430W PSU good enough for GTX 670?

[torlen11cc]

Hello everyone,
Recently I found a GTX670 graphics card for sale at a very reasonable price, and I am interested in switching it with the current HD 7950 that I have at the moment.
My power supply is the S12II-430 Seasonic, and up to now it has been able to run the Sapphire 7950 Boost with no problems under full load.
My question is whether or not there will be a problem regarding the power requirements with the new MSI GTX 670 card together with the power supply that I mentioned. The build is below

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500
Motherboard: Gigabyte H61M-S2V-B3
Memory: 8.00GB (2X4GB) Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)
Storage: 111GB KINGSTON SV300S37A120G (SSD) & 465GB Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 (HDD)
Case: Gigabyte GZ-G1 Plus
Power Supply: S12II-430 Seasonic
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster (1680x1050@60Hz)

Thanks.

 

[RCFProd]

It cuts it close but it is enough to run a GTX 670. Your system will use about ~370w at peak.

However the GTX 670 is not better than the HD 7950. Why do you want to change it?

 

[senseijtitus]

GTX 670 is rated at max TDP of 170Watts. Your CPU will take only 95Watts. Other components will take even less.

430Watts PSU is more than enough for your system. The wattage given above is for when the components will be at max load. This is a scenario that happens rarely in day to day computing. In games maybe sometimes more that usual. But then again, your system is totally capable of handling it.

 

[cminusincplusplus]

Load Wattage: 337 W
Recommended PSU Wattage: 387 W
http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

You'd be running at approximately 78.37% of your PSU's capacity at peak performance.
So that's quite good wattage you have. Not pushing the PSU's limits and not wasting any of its power. Seems like a good fit.

 

[envy14tpe]

Instead of getting a new GPU, why not some better RAM? RAM prices have dropped incredibly and a 2x4gb 1333MHz sells for around $40-45. That would help you out more than a 670. You are running 665MHz, unless that is a typo.

If the 7950 works then the 760 will too, but don't overclock it. They consume about the same amount of power under load.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/62954-asus-gtx-670-directcu-mini-review-7.html

 

[torlen11cc]

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it.
@RCFProd - According to what I saw, the GTX 670 is better than the HD 7950 at stock frequency at 1600X900 resolution and 1080p. My resolution is 1680X1050, so I assume that at this resolution too the 670 wins.

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_960_OC/images/perfrel_1920.gif
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_960_OC/images/perfrel_1600.gif

@envy14tpe - I have Corsair DDR3 2X4GB 1333MHz.
Speccy says frequency 665MHz.

 

[RCFProd]

The difference is very very little! You can see that at 1080p the HD 7950 is better but is a bit worse at 900p. It is not worth to replace it for a GTX 670 at all in my opinion.

 

[envy14tpe]

At 1680x1050 I would not switch from a 7950 to 670. That is lower resolution than 1080p gaming. Chances are you are already maxing out games with the 7950, so you wouldn't benefit if you got a 760. Instead, save the money and look to upgrade your monitor or plan on getting a new PSU in the future. If you want to max out 1080p games you will need at least a 520W PSU (to be safe) and a higher end GPU like a 970 or 390.

 

[torlen11cc]

For anyone wondering: I'm upgrading to Gigabyte 670 WindForce X3 only because I'd like to experience an nVidia card for the first time. The move is from 7950 to 670, which comes to only $20. I think i'll stay with the same PSU if it's enough. Thanks.