550W PSU and Overclocking

[razorviper]

Hi All,
I am currently building my Gaming PC. So as with this build I am going with a 550W PSU as I am not planning to SLI in the near future. My question is will I be able to overclock at all? Is it safe to do so with this PSU? And by how much can I overclock?

Also, is this PSU okay for my build?

PSU: Corsair RM 550W. ( modular with 80 PLUS GOLD rated)
--->LINK<---

Graphics: msi GTX 970 OC edition.

Other machine specs:
Corsair 300R Gaming Cabinet
Intel i5-4690K Unlocked
Kingston Fury HyperX 8GB(2x 4GB)
Asus Z97-A Motherboard
DeepCool Neptwin Twin tower
WD Black 1TB HDD
And an Optical Drive.

Thanks in advance

 

[Sakkura]

550W is more than plenty, with lots of room for overclocking. But the Corsair RM550 is not that good quality, and usually overpriced. Something like an XFX XTR 550W would be much better.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Corsair RM series has poor quality capacitors. I would not use it on an enthusiast or gaming build.

As for sizing, all current nvidia cards are listed here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2311121/power-supply-requirements-nvidia-gpus.html#14243229

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_and_980_reference_review,7.html

Subjective obtained GPU power consumption (970) = ~ 164 Watts
Subjective obtained GPU power consumption (980 )= ~ 171 Watts

Here is Guru3D's power supply recommendation:

GeForce GTX 970 or 980 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit.
GeForce GTX 970 or 980 in 2-way SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have an 800 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

If you are going to overclock your GPU or processor, then we do recommend you purchase something with some more stamina.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/specifications

970 Thermal and Power Specs:
98 C = Maximum GPU Tempurature (in C)
145 W = Graphics Card Power (W)
500 W = Minimum System Power Requirement (W)
2x 6-pins = Supplementary Power Connector

To be frank, it's hard to justify a 550 watter as the price of ther650's are usually$5 - $10 apart ..... the SLI capable EVGA B2 series if oft for sale at near the same price of quality 550 - 650 watts units.

Top Units

$95 Seasonic SSR-650RM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151118

$73.50 Corsair HX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

$130 Seasonic X650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

$100 EVGA 750 G2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017



Very Good Units

$80 Seasonic M12
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

$70 EVGA 650 B1 (10 year warranty)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438026

$80 XFX XTR 550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207032

$55 EVGA B2 750 watter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438028

Again the $30 rebate on the 750 watt B2 from EVGA brings the price down to $55 and makes it hard to choose any 550 - 650 watter in its place

 

[ak47jar3d]

Yeah, as long as you don't go crazy with the voltage you should have any problems Overclocking it. I personally don't like adding voltage as it can degrade your gpu over time.

 

[SPgamer007]

RM Series PSUs has poor quality capacitors,there are still many good options available.
Here's a solid 620w PSU that can give more than sufficient amount of power for your rig and is actually cheaper than RM 550W.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

 

[Sakkura]

RM Series PSUs has poor quality capacitors,there are still many good options available.
Here's a solid 620w PSU that can give more than sufficient amount of power for your rig and is actually cheaper than RM 550W.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

Pretty good, but you can get even better. Like the XFX XTR 550W I mentioned. A bit cheaper, higher quality and efficiency, and a semi-passive cooling mode.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Though I listed both above, I'd rather have the Seasonic over the XTR, .... but both are significantly more expensive than the EVGA B2 750 which, though not needed, it will make the system SLI capable should the user change his mind and if not it wills till make it easier to sell and more efficient

 

[Sakkura]

Though I listed both above, I'd rather have the Seasonic over the XTR, .... but both are significantly more expensive than the EVGA B2 750 which, though not needed, it will make the system SLI capable should the user change his mind and if not it wills till make it easier to sell and more efficient

Why would you rather have an older Seasonic M12II design over a newer Seasonic G design? The XFX XTR is a newer, better Seasonic-made unit that beats the M12II in every way. And the EVGA B2 750W is not cheaper, in fact it's more expensive. And has lower quality and feature level than the XFX XTR (and the Corsair HX650, which uses the exact same internal design, but somehow got into a higher category in your other post ).

 

[JackNaylorPE]

While looking up the appropriate web site to determine what platform a certain PSU is built on is an astute step, making the assumption that being this somehow makes them identical is erroneous. If ya read the notes on such sites, they are usually very careful to advise you of this. For example:

http://orionpsudb.com/platforms.html

PSUs using the same platform can still be very different from each other!

And let's remember that the Antec EarthWatts EA450G-EA650G,is also built on the Seasonic G platform .... units not exactly high on anyone's top ten list

I am more interested in Ripple and Voltage stability .... whether a PSU is rated Platinum, Gold, Silver is absolutely meaningless to me. As to these features you mention would you perhaps be including 100% modular which is something I take pains to avoid unless I am resleeving the cables ? Don't see the sense in paying more to have absolutely necessary cables be modular.... while introducing increased resistance and potential failure points, I gain nothing.

So the XFX is a newer design than the M12 but is the same design as the 8 year old HX650 ?

In what world is $55 more expensive than $65 ?

XFX XTR Series P1-550B-BEFX 550W ($65)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207032

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 ($55)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438028

 

[Sakkura]

And let's remember that the Antec EarthWatts EA450G-EA650G,is also built on the Seasonic G platform .... units not exactly high on anyone's top ten list

The Antec Earthwatts units are made by FSP, not Seasonic. It's the Antec Truepower Classic and EDGE series that are built on the Seasonic G platform. Those power supplies are highly regarded.

I am more interested in Ripple and Voltage stability .... whether a PSU is rated Platinum, Gold, Silver is absolutely meaningless to me. As to these features you mention would you perhaps be including 100% modular which is something I take pains to avoid unless I am resleeving the cables ? Don't see the sense in paying more to have absolutely necessary cables be modular.... while introducing increased resistance and potential failure points, I gain nothing.

So the XFX is a newer design than the M12 but is the same design as the 8 year old HX650 ?

The XFX XTR has similar ripple and significantly better voltage stability than the Seasonic M12II Evo. And it has semipassive cooling, which means it's quieter at low load; the M12II Evo also gets quite loud at full load (in part because of the lower efficiency). The XFX XTR is not based on an 8 year old design. It's related to a much newer version of the Corsair HX 650. The thing is, Corsair keeps switching OEMs and platforms without changing their naming scheme.

The Seasonic G-based Corsair HX650 was launched in 2013, so much for 8 years old.