Is a 500w power supply enough?

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VaultGirl

Commendable
Jan 9, 2017
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Hi i've finally done my dream of building my own pc. Now I may be being over paranoid but i'd feel a lot better getting advice from a more experienced person. I currently have

MSI 970 Gaming motherboard
Nvidia Geforce GTX 950 gpu
AMD FX 8350 cpu
3 x 120mm fans
1 x 140mm?
Then obviously gaming keyboard and mouse.
1tb seagate SSD/HD (hybrid drive)

This is running on a 500w bronze power supply. I've read on websites this is fine but I did learn don't listen to everything these websites say 😉 May be a stupid question but I'd appreciate any help at all =)

Thanks for reading
 
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Although 500w is more then enough, would you mind linking the PSU. Also buying the 950 is a bad move especially with the 1050 or 1050 ti out. You can get so much more. If you really are on a budget then i guess stick with the 950.

 
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Hi, thanks for both of your replies I really appreciate it :) I went for the 950 as I was on a budget and it came with my original prebuilt on a mini mobo with the most basic of parts. So working on it slowly, replaced mobo and cpu for now. Here's my psu https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00JKVHKSU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483983750&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Aerocool+Integrator+500W&dpPl=1&dpID=51gcx5g4-EL&ref=plSrch (sorry if I did this wrong first time on forums)

Also thank you for the link to the power supply information. That really helped me understand the tiers and ins and outs =)

 
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I mean I definately wouldn't go lower than 500w if anything Is concerned it wouldn't be enough. So is this dangerous? D= Or just recommended to get a say trustworthy gold 600w? Any suggestions? I was hoping I wouldn't have to replace it so soon

 
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If anything just go for an evga 500b or a corsair cx 500 or something. They are still meh but better then what u listed. I mean i use to have a gtx 960 with a i5-2320 and all was good with my evga 500b
 
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It's not so much the wattage or efficianecy rating, it's the quality of components and level of surge protection etc. Some are plain dangerous and could cause fires or damage your system, anything. Yours isn't as bad as that, but it might be a good idea to upgrade it. 80+ bronze 500w would be fine.

The cheapest I'd put in my system would be this http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

But a lot of people on a budget buy these tier 3 ones http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/zNK7YJ/evga-power-supply-100b10500kr
 
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So bronze 500 but a named version such as the two you mentioned? Would it benefit me at all to take it up to 550 or 600?
 
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D= OK so basically the higher the tiers the safer they are meant to be? Strange I would have thought they should all be insanely safe! Guess I best get searching see if I can come up with a gold trustworthy but not over pricey psu

 
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Phew. Ok so I know corsair is a popular gaming choice I have their fans and case. It's only slightly more for the higher wattage (can't be bad having extra especially for future upgrades surely) Would this be safe and recommended? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00PGUSEBG/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483985796&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=corsair+psu&dpPl=1&dpID=51jVmSSdsoL&ref=plSrch
 
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hey vaultgirl welcome to the forums.
*warning i might be cold in giving feedback*

multipack and vaultgirl, the tierlist is pretty outdated, dotorrent cant keep up.
that aerool isnt a nuclear plant but its a tier 5 psu, so really bad.

secondly, corsair is a famous gaming brand, that doesnt equal good.
people be like it works 5/5 on amazon.
corsair doesnt make powersupplies at all, they buy them in and sticker them.
i dont know how much you can spend but for a good psu you need about 50 pounds.

futhermore, i dont know who advised your build but keep in mind it is DEAD END, there is no upgrade possible upgrade for your cpu socket.
an i3 6100 beats the best amd cpus in certain games, why? because games depend on STRONG SINGLE CORES, and not on weak multicores that games dont utilize.
so please if you can return your mobo and cpu still do it.

lastle the gtx is a previous generation graphics card and costs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $129.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-09 14:25 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ B&H)
Total: $109.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-09 14:25 EST-0500

the 1050 is newer and cheaper, and peforms better so i honestly dont know why you have picked that too.


to summorize this, its not awful, but you could have done a better job with your money.
make sure you do your homeowrk and ask questions.
 
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I appreciate your advice however yes I'm on a budget and tbf I don't plan on keeping upto date constantly. For the little money I had I had to find a budget pc that was atleast a little better than the awful thing I had before. My gpu can still be upgraded slightly if I remember rightly and it serves me for what I'll need (don't play many high end games) You are correct though in the fact I probably did need more research but being completely new to this and this being my first build I wanted cheap incase I screwed up and a build someone else already had incase I needed help. £50 is about the price I'm willing to pay for a psu maybe slightly over. I welcome any recommendations on brands or models
 
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Oh ps forgot to add. The reason for my choice and graphics card is because I only had the money to replace the mobo and cpu due to those being the only things not reaching recommendations on most of the games I wanted to play. My gpu has come from my old build so my bad not researching upgradability on that front but thanks anyway
 
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That tier list is still a good guide, and although some newer revisions of certain PSU's like Corsair and Seasonic are better it still gives a rough idea to people who haven't done as much research and lurking in tech forums.

I agree not to invest in an FX platform but assumed you already had those parts, or at least some of them, and was addressing the question you asked and not passing judgements on other decisions you may or may not have made. I also saw you say you had already bought the 950 so there's no point advising you to get a different one, and I realise people do what they can when they can and cant always get the latest and greatest parts.

For £50, to answer your question, I would choose this.. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/bTnG3C/xfx-power-supply-p1500bxtfr Ideally you need to pay more for a good quality one though. People forget how much a good PSU costs.
 
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Thank you, you have been a great help. You are correct sadly I am the only earner because of circumstances so it is a struggle to get the money for upgrades this being why I had to upgrade around my graphics card which I already had. Basically just replaced which wasnt meeting my requirements for what I play. I understand that then leaves me stuck in maybe the short future but if I can't afford to upgrade then? I go without and atleast get a little better performance instead of my gigabyte mini mobo and awful cpu I had previous xD But again I thank you for all your information and advice multipack
 
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You're welcome. And yes do the best you can in your circumstances. It's still a decent rig and you could theoretically run a 1050Ti or an RX 480 with that CPU so not terrible. You should look at upgrading your CPU/motherboard combo at some point tho if possible. AMD FX are basically outdated these days, and when Ryzen hits the shelves they'll be history. For now tho its fine.

This is a good site for checking whether you can run certain games http://www.game-debate.com/can-I-run/?EA

And this is a good guide to which GPU's you can run http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-3192807/ultimate-bottlenecking-guide.html

Good luck!
 
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Thank you =) makes me feel a little better that I haven't just thrown my money down the drain! It's definately a big upgrade to what I had so I'm happy. To be honest I'm just happy it works!

Will definately bare all you have said in mind and will make sure I come here for some advice next time instead of being too worried of being overwhelmed or slated! I will save all the links you have sent me and I'm sure I'll have more questions down the line =)
 
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