Question CX450 for RTX2060 or GTX1660TI?

[Forz]

Hello, I am planning on purchasing a gtx1660ti or an rtx2060 to replace my gtx1050. My system also contains these specs:

Ryzen 5 2600
16GB 3200mhz RAM
B450m-a

I have found a 1660TI mini EVGA and an RTX2060 mini EVGA (has to be mini for my case size) for the same price of £260. However my limit is my CX450 PSU. I used a wattage calculator and I average at 339 WATTS with the RTX2060 however people say its extremely innacurate. Others say the minimum requirements (in this case, the RTX2060 is 500w) is exaggerated. I have no idea whether I should risk it and buy the 2060 and experience issues or buy the 1660ti without stress. FYI i will be playing at 1080p@60 at highest settings but i may use RTX for 2 games. However for many reasons, i will not buy a new psu. Please don't go in depth about the PSU and not come up with an answer. Finally, I dont have rgb, and i will not overclock. I use 1 250GB SSD and 1TB HDD if that helps. Thanks in advance.

 

[punkncat]

According to this article:
https://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

You would be more than fine on the 1660ti and questionable on the 2060.
I have personally found the Corsair CX (of old, anyway) to be a great value proposition for a build and never had issue out of them.

 

[King_V]

Hello, I am planning on purchasing a gtx1660ti or an rtx2060 to replace my gtx1050. My system also contains these specs:

Ryzen 5 2600
16GB 3200mhz RAM
B450m-a

I have found a 1660TI mini EVGA and an RTX2060 mini EVGA (has to be mini for my case size) for the same price of £260. However my limit is my CX450 PSU.

No, it's not. Your limit is on the GPU, whatever you can afford after getting a sufficiently powerful and high quality PSU.

Now, while a CX (2017, and NOT green label) is an OKAY PSU, it's the lowest of the acceptable Corsair PSUs - and is acceptable only if nothing else better is available.

450W from a high-quality PSU will be fine, even with the 2060. You probably can get away with it if you have the newer 2017 CX power supply. My off-the-cuff estimate puts max power draw of your system at about 375-ish watts. (for safety margin, I'm overestimating the power draw of the CPU and GPU, so, GPU at 200W, the CPU at 100W, and everything else around 75W).

If it's the older one (pre-2017), or if it's the green label, then if you place any value on the parts you have and the parts you want to buy, then GET A BETTER PSU.

 

[Forz]

According to this article:
https://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

You would be more than fine on the 1660ti and questionable on the 2060.
I have personally found the Corsair CX (of old, anyway) to be a great value proposition for a build and never had issue out of them.

No, it's not. Your limit is on the GPU, whatever you can afford after getting a sufficiently powerful and high quality PSU.

Now, while a CX (2017, and NOT green label) is an OKAY PSU, it's the lowest of the acceptable Corsair PSUs - and is acceptable only if nothing else better is available.

450W from a high-quality PSU will be fine, even with the 2060. You probably can get away with it if you have the newer 2017 CX power supply. My off-the-cuff estimate puts max power draw of your system at about 375-ish watts. (for safety margin, I'm overestimating the power draw of the CPU and GPU, so, GPU at 200W, the CPU at 100W, and everything else around 75W).

If it's the older one (pre-2017), or if it's the green label, then if you place any value on the parts you have and the parts you want to buy, then GET A BETTER PSU.

I mean I always ran into issues when building and upgrading my pc (bottlenecks, incompatibility and parts being weak). I don't necessarily need a new PSU as long as I buy a card within a reasonable power draw range like the 1660ti which I think consumes 120W. I also can sacrifice RTX and a few FPS because ill be on 1080p anyways and wanted to experiment with RTX but not use it to its full potential.And like i said, I really don't want to buy a new psu because of the upgrades and money spent just to get a few more fps. If the 1660ti will run into issues with the psu then I don't understand what will be wrong as it is a perfect combo. Ill buy the 1660ti, Thanks for the response! Just to make sure, the 1660ti will not have issues with my setup, correct?

 

[ceriumin]

I mean I always ran into issues when building and upgrading my pc (bottlenecks, incompatibility and parts being weak). I don't necessarily need a new PSU as long as I buy a card within a reasonable power draw range like the 1660ti which I think consumes 120W. I also can sacrifice RTX and a few FPS because ill be on 1080p anyways and wanted to experiment with RTX but not use it to its full potential.And like i said, I really don't want to buy a new psu because of the upgrades and money spent just to get a few more fps. If the 1660ti will run into issues with the psu then I don't understand what will be wrong as it is a perfect combo. Ill buy the 1660ti, Thanks for the response! Just to make sure, the 1660ti will not have issues with my setup, correct?

The power draw of the 1660ti is low and one of the best power efficient cards on the market. The minimum as stated for the 1660ti is 450W but like said, manufacturers exaggerate with the minimum wattage so it will be slightly lower. Don't worry it will be fine!

 

[King_V]

The 1660Ti draws less power than the 2060, so your current setup is acceptable IF and ONLY IF the following two things are true:

1. The Corsair CX you have is the 2017 revision
2. The Corsair CX you have is NOT the green-label version

But, it's not about ultimate power output, either. It's about the quality of the PSU. The acceptable Corsair CX falls under the category of "minimal/adequate" - it's not a bad quality unit, but not a great one, either.

There are also extremely high quality PSUs in the 550 or so range (some even in the 450 range). There are TERRIBLE PSUs out there that are (or claim to be) rated at 700W or more, and can't even handle half of what they claim.

This covers both safety features/protection, as well as how steady/clean the power delivery is.

One clue is warranty length. The longer the warranty, generally, the more confidence the manufacturer has in it. Of course, the warranty only covers the PSU itself, not any damage that it (if poor quality) has caused to your other parts.


Anyway, one way or the other, if you have the non-green CX and the 2017 revision, then you should be good with either card.

 

[punkncat]

1. The Corsair CX you have is NOT the green-label version

There are also extremely high quality PSUs in the 550 or so range (some even in the 450 range). There are TERRIBLE PSUs out there that are (or claim to be) rated at 700W or more, and can't even handle half of what they claim.

First off, in general agreement with your post.

I am not aware that the "green label" came as a 450, they were 430. Think the 450 are the grey label style.
With that said, part of what I quoted the other aspect for is this...I have utilized the 430 extensively in the past in my own builds as well as builds for others. Up to and around 2/3 of it's rated output I have NEVER had a single issue with any of them. According to perceived quality I will move that point upwards to around 1/2, as in the instance of those EVGA "white" 600W units.
Value products from brands that are well known still have a certain level of quality as related to the brand reputation, some exceptions withstanding. Along with the choice to choose a value product is also the responsibility, as a buyer, to accept that you probably need to add a bit more margin of error as related to rating and load.

Using this methodology I have had exceptional success in utilizing value branded PSU in quite a few builds with budget in mind.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I've had few issues with Corsair power supplies in the past. But that said, you don't always know about power supplies until you push them to their max. If I'm using power supplies on the line, I like to over buy. In other words, if i would guess I needed 500 watts, then if it's not much more, I might get a 650 watt to allow for head room.

 

[Forz]

No, it's not. Your limit is on the GPU, whatever you can afford after getting a sufficiently powerful and high quality PSU.

Now, while a CX (2017, and NOT green label) is an OKAY PSU, it's the lowest of the acceptable Corsair PSUs - and is acceptable only if nothing else better is available.

450W from a high-quality PSU will be fine, even with the 2060. You probably can get away with it if you have the newer 2017 CX power supply. My off-the-cuff estimate puts max power draw of your system at about 375-ish watts. (for safety margin, I'm overestimating the power draw of the CPU and GPU, so, GPU at 200W, the CPU at 100W, and everything else around 75W).

If it's the older one (pre-2017), or if it's the green label, then if you place any value on the parts you have and the parts you want to buy, then GET A BETTER PSU.

I can confirm my CX450 is a grey label if you mean by some of the text on the side. However I have no idea what the date is without taking out my GPU. I bought a GT710 FX4300 Pc used and then upgraded it but kept the cx450 for maybe 2 years. It wasn't under really heavy load as i began with a weak setup to a R5 and gtx1050. I will probably use the CX450 for about the next 1-2 years before buying a newer PSU. But i am still awaiting to see if the rtx2060 mini will actually manage. And if you were in my position, which one would you buy? TThanks in advance!

 

[King_V]

With the two of them being the same price, I'd go for the 2060

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Between your two choices, as long as the power supply can handle it, the 2060 is a stronger card.

 

[Forz]

Between your two choices, as long as the power supply can handle it, the 2060 is a stronger card.

Yeah and this is all this discussion is about, if my psu can handle a rtx2060

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Would be very close.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/geforce-rtx-2060-review-(founder),7.html

According to that site, it appears that they recommend a 500 watt power supply for the founders edition. And that is for a unit with no overclocking or anything. They say that they would recommend a power supply with more stamina.

The same site says for a 1660 ti, they recommend 450.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-gaming-x-review,7.html

So either way you are cutting really close and should really replace the power supply.

Just for fun I looked up the requirements for a 1660 super. They also suggest a 450 watt. But again, very close to the line.

I did find this card gtx 1660 super mini card for $230.

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1660-super-gv-n166sixoc-6gd/p/N82E16814932234

Perhaps the solution is upgrade to the 1660 super, which is close to the 1660 ti in performance, but costs about 50 dollars less. Use the money saved by that to go towards a better power supply. Then that way you have some leeway for now, and when you upgrade again, hopefully you won't have to worry about your power supply.

 

[King_V]

Manufacturers of GPUs tend to be conservative, because they don't know if you're running a low end processor, or a high end one that's overclocked, etc. So, they play it very safe.

Judging by the cacluation I did, you will be fine. I'd be concerned, say, if you were running an i7-9700 or maybe a Ryzen 7 3800X . . . .