Question Upgrading Graphics card question

[lclankyo]

Built this PC around 2022 with mainly gaming in mind. Then was looking for a good Nvidia GPU for AI stuff. Opportunity presented where I happened to grab a "ASUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 TUF Gaming Triple Fan 32GB GDDR7 PCIe 5.0 Graphics Card". Few questions come to mind:


Question 1) First question is about compatibility. Any red flags I should be looking out for before swapping the gpu out?

Question 2) The new estimated wattage is 800 and my PSU is 850. Is this a concern?


Question 3) My understanding is that with AI, the bottleneck is mainly the GPU. So my assumption is that if I just do AI, cpu wouldn't really be bottle neck. To confirm this, would I just need to monitor cpu % usage to confirm this or are there other factors I should be looking at?


Question 4) With the new GPU, which parts would likely be the new bottle neck for both gaming/ai?



Appreciate any other feedback as well. Thanks in advance.

Link to pcpartpicker with current parts + new graphics card replaced:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Cp2tfd

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

I would look into an 1.2KW~1.5KW PSU;
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-rtx-5090.c4216
+

ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX™ 5090 32GB GDDR7 - Tech Specs

ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX™ 5090 32GB offers ultimate durability and cooling performance with military-grade components and a phase change GPU thermal pad

www.asus.com

 

[lclankyo]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

I would look into an 1.2KW~1.5KW PSU;
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-rtx-5090.c4216
+

ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX™ 5090 32GB GDDR7 - Tech Specs

ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX™ 5090 32GB offers ultimate durability and cooling performance with military-grade components and a phase change GPU thermal pad

www.asus.com

Thanks for the welcome and response! On PC partpicker, it seems to say estimated wattage is 800 but that asus documentation says 1000W. Wondering where that 1.2KW~1.5KW comes from? Is there like a general rule of thumb to calculate that?

 

[Eximo]

Your system memory is probably the worst part, but not much you can do about that without a full upgrade. 5800X3D is equivalent to a 9600X or so, which is plenty for gaming. 1440p, you are looking pretty good with a 5090, but you will certainly have more FPS with a faster CPU. If you get a 4K monitor, well, then it won't matter so much what your CPU is.

Agreed, you need a new power supply. At least 1000W, but the price difference to get a 1200W isn't too much. I am saying this because you aren't just gaming. An AI workload is going to push the GPU high power levels for extended periods, you don't really want your PSU exceeding 80% output, and an 850W supply would be pushing that with the total system and the GPU running full blast.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ds...lly-modular-atx-power-supply-century-ii-1200w

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Ff...ertified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bn513

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7w...d-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-1300f14ge

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pX...-modular-atx-power-supply-ps-tpd-1350fnfagu-4

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: *Montech CENTURY II 1200 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.90 @ Newegg)
Total: $124.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-08-18 16:43 EDT-0400

 

[Eximo]

Thanks for the welcome and response! On PC partpicker, it seems to say estimated wattage is 800 but that asus documentation says 1000W. Wondering where that 1.2KW~1.5KW comes from? Is there like a general rule of thumb to calculate that?

Let's say the system was under a worst case full load. 600W GPU, 105W CPU, Motherboard, Memory, Fans, Storage Drives. Easily 800W.

If you had a 1000W PSU, that would be 80% load. If you have a 1200W PSU that would be 66% load. If you have a 1350W supply that would be 59%.

The higher the load, the louder the fans. Higher temperatures inside the PSU will shorten component life.

 

[lclankyo]

Your system memory is probably the worst part, but not much you can do about that without a full upgrade. 5800X3D is equivalent to a 9600X or so, which is plenty for gaming. 1440p, you are looking pretty good with a 5090, but you will certainly have more FPS with a faster CPU. If you get a 4K monitor, well, then it won't matter so much what your CPU is.

Agreed, you need a new power supply. At least 1000W, but the price difference to get a 1200W isn't too much. I am saying this because you aren't just gaming. An AI workload is going to push the GPU high power levels for extended periods, you don't really want your PSU exceeding 80% output, and an 850W supply would be pushing that with the total system and the GPU running full blast.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ds...lly-modular-atx-power-supply-century-ii-1200w

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Ff...ertified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bn513

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7w...d-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-1300f14ge

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pX...-modular-atx-power-supply-ps-tpd-1350fnfagu-4

Thanks for the info and links. I might just go with the Thermaltake Toughpower GF3
Thinking of just replacing the GPU and power for now. Then will eventually replace rest of parts to be more modern.

Just to make sure, when you say memory, are you referring the the RAM?

 

[Lutfij]

Thanks for the welcome and response! On PC partpicker, it seems to say estimated wattage is 800 but that asus documentation says 1000W. Wondering where that 1.2KW~1.5KW comes from? Is there like a general rule of thumb to calculate that?

I included links in my initial post. Apart from the high transient load spikes of the RTX 3000 series, you don't second guess numbers stated on TechPowerUp. I tend to go through multiple sources, then add some more to the number to have as headroom, when purchasing a PSU. This helps the unit run below it's threshold when taxed and in turn can run cooler which also helps you retain the PSU for longer.

Mind you wattage isn't the only thing you look at when you're shopping for a PSU. Look for a reliably built unit.

You should also account for the fact that a PSU will incur internal degradation over time due to wear and tear thus reducing it's effective power output. So your current PSU after 3 years will not be outputting 850W on demand.

 

[lclankyo]

I see. Thanks for the explanation. I've seen people in other areas recommending the ATX 3.1 feature as well.

Am thinking of getting the MSI - MEG Ai1300P. I do want to somewhat future proof it as I likely will upgrade the rest of the parts. Any concerns with that?