could my power supply be the source of my Graphics Card Issues or is it something else?

[muskogeee]

Hello,

I recently purchased an ASUS DirectCU II R9270X, based on an attractive price and a number of reviews mentioned it had a decent amount of room for overclocking thanks to the cooler.

When I run Passmark Performance Test, at stock speeds I get a 3D Graphics Mark of 4,700, better than the average result on Passmark.com.

However, even when I overclock slightly, the score either goes down below 3,000 or I have a driver crash, and recovery.

The temps are not even going near 60c.

I cleaned drivers and started fresh, same issue.

I thought maybe it could be the PSU but the min PSU recommended is 600W and I have a 650W Silverstone Zeus ST65ZF. However, I also read that the minimum amperage of the +12v rail should be 24amps.

The 2 PCIe cables on my PSU are marked +12v3 and +12v4, which according to the specs are 16amps and 8amps, which = 24.

Could that be the reason it works fine at stock clocks but if I try to push it even a little I have issues?

I thought I had read somewhere that the maximum amperage is the total of all 4 +12 rails, is that true? if so then it should be 55amps right?

 

[cin19]

For multiple rail PSU, the total Amp is not that simple 1+1=2. Your PSU has 4 12V rails and with the maximum capability of 504W on the combined 12V rails. And the total Amp will be 504W/12V=42A for the 4 rails. And if you add all together like the 55Amp, then the PSU will have the total 660W, that is not true.

After you oc the 270x, I don't know why the score is lower than before, but if you said the driver crash, and it is the unstable overclock, that means you're not supplying enough voltage to stabilize the GPU ocing. It is not the PSU problem. But if the PC did crash during the benchmark test then it maybe the cpu or PSU, or something else.

Do you use the AMD catalyst driver or other driver like MSI afterburner? Try the MSI afterburner.