is my psu powerful enough?

alexandruc

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May 14, 2014
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hello everybody.i've had an 350 euro budget and my parents let me build my own pc.the problem is that i've kinda bought some cheap components to squeez in an i5 processor.my config is :
-msi h81m-p33
-4gb ddr 3 1600 single slot
-i5 4440
-1 hdd toshiba 500 gb 7200 rpm
-cool master b500 500w (this is my biggest problem)

the psu is my main concern because my uncle bought me an r9 280 (non x) and i'm worried about connecting it to my system(i've bought a 500 psu beacause i was hoping for a gtx 750 ti). the psu has 34 amps on the 12v rail and i've read that is an entry level psu and i can't buy a new one for at least 2 3 months.what shoud i do? thanks and sorry for any english mistakes(i'm 14 and french :)) )
 
Solution
Ton oncle est un peu con!

No more seriously I believe your psu is fine.

Check for a good ventilation around your PSU. What you also can do is downclock your AMD card slightly (5%?) using the provided software. Your CPU is quite a low power one, so I am quite sure this shall be enough even in the summer... And it will be less noisy.

Theoretically you can "burn" your PSU if it overheats as to much power is taken, usually no consequence to mainboard or graphics card (but note I DID say "usually"...)?

Note following article testing that r9 280 and telling it is totally ok to use with a 500W psu:
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/67581-sapphire-radeon-r9-280-dual-x/?page=10


Good luck man, bonne chance!

alexandruc

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May 14, 2014
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4,510
I'm not sure how 2 12v rails work or how to calculate de amps combined.i've seen many methods on this forum.the web site from where i've bought it says it has 34 amps which means 34*12=408 w(the psu has the same number on the output power).
What is the worst case scenario if i put this card in my system?What can go wrong?It's really frustrating beacause it's a nice card and i have it next to my case :)
 

Smallfilou

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Feb 25, 2014
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Ton oncle est un peu con!

No more seriously I believe your psu is fine.

Check for a good ventilation around your PSU. What you also can do is downclock your AMD card slightly (5%?) using the provided software. Your CPU is quite a low power one, so I am quite sure this shall be enough even in the summer... And it will be less noisy.

Theoretically you can "burn" your PSU if it overheats as to much power is taken, usually no consequence to mainboard or graphics card (but note I DID say "usually"...)?

Note following article testing that r9 280 and telling it is totally ok to use with a 500W psu:
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/67581-sapphire-radeon-r9-280-dual-x/?page=10


Good luck man, bonne chance!
 
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