How much power will my new PC build need? (Some Overclocking)

[CrazyMateo]

Here are my main system components:

AMD FX-8320 (Will be overclocked to at least 4.0GHz)
Powercolor TurboDuo AXR9 280 Graphics Card
GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P AM3+ otherboard
16 GB DDR3 RAM (1600)
CORSAIR Hydro Series H50 Quiet Edition
2X SATA Hard Drives
1X CD Drive

I plan to use it for designing and rendering 3D models. I am also open to any suggestions if you think I could improve the build. Thank you for the help.

 

[C12Friedman]

Although it will not be cheaper, I'd say look at motherboards featuring the 990 chipset - it'll help your overclocking goals
You'll be fine with a quality 500W PSU for your build, the XFX TS 550 comes to mind although I have seen no legitimate reviews for that model

 

[nekulturny]

There isn't much difference between the 990 and 970 chipsets in terms of features, but I agree with Friedman, since they are a more modern chipset, you'll have better availability in quality boards, and its just nice to keep your options open especially since the price difference between them shouldn't be too astronomical. Also some of the 970 chipset boards have been known to have compatibility issues with the PileDriver 8 cores, which I'd say is more likely to happen with a 970 thats been sitting in a merchant's stock room for awhile and has an older BIOS version (which requires customer support interaction with Asus to get a BIOS update- unless of course you happen to have an older gen AM3 or AM3+ CPU to get it going yourself.)

Also, I would cut some cost, and go with an air cooler such as a 212 Evo, its cooling power rivals all but the most expensive liquid coolers for often far cheaper.

As far as brand preference on boards, I like Asus.

 

[rockie_]

125W CPU overclocked - 150W
200-250W GPU

min 600-650 W PSU

the card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131570&cm_re=Powercolor_TurboDuo_AXR9_280_Graphics_Card-_-14-131-570-_-Product

 

[avenseth12]

I dont like that suggestion, dont risk your parts with a underpowered PSU. Go with a better power supply with more power like one of these:

Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182133

CORSAIR CXM series CX750M 750W ATX12V $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139051

SILVERSTONE ST70F-ESG 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256105

 

[CrazyMateo]

Wow, thanks a lot for all the replies.

To address the motherboard problem, I was wondering how bad the issue would be? Would I not be able to overclock as much as I'm hoping to, or would I not even be able to start up? I was considering the GA-990FXA-UD3 from Gigabyte, but unfortunately it may be a bit too expensive for me... any other suggestions?

 

[C12Friedman]

I dont like that suggestion, dont risk your parts with a underpowered PSU...

An underpowered PSU does not put any parts at risk, a poor quality PSU puts parts at risk. The absolute most that system could hope to pull from the wall is 500W with very nice overclocks. The most that graphics card can pull is 300W, averages about 205W, the CPU limits at 125W it doesn't run there. That's only 330W, mobo, ram, HDD/SDD's and fans will not take another 75W even, where is the under power for a 550W PSU?

 

[avenseth12]

Next time, don't reply with a piece of crap XFX psu

 

[C12Friedman]

Next time, don't reply with a piece of crap XFX psu

Next time research your information. A SeaSonic built XFX has never been given a bad review by any legitimate reviewer http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page625.htm

 

[nekulturny]

Next time, don't reply with a piece of crap XFX psu

Next time research your information. A SeaSonic built XFX has never been given a bad review by any legitimate reviewer http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page625.htm

Ditto.