Is this PSU enough for my GPU

[dstormx1]

Well, I have a EVGA GeForce GTS 450 and I buyed a 400W EVGA PSU, specifically this one https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-N1-0400-L1 and I was wondering if it works... The recommended PSU wattage is ok the official EVGA page says, but I'm still now sure because of the PSU calculator from cooler master that says recommended: 345W and later it recommends me a 600W PSU, so... Can you guys help me?

My setup:
MoBo: ASRock H61M-VS
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1 GHz)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTS 450
Storage: 1 x SSD
2 x HDD
Peripherals: 1 x Gaming Mouse (LED)
1 x Gaming keyboard
(LED)
1 x Headset (LED)

Thanks

 

[Darkbreeze]

The GTX 450 requires a 400w power supply. That N1 unit is not what we would consider a high quality model, but it should be sufficient for as long as it lasts, for that card.

 

[camieabz]

Short answer - It will probably be fine if you don't add more to the system, and keep the PSU area reasonably ventilated.

Long answer - For a start, PSU calc sites that recommend specific PSUs are doing it for sales purposes. Take that factor with a pinch of salt.

Two ways to do this. Run your spec by 4-5 sites to get a general idea, or go and research every component. Regardless of the results, I recommend you calc 1.5x whatever the total comes to. So your 345w comes to 518w, so I would recommend 500w or 550w, depending on specific model range and needs, such as modular, 80+ rating, and of course, price. This would be overkill, but that's not a bad thing. When one throws a lot of money at a system, an extra ten or twenty for a better, beefier PSU is worth it.

As for your current PSU, it ought to be fine, but any expansions to the current setup could be borderline if expecting years from it, as the potential life of the PSU might be shortened if it gets used to capacity. I prefer to spec a PSU that will more than handle whatever I throw at it, so it's hopefully going to be sweet for many years.

For what it's worth, the outervision PSU calc site recommended me:

EVGA 750W BQ 80+ BRONZE, Semi Modular, 5 Year Warranty

My chosen PSU is:

Seasonic 750W Focus Plus Gold, Fully Modular, 10 Year Warranty


That's for an estimated load of 458w (assuming all working fully, at once, which is unlikely), and 1.5x that is 687w. I could easily have worked with a 650w, and probably a 550w, but the 750w had better cabling options and was only £20 more.

I run my systems 16-18 hours a day, seven days a week for 5 years at a time (with any luck!). I worked out that my last (cheapo) system had in four years put in the hours equivalent to 14 business years, which puts its 3 year warranty in perspective.

 

[Darkbreeze]

All you EVER have to do is look at the following link. You won't ever go wrong with the capacities listed there because they already include hours of bench testing with each series and with different models across the series in most cases. They also typically include about a 20-40% overhead so that people who pick a cheaper model don't end up way below actual sustained capacity.

If you choose a decent to good quality model AND use those specs, then you'll get the appropriate overhead we normally recommend anyway for the sake of extending the units longevity by not running at or near capacity (Which also has the additional benefit of normally running in the envelope where ripple and voltage regulation fluctuations are at a minimum for that model. The closer you get to a units actual sustainable capacity, the higher the levels of ripple and the wilder the voltage fluctuation normally become) and running quieter as well since it will run much cooler with about a 40% overhead.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Calculators are historically pretty much worthless. Real world testing is what you need to account for things that calculators can't and don't look at like spikes, cooling, hot or +40°C operation, quality, DIFFERENCES in model across the same series, and a bunch of other things that are probably a waste of breath to mention here.

 

[dstormx1]

Thanks for the answers... So, if I don't game on it like, 95% usage on GPU it will be fine, right?

 

[Darkbreeze]

It will be fine whether you game on it or not. It simply won't last long, either way. It's not a remarkable unit in terms of build quality and uses inferior capacitors and cheaps out in other areas as well. But it's definitely not a fire starter type PSU either. It's not likely to produce a fireworks show or let out any magic factory smoke, it will probably simply stop working at some point. That might be a long time from now, or tomorrow.

That graphics card will probably die before the power supply does, but you never know.

 

[dstormx1]

Oh ok, thank you for the answer and your help

 

[Darkbreeze]

Anytime.