Noob mistake made on PSU requirements for GPU

[Riki Curtis]

Hi there,

I have done something very silly. Yesterday I got new motherboard and GPU (listed in specs below). I installed the new mobo and GPU into my case yesterday but stupidly I didn't even check to see if my PSU was up to the task. I fired up the machine after installing the new componentry and away it went. I was excited about my GPU so wanted to test it out, installed the drivers and ran Far Cry 4 only to have the display shut off (only display, the machine was still running) around 3-5 minutes in. I hard rebooted the machine, then tried again a couple more times to get the same result. Now with the GPU plugged in and the 6 and 8 pin power connectors (8 pin running from 2 molex adapters) in I get no display at all when turning on the machine. When I unplug it and run the on board graphics everything seems OK however slower than it should be. The question here is have I damaged the motherboard or the GPU by doing as explained above? Or will a new more powerful psu get it back up and running again nicely? Just don't want to get another psu if I've wrecked something else. Thanks in advance.

Specs:
Asus P8Z68-V LGA1155 socket ATX
Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB BF4 EDITION
Intel Core i7 2600 @3.4 Ghz
8GB ram @1333Mhz (2x4)
1TB Seagate spindle HDD
Aywun power elite 550w psu

No other add on cars in this build and no optical drive was plugged in

 

[volcanoscout]

Not having enough power won't damage the mobo or GPU unless it's a low-quality PSU and the draw causes it to fail. I would seriously recommend upgrading your PSU, both in quality and capacity. You can check the list below for good units - if you overclock or plan on crossfire/SLI, get a Tier 2 or better. If you state a budget, we can make a recommendation, but here's a solid Tier 1 unit that's also fully modular and will give you plenty of headroom:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

 

[Riki Curtis]

OK I shall have a look thanks mate. So even though the GPU isn't even booting the machine now, when it was before isn't any cause for concern?

 

[ko888]

System Power Supply Requirements for a single SAPPHIRE R9 290 4GB GDDR5 BATTLEFIELD 4 EDITION
• SAPPHIRE specifies a minimum of a 750 Watt or greater system power supply. (Minimum system power requirement based on a PC configured with an Intel Core i7 3.2GHz 130 Watt TDP processor.)
• the system power supply must also have a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 43 Amps or greater
• the system power supply should also have at least one 75-Watt 6-pin and one 150-Watt 8-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Sufficient Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) is the most critical factor.

Overclocking of the CPU and/or GPU(s) may require an additional increase to the maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current ratings, recommended above, to meet the increase in power required for the overclock. The additional amount required will depend on the magnitude of the overclock being attempted.

Aywun Mega Power ELITE Series A1-550-ELITE
• OEM: Sirfa?
• maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating: 36 Amps claimed on its label <===== Insufficient
• two 75-Watt 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors <===== Insufficient
• Modular Output Cables: No
• Official Intel Haswell Compliance: No
• 80 PLUS Standard Efficiency Certification
• 3 Year Limited Warranty

The review of the Aywun Mega Power ELITE Series A1-550-ELITE, that I've read, shows that the PSU is only able to deliver a maximum of 440 Watts and would shut down if an attempt was made to draw any more than that.

Aywun says that the PSU is rated for 550 Watts peak. Real load testing shows that the PSU is actually a 440 Watt PSU and nothing more.

The real measured maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of that PSU is only 29 Amps.

 

[Riki Curtis]

https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/848200864

I'm looking at getting that one, the specs say it can handle 62A on the 12 volt rail, and has a seemingly good review. I'm just hoping that when I get it, it solves the problem. I'm not looking at overclocking anything. I don't think it's necessary it will do what I require of it as is.

 

[ko888]

https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/848200864

I'm looking at getting that one, the specs say it can handle 62A on the 12 volt rail, and has a seemingly good review. I'm just hoping that when I get it, it solves the problem. I'm not looking at overclocking anything. I don't think it's necessary it will do what I require of it as is.

The Cooler Master V750 Semi-Modular (RS-750-AMAA-G1) should be more than sufficient for your system configuration.

 

[Riki Curtis]

Thank you, it'll be arriving in the post and I'll install it on Friday. Fingers crossed until then.