[SOLVED] Need clarification on GPU power consumption between 5600 XT and 2060 on a 460w PSU.

smmm

Prominent
Aug 14, 2019
163
6
595
Hello,

I am looking to upgrade my graphics card for the new Flight Simulator, but ran into some inconsistencies with PSU requirements. I'm running the internals of a Dell XPS with an i7 4790 and a 460w Dell PSU. I am really trying to avoid upgrading the power supply as new ones are pretty expensive right now. I was considering the RX 5600 XT, as it seems to perform well and multiple manufacturers list it as needing 450w minimum. I was doing more research and it looks like the RTX 2060 has a pretty good performance increase over the 5600 XT in Flight Simulator, but to my dismay the 2060 is stated as needing 500w minimum from EVGA on the KO ultra variant, and from a couple other manufacturers as well. I looked at the actual power consumption of the Sapphire RX 5600 XT Pulse (the model I was considering purchasing) and it says it consumes 160w, while still having a 450w PSU minimum. (For context I'm currently running a RX 570 which I believe to consume 120w.) On Nvidia's website, the 2060 is stated as also using 160w. So, by Sapphire's logic, a 160w card can run safely on a 450w PSU?

So what's going on here? Is Sapphire being optimistic with the PSU requirements, or could I really get away with running a 2060 on the 460w PSU?

I am aware that different companies could measure power consumption differently, so that could be a factor.

Thanks for any help!
 
Solution
The dell 460 has 2 x 6pin power connectors.

Fairly sure it could run either card, the 2060 is actually a little bit more efficient than the 5600xt so if Flight Sim is your main use its probably the better option (although the 5600xt is better for most other games).

And yes take nvidia/amd power requirements with a grain of salt, they err madly on the side of caution because they don't know

1.The quality of the psu you're using
2.The rest of your systems power requirements.

You're really only going to hit around 300w max with either of those gpu's added.
The dell 460 has 2 x 6pin power connectors.

Fairly sure it could run either card, the 2060 is actually a little bit more efficient than the 5600xt so if Flight Sim is your main use its probably the better option (although the 5600xt is better for most other games).

And yes take nvidia/amd power requirements with a grain of salt, they err madly on the side of caution because they don't know

1.The quality of the psu you're using
2.The rest of your systems power requirements.

You're really only going to hit around 300w max with either of those gpu's added.
 
Solution

smmm

Prominent
Aug 14, 2019
163
6
595
The dell 460 has 2 x 6pin power connectors.

Fairly sure it could run either card, the 2060 is actually a little bit more efficient than the 5600xt so if Flight Sim is your main use its probably the better option (although the 5600xt is better for most other games).

And yes take nvidia/amd power requirements with a grain of salt, they err madly on the side of caution because they don't know

1.The quality of the psu you're using
2.The rest of your systems power requirements.

You're really only going to hit around 300w max with either of those gpu's added.
Ok good to know, thanks! I think I'll look for a good used price on a 2060 then. I forgot to mention I'm using a 2x 6 pin to 1x 8 pin adapter (EVGA brand I think) for the 570. When you say it'll be around 300w, do you mean just the reference models, or will the factory-overclocked models like a 2060 KO Ultra and 5600 XT Pulse be ok too?