Is 700w PSU enough for a 600w Graphics card?

[Altiris]

On Nvidia.com it says that the GTX 480 needs a power supply minimum of 600w, mine is currently 600, if I get a 700w would I be good to go or would I need more?

This is the PSU I am looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-341-018&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

If anyone knows of any AMD cards that have the same performance as the GTX 480 and uses less wattage please give me a link, people have been telling me about the 7850 and how its cheaper...yet its like $50 more, some even $100.

 

[2fast4thetown_down]

umm if it says it needs 600 watt then why would 700 watt not be enough...600watts will be enough the answer is in your question.

 

[kelthic]

if your current psu is 600w and a reliable brand, i see no reason to upgrade for a 480. you can plug all your system info into http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp and click the calculate button and you should know the maximum wattage you will need. i always figure about 50 watts higher and your good as long as you have a reliable brand. Corsair, Seasonic, and Antec are pretty good brands.

 

[GI_JONES]

The requirement of 600 watts is an estimate, as Nvidia doesnt know what PSU a person has or what hardware either. They tend to estimate a bit high. A GTX480 would run on a 550 watt unit if its good quality, and you dont have a ton of hard drives, lights, fans, and optical drives all running. Like the above posts say..if your psu is half decent, quality wise, and not like 10 years old, see if it works

 

[Altiris]

Well I have 5 fans running, should I get a 700w PSU to be sure?

 

[mastrom101]

fans dont use a lot of power.

What PSU are you using, and how old?

 

[Altiris]

Its 600w from OCZ, I got this last October. Ill just grt a 700w psu later on. Thanks guys

 

[GI_JONES]

OOCZ makes pretty good psu's. You should be good

 

[kelthic]

I agree. plug that 480 into your current psu and enjoy!

 

[mastrom101]

if your current PSU can't run it, then upgrade. If it can, you just saved a good chuck of money

 

[Altiris]

If my PSU wont be able to run it, are there signs that will show it? Like very slow performance? Would it slowly be ruining my PSU or something?

 

[mastrom101]

no, it would not be ruining your psu.

You may notice that while under a load, the game does not look correct, warping artifacts, bad textures. The things you notice when you OC a GPU too much.

I would run prime95 and Heaven DX11 at the same time, with a few USB devices plugged in. See if the artifacts look fine. If so, your good!

Worst case scenario, you can buy a new PSU. But it will not damage your components.