Can 500w psu handle r9 280x?

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Ibrahim Aysan

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Mar 3, 2015
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Hello i wonder if my system can handle r9 280x without any problems
i5-750
3x ddr3 ram 1333 mhz
Ocz500sxs 500w power supply
Asus p7p55d le motherboard
 
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It is on that border of is it safe is it not.

She will run and she will run fine, however you are scratching that top end of the wattage if you overclock or add other devices onto the system.

The worst that will happen is the pc will not boot. will boot and shut down or will boot and play games and then shut down under maximum draw.

However I think it should just about be fine.
 
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So i have ethernet card and wd1001fals 1 tb hd.Plus to that system i dont think to do any overclock or etc and got 3 fans on chasis im going to spend 350 dollars to this piece i dont want to come home and look to the black screen so if its risky can you suggest something close to this card? I do some 3d work and gaming mostly by the way
 
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I would suggest a better PSU, by Seasonic or XFX or Antec EDGE (which is seasonic rebranded). Then you can get your card.

If money is a big issue here.

Nvidia runs more efficient solutions. A 960 GTX isn't as powerful, no question, however it will certainly run in your system and deliver similar results.
 
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A bit weak, especially non "x". I would have said a 270x, however I doubt it takes that much less power. Even a 280 non "x" but again.

The PSU is a limiting factor here and to be safe you really want to go Nvidia.
 
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Some wattage numbers:

i5-750 - 95w processor
r9-280x - 200-220w GPU
motherboard - 50ish watts
drive - 10ish watts (startup load)/5ish watts idle
a few fans - 20ish watts

At this point, if the computer is humming along under full load, you'll be looking at a total of 400ish watts or about 80% load. It should be ok, but that's a bit close to the edge. Normally, to run in the sweet spot of PSU efficiency you need to be at the 40-60% load range which for this computer then would spec about a 600-625 watt PSU.

Again, it would -probably- be fine if you're not hammering on it 24/7 rendering videos or bitcoin mining.
 
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it's not the wattage that worries me, the psu is fine, can output up to 34A on the 12V which is plenty for his needs. but it also has just 1 pci ex 6 pin connector. the 8 pin would have to be a molex to pci ex. which i would never recommend nor plug in anything i build.
 
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Good point on that, but again it really depends on his usage. I have used a single Molex->PCIE power adapter on a R9-270x setup I had, and it worked fine with absolutely no issues. AND I was using it on a mining rig so it was getting hammered pretty well. The main difference was that it was a higher wattage PSU than what he had, just a slightly older one with only a single PCIe power line. If it is a single rail design, it wont matter which wires it pulls the power through, unless its a thinner gauge wire. Multi-rail design? That would be an issue for sure.

Ultimately (as you do) I do (and did) recommend a higher capacity PSU which can provide more wattage and have more headroom along with the proper connections for his GPU. The one he has -will- work, but I do agree that he would be better served with a new one.
 
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+1 for dirty here...

Everyone is hungry to get the solution...my first answer told OP what he needed to hear.

Perhaps if 2 or 3 knowledgeable posters confirm it is ideal, with some benches if they want.

For this thread to explode like this and have people coming in saying all manner of stuff is slightly typical on these boards.

Back your "advice" up with HARD , SOLID facts, at least for yourself, before posting it. If you don't know and are guessing, you AREN't obliged to answer. Leave it and go into a section you know about.
 
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my problem wasn't power consumption versus max for the psu. i saw that the psu can deliver the power he needs for a 280x. it's still just one pci 6pin connector and the 8 pin would have to come from a molex to pci ex. i will never recommend using one of those things. and thus why i told him to get a card with a single 6 pin pci ex connector. max.
 
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to be fair I reckon Rookie_MIB's estimates of the system under full stress cpu & gpu @100% are pretty much bang on the money.
that furmark power draw result is not stressing the cpu above 1 core (25%) so you can add another 60w or so to that total imo.
Ive stress tested various stuff & measured with a power meter in the past,an average cpu 95-100w with a 280x is capable of pulling 420w the majority of which will be on the 12v lines.
No thats not likely to happen under normal gaming use but its not an impossible scenario
Will a 500w psu run that setup - yes I would say so ,would I recommend it in this case - no not with the ocz being such a mediocre unit at best,low 12v ampage,bad ripple over 80% loads,the lack of a 6 & 8 pin on a 500w psu should always set alarm bells ringing imo - it just shows that the manufacturer themselves would not trust it with a card capable of pulling above 200w.

Ive run a 7870 & a fx 6300 in the past on a cx 430 - which id honestly trust more than the ocz above.
& an overclocked fx6300 & a voltmodded 280x on a cx500 - again irregardless of the bad vibes on here about corsair cx - once again a far far superior psu to the ocz.
 
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280x is a 250w gpu, cpu is about 100w, another ~50 for "other" and your looking at about 400w on the 12v rail. pretty good estimate for the system. that is about 400w/12v = 33.3 12v amps and about 41 amps available to be in the "safe" usage range. the psu in question has 2 x 18 amp 12v rails (the same as my dell oem 375w psu!!) which is barely more than the minimum estimate or about 93% of the psu's ability. this is not suggested usage for a quality unit much less a cheap low budget one like the ocz in question. i would not try it with anything more than an r9-270 or a gtx 960 since it is such low power.

more than that and i doubt it will work very well at all. i have an r9-270 running on the dell oem with the same 12v amps so i am pretty confident it will work for that. a 960 uses less power and if it only needs a 6 pin (a few of them need n 8 pin but they are rare still) so it would also work.

but anything more power hungry is asking for trouble. there is the math for your specs and i am vary confident that a 280x will not work for that psu at all. it is just WAY too underpowered.
 
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Thanks for backing me up as I'd hate to 'embarrass myself further' .

Ultimately the numbers I put together -were- based on facts: Max TDP as listed by Intel, tested power load for a 280x, and some rough guesses for the other main components because those can vary quite a bit. I gave a 'worst case' scenario and while yes that is -unlikely- to occur, could it happen? Yes. Even if I overestimated by 10% (the difference between 360w and 400w), wouldn't it be -better- to overestimate slightly to be on the safe side?

Considering the downside would be a burned out power supply and potential damage to the rest of his system, yeah you could take dirtyferrets advice and risk damaging all those nice parts. Or you could put together a complete build including a good PSU of sufficient power to run everything with headroom.
 
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Unfortunately, you can't compare the 960 to the R9 280x or... you shouldn't. Apples and oranges.

I have a 280x but with 750W PSU, so no issues. I may suggest going to PCPartPicker.com and try "building" your PC. It will display the total wattage required for the entire PC. This may point you in the right direction.

BUT! The GTX 770 is in a similar price range ($200-250), uses less power and slightly outperforms the 280X. Hope this helps!
 
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