Power supply for 470 gtx

[Dyjon54]

just got a 470 gtx for cheap. Current system is running a 2120 i3. Wandering what a good power supply I should get? Was looking at this but was wandering if if would be enough. (470 gtx suggests 550 power supply) Thanks.

Heres the link to the one I was looking at. http://www.amazon.com/PC-Power-Cooling-100-Percent-Capacitors/dp/B0064XAJ30/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1363839092&sr=1-2&keywords=Silencer+MK+III

 

[atomicWAR]

Who's saying 500 watts anyway? A 550 watt power supply with more than adequate amps has been recommended.

This arguing is ridiculous, a 550 Seasonic will be great for him(or similar). You can't assume he will do the same type of stuff as you, especially not with an i3.

i never said 550 wasn't enough thats what i recommended...i said 500w wasn't enough.

 

[ko888]

Who's saying 500 watts anyway? A 550 watt power supply with more than adequate amps has been recommended.

This arguing is ridiculous, a 550 Seasonic will be great for him(or similar). You can't assume he will do the same type of stuff as you, especially not with an i3.

The OP linked to the PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W Modular Power Supply at the beginning of this thread.

 

[atomicWAR]

I understand your preference for greater headroom, however in this case I don't believe it is necessary.

Granted, 550W may be what was generally accepted as minimum for the 470 when it was released. Let's not forget that at that time we had 130W tdp 1st gen i7 systems to match with it. OP is using a 65W tdp i3... there's your 50W plus some already.

See here: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_470_480_review,13.html

overclocked i7-965 + 470 = max total system power draw of 419W. Now assuming a PSU with 90% efficiency (unrealistic but to err on the safe side) that's a total of 377W drawn from the PSU.

I note that they also suggest a min 35A on the 12V rail, that PC P&C is 38A.

As far as shortening the system's life, I assume you are referring to the potential damage to components due to eccessive deviation in voltage regulation and/or ripple? Being a quality unit, I expect the increase in deviation and ripple at higher loads would be negligible. Certainly not enought to cause any damage. The only other area you might see increased wear is in the caps within the PSU due to higher temperatures. Fortunately the PC P&C is fitted with japanese 105c capacitors, so again, any wear would be negiligible.

In the end, I doubt OP would experience any difference between the 500W PC P&C or the 550W Seasonic.

Edit: can't do math, need to go back to school

see you said 500 was and 550 was overkill. not the other way around

 

[edogawa]

500watt quality unit should be sufficient though.

I'm more inclined to recommend corsair or seasonic so my first recommendation still stands.

 

[ko888]

500watt quality unit should be sufficient though.

I'm more inclined to recommend corsair or seasonic so my first recommendation still stands.

The PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W Modular Power Supply uses Seasonic as its OEM.

 

[edogawa]

500watt quality unit should be sufficient though.

I'm more inclined to recommend corsair or seasonic so my first recommendation still stands.

The PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W Modular Power Supply uses Seasonic as its OEM.

Ah okay didn't know that, thanks for letting me know.

 

[atomicWAR]

@ edo...once again a 500w supply at 80+ is good for a max output sustained of 400 watts. So under full load it 1 watt shy of max output @ 399w...as i posted early...yours was 26 watts shy at 374w for 90% load...both numbers are still very close to a 80+ 500w supplies upper limit. so i think 550W as recommend by nvidia IS the smart way to go. math doesn't lie.

i do agree though seasonic and PC P&C are some of the best and if he can find one of those at 550W

 

[edogawa]

Realistically he would be fine with 500, but me personally I always go for headroom as well for future changes to the system.

The recommendations I posted above, those seasonics should be great for him, and offer sufficient supply of power.

 

[ko888]

@ edo...once again a 500w supply at 80+ is good for a max output sustained of 400 watts. So under full load it 1 watt shy of max output @ 399w...as i posted early...yours was 26 watts shy at 374w for 90% load...both numbers are still very close to a 80+ 500w supplies upper limit. so i think 550W as recommend by nvidia IS the smart way to go. math doesn't lie.

Do you actually know the difference between real system power consumption and the minimum or recommended PSU Wattage?

The calculator I used recommends a power supply with a rating of 374 Watts. The system actually uses less than 374 Watts. I would even hazard an educated guess that it is less than 300 Watts during gaming.

 

[atomicWAR]

@ edo...once again a 500w supply at 80+ is good for a max output sustained of 400 watts. So under full load it 1 watt shy of max output @ 399w...as i posted early...yours was 26 watts shy at 374w for 90% load...both numbers are still very close to a 80+ 500w supplies upper limit. so i think 550W as recommend by nvidia IS the smart way to go. math doesn't lie.

Do you actually know the difference between real system power consumption and the minimum or recommended PSU Wattage?

The calculator I used recommends a power supply with a rating of 374 Watts. The system actually uses less than 374 Watts. I would even hazard an educated guess that it is less than 300 Watts during gaming.

yes i do. was a tech in the navy and been building rigs for nearly 20 years. the numbers i pulled were 100% load...i got a recommend of 399w. edo got 374 like you with 90% load. i understand he will not use full load alot but i just like to have a little buffer in my PSU. i have fried to many of my early rigs cause i didn't and wanted to squeek by and save cash. in the end it cost me more and i am trying to help him not repeat my mistakes. yes chances are he will usually only pull around 300 watts but his system is capable of pull 399watts. just saying better safe then sorry. if you don't get me now i don't know that you will!

not saying you all are wrong just saying its short sighted to not go 550watt

 

[ko888]

yes i do. was a tech in the navy and been building rigs for nearly 20 years. the numbers i pulled were 100% load...i got a recommend of 399w. edo got 374 like you with 90% load. i understand he will not use full load alot but i just like to have a little buffer in my PSU. i have fried to many of my early rigs cause i didn't and wanted to squeek by and save cash. in the end it cost me more and i am trying to help him not repeat my mistakes. yes chances are he will usually only pull around 300 watts but his system is capable of pull 399watts. just saying better safe then sorry. if you don't get me now i don't know that you will!

not saying you all are wrong just saying its short sighted to not go 550watt

I've never fried any rigs because I trust my formal Electrical Engineering training to tell me if the numbers are right or if they're out of whack.

 

[dinlo]

i was looking around at the forum trying to see if anyone knew how to get rid of constant pre-bios blackscreen on my gtx 470 and i find this, well..... stuff happens