[SOLVED] power consumption while gaming

reapzstar

Distinguished
Jan 31, 2016
148
6
18,695
My i3 4150 eats about ~33W at max while gaming(according to MSI Afterburner).
I'm going to switch to a little bit better one, which has a TDP of 84W in opposite of my i3's 54W.
My question is, what numbers am I going to be getting with the change?
The reason I'm asking is because my PSU isn't the best one out there, although it has been doing just fine in the previous years.
It should handle it with ease in my opinion, but it's best to ask some people who might have had the same or similar change.

Thanks in advance for every answer!
 
Solution
A GTX960 requires reduced/moderate quality 1080P settings in newer games, most of which will be held back somewhat by an i3...(2c/4t CPUs have been fading quickly from favor in the gaming scene almost as fast as 4c/4t CPUs...)

HWInfo generally gives good CPU power consumption peak figures, if you are curious to see what numbers it thinks are calculated based on clock speeds and voltages...(the GTX960 is a 120 watt peak GPU, plus an 84 watt TDP CPU (which typically only draws 50-75 watts of power), so about ~200 watts peak ...

You might be better served by getting a normal mid-tower, and holding off throwing more money into an older DDR3 rig....; the new Ryzens are coming soon, and, if you can't wait, R5-1600 is often on sale for as...
Depending on resolution, often overall performance can be mostly limited by GPU.

If running a weak GPU (or from Intel's integrated graphics), upgrading CPUs often is only a modest 10-15% jump in framerates....


You might be able to find a direct comparison of the cpu you have vs. what you want with the game that interests you on Youtube, which has a startling array of CPU w/ GPU comparisons in assorted games...

More information might be given if folks knew the game you were playing, and, the GPU solution being used, if any.
 

reapzstar

Distinguished
Jan 31, 2016
148
6
18,695
I'm running a 960 2 gig right now.
Unfortunately, the current CPU does a really bad bottleneck throughout a lot of games I'd like to play, though the consumption hovers at about 33 when the CPU is at 80-100%.
Tried to look up comparisons on Youtube, but didn't find anything useful.
 
A GTX960 requires reduced/moderate quality 1080P settings in newer games, most of which will be held back somewhat by an i3...(2c/4t CPUs have been fading quickly from favor in the gaming scene almost as fast as 4c/4t CPUs...)

HWInfo generally gives good CPU power consumption peak figures, if you are curious to see what numbers it thinks are calculated based on clock speeds and voltages...(the GTX960 is a 120 watt peak GPU, plus an 84 watt TDP CPU (which typically only draws 50-75 watts of power), so about ~200 watts peak ...

You might be better served by getting a normal mid-tower, and holding off throwing more money into an older DDR3 rig....; the new Ryzens are coming soon, and, if you can't wait, R5-1600 is often on sale for as little as $79 now....
 
Solution

reapzstar

Distinguished
Jan 31, 2016
148
6
18,695
So all things considered, I should be fine.
My resolution is 1440x900, I mostly play cs:go to be honest, but I've been wanting to play a few games for years now.
I've tried running a few games on 1080P with the Nvidia resolution change thingy, but it only helped with the likes of BF1 and other CPU intensive games, for the majority it only made things worse.
For the AMD side though, I only have bad experiences.
I know they've changed a lot throughout the years, but as long as I can keep an Intel/Nvidia combo, I will.
By the way, you basically just answered my question.
Thank you so much for your time sir!
Best Regards
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Read this whole post, and apart from "crappy' there's not a single description of the psu. No make, model, size etc.

Generally a pc running a 960/i5 will push at max @ 250-272w. That's everything tanked to the gills. If you figure a heavy gaming load is generally @ 70% of max, you are looking at @ 180-190w usage. You'd have to have a seriously, seriously small, crappy psu to be worried about that kind of load.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TJ Hooker