[SOLVED] PSU Not keeping up?

[rockery12]

Hi all,

So question as above, I want to know if my PSU is keeping up with my PC or if I need a replacement? Scenario is below specs

Specs:
I5 8600k, not currently OC'd
Asus ROG Strix Maximus X Z370 motherboard
32gb 3200mhz Corsair Vengeance RGB
Corsair MP510 1 TB NVMe SSD (have 2 more cheaper SATA ssds for storage and a 2gb 7200RPM Seagate HDD )
Asus ROG Strix 3060Ti OC LHR
Corsair H150i Capillix 360mm RGB
Corsair CX750m PSU

So basically, I had a GTX 1070 before and recently swapped it out for the 3060ti.

Specifically with F1 2020, I had a huge jump in FPS (Expected) from 80 on med settings to 120 with all graphics turned to max.

Unfortunately, my PSU has started to sound like a plane engine, it never made a sound at all with the 1070 in but ever since i put the 3060ti in the fan has been kicking in during gaming and sounds really loud.

Should I be worried about this or should I invest in a better PSU? Immediate worry is that the PSU is not coping with the new card but the 3060ti is rated at 600w, although the ROG card is rated for 750w and I would prefer to have another 100w headway. The new card uses 2 8-pins vs FE which uses 1.

Other details, both CPU and GPU temps remain low, around 50c for the CPU and 48c for the GPU (makes sense as the ROG heatsink is way over engineered for this card). CPU usage is about 70 - 80% at 4.3ghz and GPU sits at just over 1.9mhz in turbo mode and memory is used 50%.

Thanks!

 

[avg9956]

it never made a sound at all with the 1070 in but ever since i put the 3060ti in the fan has been kicking in during gaming and sounds really loud.

The RTX 30 series GPUs are known to have very high transient spikes, up to 480W on the RTX 3080 model.

The fan inside your PSU will start spinning once your system starts drawing a certain amount of power. This is because at that load, increased power draw means more heat produced and hence the fan will spin.

Should I be worried about this or should I invest in a better PSU?

You can try under volting and power limiting your GPU so its power draw is reduced. This will of course reduce performance (FPS) but it is a necessary trade off so as not to consume more power.

Usually I'd follow the 80% NEC Standards where you shouldn't be running more than 80% of continuous load of the total load capacity in any branched circuit. It's just a guideline to follow for safety concerns, but not a hard and fast rule.

Your PSU is 750W x 80% = 600W. You're already at the NEC Standards limit if you say. play a game and then your power consumption stays at 600W for an hour or more (aka continuous load), but if you try under volting and power limiting you should end up being below it.

How old is the PSU?

 

[rockery12]

The RTX 30 series GPUs are known to have very high transient spikes, up to 480W on the RTX 3080 model.

The fan inside your PSU will start spinning once your system starts drawing a certain amount of power. This is because at that load, increased power draw means more heat produced and hence the fan will spin.



You can try under volting and power limiting your GPU so its power draw is reduced. This will of course reduce performance (FPS) but it is a necessary trade off so as not to consume more power.

Usually I'd follow the 80% NEC Standards where you shouldn't be running more than 80% of continuous load of the total load capacity in any branched circuit. It's just a guideline to follow for safety concerns, but not a hard and fast rule.

Your PSU is 750W x 80% = 600W. You're already at the NEC Standards limit if you say. play a game and then your power consumption stays at 600W for an hour or more (aka continuous load), but if you try under volting and power limiting you should end up being below it.

How old is the PSU?

Hi, Thanks for the reply,

PSU is about 2 years old, bought brand new.

I would really like to find out how much power the PC is using too because I have noticed we use waay more electricity when I'm gaming

 

[rcald2000]

Poniie PN2000 Plug-in Kilowatt Electricity Usage Monitor Electrical Power Consumption Watt Meter Tester w/ Extension Cord
$27.99
https://www.amazon.com/Poniie-PN2000-Electricity-Electrical-Consumption/dp/B0777H8MS8

Above is a power meter that should work nicely. I personally have a Kill a Watt branded wattage meter connected to my PC, but I like that the one linked above comes with at least a short extension cable.

So since your Corsair CX750m wasn't making fan noise previously with your GTX 1070, but is indeed now doing so with your RTX 3060 Ti, it would appear that your PSU has a hybrid fan mode. In this mode, many PSUs will start spinning the fan once power consumption hits 40% of the total rated wattage of the PSU. On the CX750m product page, it states that the fan is "thermally" controlled, which suggest that the turns on once it's temperature hits a certain threshold. You may wish to chat with Corsair support to get the details.

1070 150 watts
3060 ti 200 watts
i5-8600k 95 watts

GTX 1070 (150 watts) + Core i5-8600K (95 watts) = 245 watts (35% of total PSU wattage)

RTX 3060 Ti (200 watts) + Core i5-8600K (95 watts) = 295 watts (~40% of total PSU wattage)

I would have sworn that the power consumption of your CPU / GPU / motherboard / storage / etc, are just exceeding that threshold to turn on your fan, except for the fact that your fan is "thermally" controlled: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categ...-Units/cxm-series-2015-config/p/CP-9020061-NA

What I would do in your situation:

Since you stated "PSU has started to sound like a plane engine", I would look up reviews on YouTube, where the reviewer places it under load, and measures or records the sound. Or you could simply call Corsair support and inquire with them if it's per design or not. If not, then submit a warranty request to them, and seek a replacement.

 

[avg9956]

Another alternative to monitor your wattage consumption for your GPU is use GPU-Z program
It will however. only be able to monitor the power consumption of the GPU, not your overall system.

If you want to monitor for the whole system another alternative is to use a UPS that has a USB port, which allows it to monitor its load (in watts)
Then you'll be able to see the total power draw of your entire system.

 

[rockery12]

Thanks for all the replies so far guys,

I have ordered a Kill a Watt power measure to see exactly how much the entire system is using.

To be fair, the PSU is loud but maybe I exaggerated when I say it sounds like a plane engine, I have noticed it has a bit of dust in it too so I will do a clean and see if that improves.

In terms of temperature, just from feeling the top of the PSU it is not getting hot, neither is the GPU or the CPU cooler. My 1070 ran hotter, maybe 55 degrees whereas the 3060ti maintains 46 degrees and goes nowhere above when under load.

It seems the PSU is working as intended, just is very loud as I see alot of reviews complain about the same thing. I will try to get in contact with corsair as well, I haven't had luck with any agents, im based in South Africa.