Is a Normal 500 Watts PSU Good for gaming

[sam2002hd]

Hi i'm building a fine gaming pc my budget is really tight since im getting a gtx 960 Is a normal 500 Watts psu good for gaming and general im not looking to overclock. thanks a lot

 

[ronintexas]

I would suggest using the power supply calculator - http://powersupplycalculator.net/

I would also suggest getting a Tier 1 (recommended) or Tier 2 power supply....cheap ones aren't going to give you reliable power. See: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[Zerk2012]

You need to list all the parts your using and a link to the PSU. Just giving the information you gave gives nobody a clue to give a good answer.
Their really no reason to buy a so called teir 1 PSU

 

[WCTech]

I would not recommend a 500 watt PSU for a GTX960 in the system. The very minimum I would go is a 600 watt PSU. When you buy componets always allow ample headroom for upgrades aswell as energy usage is often more efficient when the power supply is not at 100% load. When you near 100% the PSU doesn't perform as well making slight voltage irregularities. I would recommend a 750watt bronze for a build depending on what componets you are looking at.

 

[Zerk2012]

I would not recommend a 500 watt PSU for a GTX960 in the system. The very minimum I would go is a 600 watt PSU. When you buy componets always allow ample headroom for upgrades aswell as energy usage is often more efficient when the power supply is not at 100% load. When you near 100% the PSU doesn't perform as well making slight voltage irregularities. I would recommend a 750watt bronze for a build depending on what componets you are looking at.

Your joking I hope. Do you have a clue what the TDP of a GTX960 is ?????
A whopping 120 Watts
You can run SLI 970's on a quality 750 Watt PSU.

 

[WCTech]

I would not recommend a 500 watt PSU for a GTX960 in the system. The very minimum I would go is a 600 watt PSU. When you buy componets always allow ample headroom for upgrades aswell as energy usage is often more efficient when the power supply is not at 100% load. When you near 100% the PSU doesn't perform as well making slight voltage irregularities. I would recommend a 750watt bronze for a build depending on what componets you are looking at.

Your joking I hope. Do you have a clue what the TDP of a GTX960 is ?????
A whopping 120 Watts
You can run SLI 970's on a quality 750 Watt PSU.

We still have no idea what build he is using, A tight budget before has included FX 9000 series processors. Once he gives context, we can make intelligent decisions. The difference between a 600 and 750 watt Bronze PSU is only about $7-15

 

[Tradesman1]

A decent 500 with 20 amps on the 12 volt rail is more than sufficient 😉

 

[4745454b]

I run an i7 3770K, 16GBs of ram, 4 drives, and a 7950/280 on a 80+ Gold 450W. You should be fine with a QUALITY 500W PSU. An FX/i5 CPU with a 960 won't even cross 300W, which is ~60-75% of what a 500W unit can output.

 

[DSzymborski]

A good 500W will run it. A *good* 500W run it. I'm afraid to ask what a "normal" 500W PSU is. It's a bit like buying a car on Craigslist that's advertised as "red car."

 

[fisbuar]

It's a bit like buying a car on Craigslist that's advertised as "red car."

Lol had to comment, yeah what meaning people put in their words vary a lot.

But what a lot of people does not realize is how its the AMPS on a PSU that matters, and the quality of its components, not neccessarily the Watts.

I bought a 1000W PSU like 7 years ago, and it cost me as much as a used car, where i come from.
But it only lasted 2 years.
Bought a 650W PSU which has the same level of AMPS out, on each voltage, and many times better component quality, and still using that.

 

[4745454b]

The first quality PSU I bought YEARS ago was the Delta sourced Antec EA500W. 80+ bronze, 34A on the 12V rail. Had two 6pin PCIe plugs. (This was before 8pins came out.) My current 450W PSU is Gold rated, 37A on the 12V rail, and two 6+2pin PCIe plugs. I kinda get the feeling if I asked if I should stay with my Antec 500W or upgrade to a Rosewill 450W with no other details everyone would tell me to stay with the Antec. But it's worse in EVERY way. You can't just say "500W" or "1000W". The devil really is in the details.

 

[sam2002hd]

Hi guys I appreciate all of the answers this is my PSU of the 500Watts http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ace-Black-Power-Supply-Silent/dp/B0051ZGS50 (note its 500 watts and not 650 thanks)

 

[4745454b]

So this one?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ACE-500W-PSU-12cm-Red/dp/B005FW0Q48/ref=pd_sim_sbs_23_19?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EJQHKYNKRXQTSYMBVCQ

No information is given, so I'm guessing cheap junk. They don't even let you know what PCIe cables you get, if any. You are right at the limit I give an unknown PSU which is half of the supposed rated output, 250W in this case. Because it's not a modern unit the 12V output is probably lower then this. I suggest an upgrade before you try powering a video card with this. Amazon linked an EVGA 500W unit, I suggest you start there. Not their best but it should be better then that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-500W-PC-Power-Supply/dp/B00GP5Y6J0/ref=pd_cp_147_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1J77ACQG8QS7588WZAZV

 

[DSzymborski]

The Ace 550W made one of JonnyGuru's old Death of a Gutless Wonder pieces. It was a 350W PSU with limited protections (so bad in fact that Jonny had to shut it down manually because it didn't have overload protections) that outright lied about its output.

In a world in which we have many excellent, properly tested power supplies, all power supplies of unknown provenance are guilty until proven innocent.

I would absolutely not use this PSU in a rig with a discrete GPU of any quality. If money is tight, then cut back elsewhere - a safe, competent power supply is the most important part of your PC.

 

[sam2002hd]

Hi guys thank you for the answers I excatly found some extra money i had and i would probably go for a bronze plus PSU as i saw some reviews thanks to @4745454b and i saw a lot of people have problems tough my friend does not have problems he said its been running for 4 months

 

[sam2002hd]

is this good http://www.scanmalta.com/scanshop/600w-corsair-builder-cx-series-80-plus-bronze-atx-power-supply.html

 

[4745454b]

It's not the best PSU, but it won't show up on Jonnyguru's Death of a Gutless Wonder list either. If it's what you can afford then it's a good buy.

 

[sam2002hd]

will it fail and is it a reliable?

 

[4745454b]

ANY PSU can fail. Even the best ones can come DOA. That's a good PSU. Not flashy or the best, but it's a solid unit that should power your system just fine. Keep it cool/ventilated and you should be fine for years.

 

[sam2002hd]

Thanks a lot for your answer i will go for it so i can be atleast safe for a few years

 

[sora]

I would suggest an XFX 550W power supply or a Seasonic 520W power supply.