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Started by reijin2409 | | 4 answers
Should I upgrade my power supply?
I currently own a Full modular 700W power supply by NZXT. and Im running an MSI R9 290 and an i5 3570 with it for quite a while now. Im planning to upgrade my CPU to an i7 4790K, but Im a little hesitant if I need to upgrade my current PSU.

About my system, im quite sure my video card consumes a lot of power based on the kitguru review it consumes as much as 290W (video card only) the rest of my rig specs are
CPU: Core i5 3570
RAM: 2x4GB Generic Corsair
HDD: 2x WD BLUE 500GB
MOBO: ASUS H77M-LE

and im hoping to upgrade my mobo to an MSI Z97 Gaming 3 and CPU to Intel i7 4790K
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October 20, 2014 1:42:49 AM

capt_taco said:
I honestly don't know if it'll even be worth upgrading your CPU. The one you've got is still very good; for the amount it would cost versus what you'd gain, it's not a great return. Unless you're noticing your performance is lower than you'd like, save your money.

That PSU ought to be fine; consumption will not change much from one CPU to the other.

I have never owned anything from NZXT that didn't break on me, although for that reason I haven't bought anything from them for several years, so maybe they've improved.


I intend to use the CPU for enabling low - medium nvidia physx. I do also know that its way better to ditch my current R9 290 and buy an nvidia card. But I dont intend to ditch the 3570 either, since I will be giving it to my wife. :) 
a b U Graphics card
October 14, 2014 1:52:57 PM

I honestly don't know if it'll even be worth upgrading your CPU. The one you've got is still very good; for the amount it would cost versus what you'd gain, it's not a great return. Unless you're noticing your performance is lower than you'd like, save your money.

That PSU ought to be fine; consumption will not change much from one CPU to the other.

I have never owned anything from NZXT that didn't break on me, although for that reason I haven't bought anything from them for several years, so maybe they've improved.

Best solution chosen by reijin2409

a b U Graphics card
October 14, 2014 1:45:02 PM

At 700 watts, you'll be just fine. No point in upgrading unless you plan on doing CrossFire or SLI in the future.

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