[SOLVED] What kind of wattage should my psu have? (Is the one I picked out so far suitable?)

[AbGe]

Hello everybody, I am currently a little bit confused with what psu to get. From my friends i heard multiple recommendations on what kind of wattage I should get for my planned update. Those varied from 500 watts to 800 watts.

For starters, here is a list of (if i can remember it all) all the hardware that I want to get for my new pc:

Cpu - R5 3600
Gpu - Msi 4gb Gtx 970
Mainboard - Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming
RAM - Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 gb 3200 MHz DDR4
Cpu Cooler - Corsair H105 (Yes i know i need a AM4 bracket)
Storage - 1 SSD 256 GB (I dont know the speed sadly, I think it was a Samsung one)
Case - Aerocool Xpredator X3

As PSU for this configuration i considerd a TX550m from Corsair (esp since it is on sale rn for ~66€. Last time i saw it that low was when 3000 released). With all my planned updates i am fine with spending around 70€ for a PSU and i wanted a Semi-Modular one if possible. A lot more than 70€ would really hurt my budget...

If you need any more info on my configuration please let me know, tough I can only check more once I am home again.

Thank you all for any help in advance

 

[PC Tailor]

Whoever is suggesting up to 800W is a little "off".

A good quality 500W/550W can run most GTX 970 systems with headroom.
For your particular system, the TX550M is an excellent PSU for the job. It's excellent quality, currently great value,and has a 7 year warranty.

 

[AbGe]

I really tought so too but i wanted some more imput on the matter. Thanks for the fast reply!
If you are concerned with my gpu, I dont see myself upgraiding that until its really neccessary. I used a GTX550 (atleast I think it was a 550..) until 2015 and wasnt too botherd by it.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

The TX550w is a great psu and sufficient for your setup. Even if you upgraded your gpu to something like a RTX2070 the tx550w would be sufficient.

Gtx970 doesn't draw a ton of power and the 3600 is very efficient. 800w is far from what you need even with overclocking.

 

[AbGe]

I personally wasnt even planning to oc anything, but it is nice zo know i got some room!

 

[MrBird]

I recommend having a 750/850W PSU......or you will eventualy end with the same probleme has i did back with my XTR650W gold wich crasched my PC for lacking power during load spikes and problemes with stability because the PSU was beeing consumed by the system and it didnt had enough power and stability...so i switched to a seasonic prime titanium 850w and voila.....never had any problemes what so ever after that.....i fully massive recomend this PSU......5v line and 12v line doesnt even budge no matter the load....its just that dam impressive. And another thing.........with this PSU you will never need to buy another one in the next 10 years 😀 do the math! 😀

 

[logainofhades]

My big question is why the GTX 970?

 

[PC Tailor]

I recommend having a 750/850W PSU......or you will eventualy end with the same probleme has i did back with my XTR650W gold wich crasched my PC for lacking power during load spikes and problemes with stability because the PSU was beeing consumed by the system and it didnt had enough power and stability...so i switched to a seasonic prime titanium 850w and voila.....never had any problemes what so ever after that.....i fully massive recomend this PSU......5v line and 12v line doesnt even budge no matter the load....its just that dam impressive. And another thing.........with this PSU you will never need to buy another one in the next 10 years 😀 do the math! 😀

Sorry I respectfully disagree.
This is more likely that your previous PSU was faulty, or poor quality. There are always load spikes from your components, such as when you start a game and your GPU draws a sudden amount of power, it's down to your PSU to regulate it.

The difference is you've jumped to a Seasonic prime (regardless of wattage) which has some of the best voltage regulation and ripple suppression in various stress tests you can get.

750W/850W is completely overkill for this system.
Poor quality PSUs will faulter before they even reach their marked load.
Good quality PSUs will endure up to their rated load and beyond it usually.

But you can't deny, the SS Prime are excellent PSUs so regardless you've upgraded to excellent quality!

 

[MrBird]

Sorry I respectfully disagree.
This is more likely that your previous PSU was faulty, or poor quality. There are always load spikes from your components, such as when you start a game and your GPU draws a sudden amount of power, it's down to your PSU to regulate it.

The difference is you've jumped to a Seasonic prime (regardless of wattage) which has some of the best voltage regulation and ripple suppression in various stress tests you can get.

750W/850W is completely overkill for this system.
Poor quality PSUs will faulter before they even reach their marked load.
Good quality PSUs will endure up to their rated load and beyond it usually.

But you can't deny, the SS Prime are excellent PSUs so regardless you've upgraded to excellent quality!

I was using a 650w XFX XTR Gold so it is supose not to be of poor quality.......i have spoken to an electrical engineer and he explained to me that pushing PSU´s to almost their max load brings problemes with sustaining that load and delivering stable power, and he recommend having on every system a 100w to 200w margin so you dont strain the PSU and bring its components to exaustion. Obviously quality components effect this statement of 100w to 200w but he said that on every electrical system, the Power supplys need to be working above rated power with some margin to work nice and stable for a long time......and the more you push to the limit, the better the PSU needs to be or it brings electrical problemes by operating at full power all the time!
He proved that to me with 2 UPS from different brands and an osciloscope. I know having 850w is overkill.......but we want pure efficency and zero problemes! that is why i recomend the prime 850w PSU wich meens zero problems and you save a lot of money becouse you only buy 1 PSU every 10 years 😀(dont even know how this brand makes money if their equipments are this good)

 

[PC Tailor]

100w to 200w margin so you dont strain the PSU

and the more you push to the limit, the better the PSU needs to be or it brings electrical problemes by operating at full power all the time!

Yes exactly, you shouldn't load up a system to full load. You should always have headroom. What we're saying is 550W in this particular system, IS that headroom.

I was using a 650w XFX XTR Gold so it is supose not to be of poor quality

By today's standards I don't think they are considered great. But even then it also depends on how long you've had it. PSUs deteriorate over time. I wouldn't have the Seasonic past the 10/12 year mark.

the Power supplys need to be working above rated power with some margin to work nice and stable for a long time

I may be incorrect, but i don't think this is so applicable to modern power supplies.

I know having 850w is overkill.......but we want pure efficency and zero problemes

But ultimately, it's money down the drain. The difference between efficiency margins now is minimal. And you will still have zero problems with a 550W over a 850W if the system only needs the 550W If however you get a poor quality 550W, then that's a different matter. That and efficiency of loads is less of an issue with modern PSUs, it used to be they had an optimal load for efficiency, but most good quality PSUs today can get to their rated efficiency at low loads and maintain it.

 

[MrBird]

Yes exactly, you shouldn't load up a system to full load. You should always have headroom. What we're saying is 550W in this particular system, IS that headroom.


By today's standards I don't think they are considered great. But even then it also depends on how long you've had it. PSUs deteriorate over time. I wouldn't have the Seasonic past the 10/12 year mark.


I may be incorrect, but i don't think this is so applicable to modern power supplies.


But ultimately, it's money down the drain. The difference between efficiency margins now is minimal. And you will still have zero problems with a 550W over a 850W if the system only needs the 550W If however you get a poor quality 550W, then that's a different matter. That and efficiency of laods is less of an issue with modern PSUs, it used to be they had an optimal load for efficiency, but most good quality PSUs today can get to their rated efficiency at low loads and maintain it.

i can not say otherwise concerning your statements becouse i dont understand much about electrical components......but it seems logical that operating for example a 600W rated PSU on a 600W system brings the PSU to max load most of the times and will induce a lot more straining in the components than lets say on a 750w rated PSU wich will increase the probability of having problemes.

I had the XFX ahm.....about 4 to 5 years ago maybe...... and bought the seasonic like 2 years ago......


Concerning the "i dont think this applys to modern power supplys".......
i am an oldschool guy......and looking at the cars there are right now and the cars that where before.....i still run a 89 van......oil...and its running......my brother switched car 3 times already.......plastic cars....i have this way of thinking with all things...the newer....the crapier and more sensible to problemes it is(check out 2019´s girls....bunch of stress).....so i stick with the safe methods of 1990 for all components...this way nothing ever gets broken!! 🤓🤓🤓🤓

 

[PC Tailor]

but it seems logical that operating for example a 600W rated PSU on a 600W system brings the PSU to max load most of the times and will induce a lot more straining in the components

Yes, but all I'm saying is that most systems don't pull 600W at peak loads. For example most 2080 Ti can run on a 650W PSU. 750W if you wanted to be completely safe with more headroom. and OP is certainly not pulling a 550W system

so i stick with the safe methods of 1990 for all components...this way nothing ever gets broken!

Well with PSUs, I'd say it's quite the opposite. Older topologies for example are typically what you want to avoid.

 

[MrBird]

one question for the OP.......why a GTX970 in 2019? get a 2060 or a rx580 or 1660TI or 5700.....anything but a 4 year old card bro! it is way worst than all the options available today!

 

[MrBird]

Yes, but all I'm saying is that most systems don't pull 600W at peak loads. For example most 2080 Ti can run on a 650W PSU. 750W if you wanted to be completely safe with more headroom. and OP is certainly not pulling a 550W system


Well with PSUs, I'd say it's quite the opposite. Older topologies for example are typically what you want to avoid.

i am not saying to get an old tipology PSU that is nuts 🤣....i am saying to follow the guidelines for "how to keep your PSU healthy from the year 1990´s" 🤣

Ok so if the system is rated for 550W i would recomend a 650W PSU just to be sure!

 

[AbGe]

one question for the OP.......why a GTX970 in 2019? get a 2060 or a rx580 or 1660TI or 5700.....anything but a 4 year old card bro! it is way worst than all the options available today!

Well who said i have this GPU out of pure choice? 🙁 (or rather i should have said that i own that currently)

I just want to focus on the other parts of the build for now. I personally want to upgraid from my current I5 4670 to smth more recent. Because i need a new mobo and ram too (currently using ddr3 800 mhz ram) I need to spend quite a bit on new stuff. I am rather budget orientated so i tought i should leave the gpu for later on where i will have around 300-400$ to spend on that individually rather than just another hurtfull 200$ i have left.

 

[AbGe]

The kind of problem i got now too is that i cant decide what motherboard to get now.
A friend of mine recommended me the b450 strix-f I meantioned but i found out that i would need a 2000 cpu and first update the bios. I rather not get one of these upgraid kits if I dont have too, so I looked at some alternatives:

-MSI x470 Gaming Plus max
-MSI b450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
-Gigabyte x570 UD

What i personally looked for in these boards was a neutral colour pattern and well.. recommendations i heard online. The x570 recommendation came from a friend of mine who is urging me to get pci-e 4.0. Personally i would just like smth that would look nice and thats atleast a bit compatible with rgb. Thats why i personally liked the b450 carbon. I can use the flashback to get the bios update and i love the carbon look, the wifi is sadly just useless for me. To not have that useless wifi but still a 3000 series compatible board i listed the gaming plus max. I heard the Max series is compatible out of the box.

Maybe all of you could give me some info about the boards i listed if its any good with the build i listed at the start of the post. Recommendations are very welcome i just dont want to spend a ton (the x570 is already a bit over my limit) and want it to be colour neutral (black, gray and white is appreciated).
-Edit: I dont plan massive overclocks on any of my parts for now, so that shouldnt be a focus of the boards

 

[Finstar]

The kind of problem i got now too is that i cant decide what motherboard to get now.
A friend of mine recommended me the b450 strix-f I meantioned but i found out that i would need a 2000 cpu and first update the bios. I rather not get one of these upgraid kits if I dont have too, so I looked at some alternatives:

-MSI x470 Gaming Plus max
-MSI b450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
-Gigabyte x570 UD

What i personally looked for in these boards was a neutral colour pattern and well.. recommendations i heard online. The x570 recommendation came from a friend of mine who is urging me to get pci-e 4.0. Personally i would just like smth that would look nice and thats atleast a bit compatible with rgb. Thats why i personally liked the b450 carbon. I can use the flashback to get the bios update and i love the carbon look, the wifi is sadly just useless for me. To not have that useless wifi but still a 3000 series compatible board i listed the gaming plus max. I heard the Max series is compatible out of the box.

Maybe all of you could give me some info about the boards i listed if its any good with the build i listed at the start of the post. Recommendations are very welcome i just dont want to spend a ton (the x570 is already a bit over my limit) and want it to be colour neutral (black, gray and white is appreciated).
-Edit: I dont plan massive overclocks on any of my parts for now, so that shouldnt be a focus of the boards

I think the B450 Tomahawk(MAX) could be a good option. It supports bios flashing without a cpu and if you get the MAX version, it supports 3000 series out of the box.

 

[AbGe]

Not a bad idear actually, sounds pretty good.
What about the possability of B550?

Should i delay my build until their release?

 

[ChevetteSCx]

@PC Tailor re: MrBird...
I am with him on this...and coming from an extensive electrical/electronic/mechanical background...the closer you get to the maximum rated load of ANYTHING, the more it is stressed and YES it will break down more frequently and with more damage. PERIOD!!

It all comes down to LOAD RATINGS and USE. If someone wants to build a ''general use'' system for basic office use and MILD GAMING (1-2 hours per day), sure, a 550W Bronze would suffice. But, if someone was to build, say, a WILD GAMING system, for 24, 36 and 48-hour gaming tournaments and with future GPU upgrades in mind, and didn't want to ''heat the house'' whilst doing so, then a PSU that is TWICE THE MAXIMUM SYSTEM CONSUMPTION, is where I would be looking!

''OnLINE computer PSU Calculators'' (taken with a grain of salt) peg this system between 380 and 430 Watts (MAX), and since computer PSUs are rated for their MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY AT 50% LOAD, the recommendation of an 800W PSU is not at all ''a little off''! There is however, a ''range'' that PSUs can operate in most efficiently and ''safely'', usually 30%-80% of the MAXIMUM RATED OUTPUT. So for a ''light gamer'' you calculate for the 70%-75% mark, (430W/0.75) or a 550W Bronze. For a marathon gamer, you aim for more efficiency and 50%-60% maximum rated output (430/0.60) or a 750W to 850W Gold/Platinum. Furthermore, fans on these new ''Eco'' PSUs don't even spin up until 30% LOAD...so if you purchase an OVERrated PSU, then it's essentially fanless under normal use (and, therefore, silent with one less mechanical part to break!)

I will put it in laymans terms. You have a 3,000lb camper/trailer that you want to travel around in the summer with. So you are looking for a tow vehicle. Do you purchase a new FWD Dodge Caravan with a MAXIMUM TOW CAPACITY of 3,500lbs (so 86% of the rated tow capacity) or a used 4x2 or 4x4 Quad-cab truck capable of towing 12,500lbs (24% of the rated tow capacity)? Just a note here...there is a 60% chance after 3 years the minivan will need a transmission rebuild, and a 100% guarantee that it will PUKE THE TRANSMISSION OUT THE BOTTOM within 5 years!! Truck costs more, so pick one!

The difference between efficiency margins now is minimal.

This is SO NOT TRUE!! from Gold to Platinum or Platinum to Titanium...2% may not seem like ''a lot'', but since this is a NEW BUILD, consider :
EVGA 850BQ (85.22% @20% and 86.43% @50% and 82.22% at 100%) to an
EVGA 850T2 (92.76% @20% and 93.59% @50% and 90.92% at 100%)
7-to-10% power savings (13W-30W-74W respectively) is HUGE! You are talking up to 650kWh or $100.00 in $aving$ PER YEAR!! (given that's @maximum output 24h/day, but you see the point!)
AND the 80+ Titanium PSU specification is the only one with a minimum efficiency requirement for 10% OUTPUT!! (where most PSUs FALL FLAT ON THEIR FACE, with both efficiency and PFC!!)

Besides, MrBird has tweeted his satisfaction of his purchase. (How often do you see unequivocal approval of, well, ANYTHING, NOW-A-DAYS?) It's his computer and his money, so *WHY disparage him that happiness delight with it? AND, with all due respect WHY DO YOU CARE (if he purchased a higher output PSU than he needs)?

 

[ChevetteSCx]

@MrBird
The XFX XTR650 you had was this one?
http://www.jonnyguru.com/blog/2015/07/03/xfx-xtr-650-power-supply
As far as I know, ALL XFX BRANDED PSUs are exclusively manufactured by SeaSonic! Your platform was based on the G-Series Platform (not a PRIME series, but no slouch, either!) and should have had a 5-year warranty.

 

[PC Tailor]

@ChevetteSCx
Thank you my friend i apologise as I feel I may not have made my thought process clear enough.

Besides, MrBird has tweeted his satisfaction of his purchase. (How often do you see unequivocal approval of, well, ANYTHING, NOW-A-DAYS?) It's his computer and his money, so *WHY disparage him that happiness delight with it? AND, with all due respect WHY DO YOU CARE (if he purchased a higher output PSU than he needs)?

Absolutely agreed, and it would NEVER be my intention to do so (in fact I oftne call people out for doing just this) my proess for this was that MrBird wasn't the OP - and I wanted the OP to consider the options before spending double the amount of money on a PSU that wouldn't be necessary. So I apologise if it came across as disrupting someones purchase, as that was my never my intention.

As for the rest of it, I agree, but that was precisely my point. The 550W DOES have exactly that headroom. GTX 970 could pull approximately 160W under heavy loads - the 3600 perhaps 70W. So you've approached 230W for the two biggest draws under haevy load. THe rest of the system does not account for another 170W on top of this. So a good quality 550W would precisely have that headroom to maximise longevity of the PSU. A poor quality one, absolutely not, a good quality one such as a Corsair RMx for example, would well last it's warranty period even with extreme loads, as they're often tested to handle more than the rated wattage. The loads on those are usually the safe continuous wattage, not the peak.

But I absolutely agree, I don't want to detract from the fact that I agree you don't want to unduely put stress to the top end of a rated spec

Equally with the efficiencies, with older double forward topologies again yes I agree, with latest LLC resonant PSUs for example, the efficiency curve is pretty flat in application and you can be at high efficiency even below 10%. Again this does not apply to mediocre/poor quality PSUs.

But absolutely would not disagree if you're endurng heavy loads for excessive periods of the day, absolutely efficiency can pay itself of, my only point was that this is not how 99% of system operate, where most systems operate idle for most of their time. Where then the efficiency can amount to very little for the price increase. Having said that, any of the PSUs I would opt for are usually at least Gold efficiency as the best quality ones are typically around this and above. But my point was that don't worry about efficiency, when the focus should be quality, get good quality, and the efficiency tends to come with it.

But ultimately, you can't save money on power your not using and most systems do not use that level of power that's all - so most people, will not see a noticeable difference between a bronze and a gold PSU for example - but again also respect that isn't an apply all situation.

Again just wanted to clarify, I apologise for not being clear enough before, I always absolutely agreed that you shouldn't load up a PSU to it's higher wattage, absolutely -however a 550W in this kind of system for 99% of users, does not push it to that stress limit.

I know of several RTX 2080 systems that run on a good quality 650W absolutely n problem and for many years. (Again not poor quality ones) - so there is no logical reason to get an 850W for a GTX 970 which albiet is less power effective than newer generations, but ultimately still draws less power. A 550W good quality PSU would run this system perfectly fine.

Although I will also happily admit, there's no downside to overspeccing - outside of the initial cost difference.

I hope this comes across the way I intended