[SOLVED] PSU upgrade suggestions

[crazySam]

Hi all,

I'm currently using Thermaltake SMART 600W and using 1TB SSD and my monitor has its own power supply. I am thinking about upgrading to 3080 or 3070 rtx soon.I used a typical power estimator website for my system and it estimated the current power consumption to be ~280W and when I changed the graphic card to 3070 rtx it changed to ~320W. I know about NVIDIA specification, but does that mean my current power supply is enough? If not which of these two power supplies do you recommend? (or neither)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07THY11J1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A19WYSVYJ6K6DG&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superno...prefix=power+supp,electronics,207&sr=1-6&th=1

Thanks!

 

[ChumP]

You need to provide your system specs first(CPU, mobo,RAM,GPU).

Your current Thermaltake is a really low quality unit, I wouldn't trust it running such an expensive component like the RTX 3070/3080.

Out of those two you listed the SuperFlower Leadex III is a really solid choice. Those EVGA GA PSUs have no reviews from any credible source, based on that I wouldn't trust them.

850W is kinda overkill though, you need to list your full system specs for us to make an estimate on what would be the optimum.

Generally a 650W model should be enough, 750W if you really want huge headroom.

 

[crazySam]

I wanted to go with 850W so I'll be set for few years, the difference in price between 750 and 850W isn't that much.
My specs:

Motherboard:
MSI B450 GAMING PLUS Max
CPU:
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core
RAM:
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz
GPU:
either 3080 or 3070, currently too ashamed to say what it is

Thanks!

 

[ChumP]

With those specs 650W is plenty. If you go with a great quality PSU like that SuperFlower Leadex III you should be good to go for many years to come, even with high end components.

If the price difference is not bothering, you can get the higher capacity models too.

 

[crazySam]

if the 650W is plenty, can't I just keep my 600W PSU?

 

[John Chesterfield]

No, because it's poor quality.

 

[crazySam]

How do you guys know about the quality of PSU? Is it just based of the brand? or it's in the specs somewhere?

 

[ChumP]

if the 650W is plenty, can't I just keep my 600W PSU?

I said earlier... that Thermaltake is a really low quality PSU compared to the SuperFlower. It's not all about how many watts the PSU outputs... the most important thing is the quality of the components used.

That Thermaltake PSU will get a pass on low end rigs, but I wouldn't trust it with more expensive components. A bad PSU could take your other components with it if it fails.

So, upgrading to a 3070/3080 will require to change that Thermaltake to something better.

 

[ChumP]

How do you guys know about the quality of PSU? Is it just based of the brand? or it's in the specs somewhere?

You can find a PSU tier list at the top of this sub forum:

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

Thermaltake Smart series sits comfortably in Tier D.... you should avoid anything below Tier B.

And yeah, it's brand based too. Thermaltake is one of the companies that should be avoided when buying a PSU. They usually make overpriced crappy units. Yes, they have some higher quality models too, but they're sparse and very expensive.

 

[crazySam]

You can find a PSU tier list at the top of this sub forum:

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

Thermaltake Smart series sits comfortably in Tier D.... you should avoid anything below Tier B.

And yeah, it's brand based too. Thermaltake is one of the companies that should be avoided when buying a PSU. They usually make overpriced crappy units. Yes, they have some higher quality models too, but they're sparse and very expensive.

thanks, this helps a lot