Question Upgrading GPU, do I need a bigger power supply?

[SirJayOne]

Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card from a 1080TI to a RTX 3090 or 4090. I currently have an 850W power supply and would rather not replace it if I don't have to, but I'm wondering if it will be necessary with my PC's current hardware (below). I may also add another 16GB of RAM at some point.

HP
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz, 4200 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.9 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (founder edition)

Monitor 1 - 1920x1080 @ 144 hertz
Monitor 2 - 1600x900 @ 60 hertz

BaseBoard Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
BaseBoard Product TUF Z270 MARK 2
BaseBoard Version Rev 1.xx
Platform Role Desktop

1TB NVME M.2 SSD - 970 EVO Plus
2TB Hard Drive Model: TOSHIBA DT01ACA200

850W Corsair power supply

Corsair K95 RGB Platnium keyboard.

Logitech G502 wireless mouse.

I can't find/remember the exact model of my cooling unit at the moment.'

Any suggestions/assistance are appreciated.

Thank you,

 

[CountMike]

Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card from a 1080TI to a RTX 3090 or 4090. I currently have an 850W power supply and would rather not replace it if I don't have to, but I'm wondering if it will be necessary with my PC's current hardware (below). I may also add another 16GB of RAM at some point.

HP
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz, 4200 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.9 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (founder edition)

Monitor 1 - 1920x1080 @ 144 hertz
Monitor 2 - 1600x900 @ 60 hertz

BaseBoard Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
BaseBoard Product TUF Z270 MARK 2
BaseBoard Version Rev 1.xx
Platform Role Desktop

1TB NVME M.2 SSD - 970 EVO Plus
2TB Hard Drive Model: TOSHIBA DT01ACA200

850W Corsair power supply

Corsair K95 RGB Platnium keyboard.

Logitech G502 wireless mouse.

I can't find/remember the exact model of my cooling unit at the moment.'

Any suggestions/assistance are appreciated.

Thank you,

With 4090 it could be dicey, not because of power but because of connectors and adapters for it.

 

[KyaraM]

I would get a 1000W PSU for that card just to be on the safe side. I'm normally for overprovisioning, but with this class of cards, can't be careful enough. Btw, instead of a 3090, I would grab a 4070Ti or 4080 of you don't get the 4090. They are cheaper/same price and have the new features, and the 4070Ti would work with that PSU.

Edit: just noticed you play in 1080p. All of those cards are oversized for that resolution. And yeah, the CPU needs an upgrade for those cards, too...

 

[logainofhades]

A 4070ti trades blows with a 3090, and is more power efficient. It should be fine, with your current PSU. FYI, any high end card is going to be bored, waiting on your CPU to feed it.

 

[SirJayOne]

A 4070ti trades blows with a 3090, and is more power efficient. It should be fine, with your current PSU. FYI, any high end card is going to be bored, waiting on your CPU to feed it.

Thanks for the feedback, any suggestions on CPU upgrades? My CPU was on the higher end when I first got it, but it's been a while since I've had to upgrade much on my PC besides my SSD, so I haven't payed too much attention to the newer CPU's coming out. I also should have mentioned in my original post that I would like to upgrade my main monitor as well, was thinking 1440p @ 240 hertz (more interested in gaming performance than ultra high resolution). So any suggestions on that would also be appreciated.

Money isn't too much of an issue, within reason.

 

[SirJayOne]

I would get a 1000W PSU for that card just to be on the safe side. I'm normally for overprovisioning, but with this class of cards, can't be careful enough. Btw, instead of a 3090, I would grab a 4070Ti or 4080 of you don't get the 4090. They are cheaper/same price and have the new features, and the 4070Ti would work with that PSU.

Edit: just noticed you play in 1080p. All of those cards are oversized for that resolution. And yeah, the CPU needs an upgrade for those cards, too...

Thanks for the feedback, any suggestions on CPU upgrades? My CPU was on the higher end when I first got it, but it's been a while since I've had to upgrade much on my PC besides my SSD, so I haven't payed too much attention to the newer CPU's coming out. I also should have mentioned in my original post that I would like to upgrade my main monitor as well, was thinking 1440p @ 240 hertz (more interested in gaming performance than ultra high resolution). So any suggestions on that would also be appreciated.

Money isn't too much of an issue, within reason.

Edit: I was looking into the 4070Ti based off your advice and might be leaning towards that. Any suggestions on model? (i.e MSI, Asus, etc). My PC's case is pretty large with plenty of room.

 

[SirJayOne]

With 4090 it could be dicey, not because of power but because of connectors and adapters for it.

I'll have to look into the connectors/adapters for 4090 and see if it would work with my setup. I might be leaning more torwards the 4070Ti now, but still might go all out with the 4090 if possible. Seems like I'll definitely need a CPU upgrade as well to go with the new GPU based on what others are saying.

 

[sonofjesse]

4070TI , 4090 is over priced by thte time you need a 4090, you can just buy a 6070TI.

4070TI allows you to keep your power supply with plenty of headroom.

just grab a cheap MC MB/CPU/RAM they have had some amazing deals.

 

[Eximo]

Well, you basically need a new motherboard, CPU, and likely memory and CPU cooler.

What you get is up to how much you want to spend.

Intel 13700K is my usual recommendation for a high end gaming PC. An argument could be made for a Ryzen 7700X or wait for the 7800X3D to launch.
You can choose a DDR4 or DDR5 motherboard for Intel. For Ryzen 7000 it is DDR5 only.
2x16GB is the typical recommendation, either DDR4 3600 CL16 or better, or DDR5 6000 CL30.

You can check if your cooler is LGA1700 compatible, or if there is an upgrade kit, but you will likely need a better one regardless.