Question Can i use a gtx 970 with a 650w non-certified psu?

[eminentlifeform]

Alright sooo this is pretty self-explanatory.
The 970 is a Gigabyte gtx 970 g1 gaming and the psu is a Spektra Power Supply (as i said, non certified) and i've been using it for a month or so.

I wanted to get a certified one, but I was really short in cash and read some good reviews about people using it for gaming, also they are really expensive on my country for some reason.

please go easy on me for choosing a non-certified psu lol.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I can't find ANYTHING on that PSU brand. I would be very careful if it is not certified. That means who knows what components they have or what features they left out. Wattage wise 650W is fine for the 970 but we have seen low end PSUs that say they are rated for 600W+ not be able to pass 400W without crashing or even catching fire.

 

[Deleted member 2731765]

Spektra Power Supply

Do not use this PSU. Looks like some generic poor quality PSU. Never heard of this brand before though. In any case, I honestly don't think it's a high quality PSU to be used at least on a GAMING PC. There is RISK factor involved.

Are you from SPAIN ?

A cheap generic/standard low-end PSU is prone to failure soon, than the units made by reputed brands like SEASONIC, Corsair, BE QUIET, EVGA Supernova, PC Power & Cooling, ANTEC, XFX, Super Flower, OCZ, just to name a few. The OEM also matters a lot, instead of the actual PSU brand. I've seen PSUs labelled as 1K watts, but in actual real world scenarios, they can hardly pull 400 Watts from the wall, even under full load..

I'm skeptical about the build quality of that unit. PSU is the last component you might want to cheap out on, or skimp. Try to get some other high quality PSU, IF possible. Power supplies are an imperative part of your system that should not be taken lightly. Throwing in a budget PSU could result in poor power efficiency or even a wrecked system. Don't SKIMP on the PSU,, since this is the MOST important PC component. I can't stress this enough.

Btw, this PSU list is NOT exhaustive, nor 100% accurate though, but at least it gives us some idea about the brand reputation, in the hierarchy list..BUT, make a note though. Despite Seasonic, XFX listed under the "arguably best brands" category by me, they have had pretty poor quality units as well. like the XT series, and SeaSonic S12II Series. There are more exceptions though...

Pretty much all PSU manufacturers sell good and bad power supplies.

PSU brands to never buy from (there are more brands):

• Diablotek
• Chieftech
• Circle
• Sharkoon
• Youngbear
• Powercool
• Rocketfish
• Rave
• Linkworld
• Shuttle
• Skyhawk
• Foxconn
• Wintech
• Winpower
• Apevia
• Coolmax
• Logisys
• Sparkle
• Raidmax
• Zalman
• Diablotek
• Xilence
• Tacens
• iBALL
• Zebronics.
• Logisys.
• 
  
• Average PSU brands (Not deadly but I would avoid them):
• NZXT
• Enermax
• Cougar
• Bitfenix

Good PSU brands (These psu brands have decent-great PSUs, but also have a few outliers):

• EVGA
• Corsair
• Antec
• Cooler master
• Be quiet!
• Fractal Design
• SilverStone
• FSP.

Arguably the best brands, but that's a slight exaggeration..

• Seasonic
• XFX
• Superflower

Conclusion
Most power supplies you buy should be fine as long as you're not pushing them to the very limits. I obviously didn't include every OEM and re-seller but I listed the main ones. Pretty much all PSU manufacturers sell good and bad power supplies, it just takes a little reviewing and forethought into your system requirements before you make a selection....

 

[eminentlifeform]

I can't find ANYTHING on that PSU brand. I would be very careful if it is not certified. That means who knows what components they have or what features they left out. Wattage wise 650W is fine for the 970 but we have seen low end PSUs that say they are rated for 600W+ not be able to pass 400W without crashing or even catching fire.

just did some research on why you didnt find anything. Turns out the brand is from my country, and not as known as i thought it would be.
anyways, here's the link from the page i bought it from:
http://www.spektra.cl/productos/fuentes/8573.php

 

[eminentlifeform]

Are you from SPAIN ?

No, I'm actually from Chile. Here you'll rarely see good psu's on an affordable price. A 520w 80 plus br seasonic PSU is around 3 times more expensive than the one I bought

 

[Deleted member 2731765]

Then I'm not sure what to suggest. There are 2 options. Either pay 3 times more to get a decent and a safe PSU model, or just risk using a poor quality non-certified unit, which might even cause damage to all the PC components. You never know what's going to happen though, maybe a fire hazard. I'm not saying your current PSU will blow up your PC, but there seems to be a RISK factor, at least in my opinion.

Even though it has been advertised as a 650 Watts PSU, I doubt the power supply can deliver the said output. I've seen PSUs labelled as 1K watts, but in actual real world scenarios, they can hardly pull 400 Watts from the wall, even under full load..

 

[eminentlifeform]

Then I'm not sure what to suggest. There are 2 options. Either pay 3 times more to get a decent and a safe PSU model, or just risk using a poor quality non-certified unit, which might even cause damage to all the PC components. You never know what's going to happen though, maybe a fire hazard. I'm not saying your current PSU will blow up your PC, but there seems to be a RISK factor, at least in my opinion.

Even though it has been advertised as a 650 Watts PSU, I doubt the power supply can deliver the said output. I've seen PSUs labelled as 1K watts, but in actual real world scenarios, they can hardly pull 400 Watts from the wall, even under full load..

Thanks for the help. I'll see if I can save up more money and either sell my old psu or use it for a low-profile build and get more money for a certified one. I wouldn't trust this PSU to power a bowl of cereal.

 

[DSzymborski]

Yikes on this PSU. Passive PFC switch in 2019? The last time anything halfway decent had one of those was more than 15 years ago. It's like buying a house that appears to have an outhouse rather than indoor plumbing.