PSU watts for OC system?

VitrasSlade

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Aug 23, 2015
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So I've started overclocking my CPU (finally) and was researching a bit. When I saw how many watts it could pull, I was rethinking what PSU I should be upgrading to. I'm also planning to do an SLI config, so that would draw even more.

My setup as of now:
Intel i5 4690k OC@4.2 (for now)
16GB RAM (stock mhz and times)
MSI Gaming 5 mobo
MSI GTX 960 2GB
Corsair H110i
2 SSDs and 1 HDD
DVD/CD drive
Rosewill Valen 650W

I included everything that I thought could affect the power usage. I had thought before that 650W would be enough, but now I'm not so sure after looking at power consumption after overclocking. What amount of watts should I get for a PSU?

P.S. Would it be better to switch out the GTX 960 for a 4GB version before I go SLI? I noticed just on Dragon Age Inquisition I was hitting 1940 MB at 1080p.
 
Solution


750W should be enough. If try drawing too much power, most likely your PC will shut down or you'll start experiencing black screens/lags etc. Your PSU would also deteriorate faster, I have even heard stories of PSUs frying other components, overheating and blowing
The card draws 120W and minimum system power is 400W. I'd recommend 750W to be on the safe side especially if you're going to SLI. You're going to need a top-notch PSU, here are some recommendations:
XFX PRO 750W
EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 80+ GOLD,
SeaSonic 750W Power Supply X750 Gold
 


And that's including if I overclocked both the CPU and graphics cards? In theory, what would happen if I didn't have enough power and it tried drawing too much?
 


750W should be enough. If try drawing too much power, most likely your PC will shut down or you'll start experiencing black screens/lags etc. Your PSU would also deteriorate faster, I have even heard stories of PSUs frying other components, overheating and blowing
 
Solution


All right, I'll go with that that. I'll be getting a meter also so I can check what it's drawing under certain loads so hopefully I'll know if I need more before I run into those problems. Thanks for the help.