Can my PSU handle this OC?

[Floydsound]

Hi, everyone!

My system is this:

- Processor: i5 2500K 3.3GHz [Stock] (which I'm planning to OC)
- Video card: GTX 970 EVGA SSC
- Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-M
- Memory: 16GB (2x8) Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
- Drives: 1x SSD Samsung 850 EVO 250GB + 1x HDD Seagate Barracuda 320GB + 1x DVD-RW
- Coolers: Hyper 212 EVO + 4x 120mm fans across the case (5 with the Hyper 212 included)
- PSU: Antec Gamer 520W 80 plus Bronze (3 years old)

So, I have two questions:
1) Do I really need an overclock, considering a VGA bottleneck from that processor?
2) If I need it, how much OC? And will my PSU handle it?

Many thanks in advance!!

 

[Sergeant_Sneaky]

I personally wouldn't OC on that PSU, the 970 recommends 500w (it won't use this much it's just an estimate) but you won't have much power to spare and you want to leave a bit to spare so the PSU isn't running at 100%.

 

[sportsfanboy]

the 500w estimate is just that, the system will use less than that even overclocked. Don't forget companies have to expect a lot of people to be running horrible and cheap psu's, so they over estimate to cover all the bases. Probably somewhere between 350 to 400, maybe 425 with an insane overclock.

personally i would give the chip a moderate overclock. You have the K chip a half way decent cpu cooler.

 

[Floydsound]

the 500w estimate is just that, the system will use less than that even overclocked. Don't forget companies have to expect a lot of people to be running horrible and cheap psu's, so they over estimate to cover all the bases. Probably somewhere between 350 to 400, maybe 425 with an insane overclock.

personally i would give the chip a moderate overclock. You have the K chip a half way decent cpu cooler.

That's what came to my mind when I read the other answer. Thank you so much for your help on both topics, sportsfanboy

Do you think that the age of the PSU (3 years) has any influence on anything? Do I have to be concerned about that in any way?

 

[burgessanthony]

Don't forget you could get a decent oc and keep the voltage stock....so can keep power down unless you want to go higher abs may need to bump voltage. But I think you will be fine on that psu

 

[sportsfanboy]

yw... I don't think three years is a problem. I have a 7 year old psu that I still game on with an overclocked 4790k. capacitor aging can also be blown out of proportion. I mean my friend for example has an old maranz amplifier from the mid 70's and the power unit is still fine. as long as you keap the unit cool their shouldn't be a problem.

also burges is correct, you can achieve modest overclock with no ex volts sometimes, or by adding a little, which might equate to 10 or 20 extra watts tops.

 

[Floydsound]

Don't forget you could get a decent oc and keep the voltage stock....so can keep power down unless you want to go higher abs may need to bump voltage. But I think you will be fine on that psu

Thank you for the tip, burges!

yw... I don't think three years is a problem. I have a 7 year old psu that I still game on with an overclocked 4790k. capacitor aging can also be blown out of proportion. I mean my friend for example has an old maranz amplifier from the mid 70's and the power unit is still fine. as long as you keap the unit cool their shouldn't be a problem.

also burges is correct, you can achieve modest overclock with no ex volts sometimes, or by adding a little, which might equate to 10 or 20 extra watts tops.

Thanks, I'm really glad to know those things about the PSU aging!

Anyway, I tested a 4.5GHz OC here, following a step-by-step guide, but turns out my temps got to 60ºC on idle (which is strange, considering the Hyper 212 EVO and the Thermaltake TG-2 thermal paste). So I guess I'll stick to the stock clock, which now I think won't bottleneck the GTX 970

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Yes heat is the primary reason capacitors die. The heat causes the dielectric inside to sometimes vaporize and can even cause the sealant to break. If it stays cool, everything stays nice and in shape for a longer time.

Think of it logically. If there is liquid inside capacitors, heat causes those atoms to move faster which increases pressure on the sealant, or the enclosure.