.
240gb is the recommended minimum.

If you can go 240gb, or 500gb you may never need a hard drive.

You can defer on the hard drive unless you need to store large files such as video's.
It is easy to add a hard drive later.

Samsung EVO is a good choice for performance and reliability.

 
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raisonjohn

raisonjohn

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Feb 22, 2015
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Your Intel i5-6500 has a TDP of 65W based on Intel specs (https://ark.intel.com/products/88184/Intel-Core-i5-6500-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_60-GHz), which can be roughly translated to a 65W power draw (for the CPU alone) at +12V DC. Tests made by HardwareCanucks show that the i5-6500 draws an average of 84W (for the whole system) at full load and 46W (for the whole system) when idle (http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/71760-intel-skylake-i5-6500-i5-6400-i3-6100-review-12.html).

Your Sapphire RX 480 8GB Nitro has a rated power consumption of 225W (for the GPU alone) at +12V DC based on Sapphire specs (http://sapphirenitro.sapphiretech.com/en/480-8.html#specification), and even suggests that a 500W PSU (for the whole system) is sufficient. Since that GPU requires a 1x 8-pin PCIe supplementary power, the rated wattage in the specs is a theoretical estimate that said GPU can able to, but not necessarily do, draw as much as 225W (i.e., 150W from the 8-pin + 75W from the PCIe x16 slot of your motherboard). Tests made by Eteknix show that the RX 480 8GB Nitro draws a maximum of 302W (for the whole system) at full load and 83W (for the whole system) at idle (https://www.eteknix.com/sapphire-nitro-rx-480-oc-8gb-graphics-card-review/11/). Another test made by Kitguru shows that the GPU draws 282W (for the whole system) at full load and 73W (for the whole system) at idle (https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/stefan/sapphire-rx-480-nitro-oc-4gb-8gb-review/30/).

These two components (CPU and GPU) are the most power-hungry parts of your rig. The other components (RAM, MB, SSD/HDD, and Fans/LEDs) take up a smaller percentage of the power draw.

If we are to compute (over-estimate) the power draw of your rig, your CPU + GPU accounts for 65W + 225W = 290W power draw. Your other components, over-estimating it, can draw as much as ~100W. This gives you a grand total of 390W, or let's say 400W (at the +12V rail).

Getting a 700W PSU (let's say the +12V rating is around ~650W), is still an overkill for a rig that cannot go past 400W (which is over-estimated already). Hence, Sapphire's suggested ~500W PSU holds true as far as your rig is concerned.

I would personally get a good-quality ~500W or ~550W PSU for better efficiency and ample headroom on future upgrades. These are my recommended PSUs:

SeaSonic - G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($48.98 @ NCIX US)

SeaSonic - 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg) <-- good price for a 650W

SeaSonic - 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz)

EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg) <-- highly recommended, esp. for the price
 
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