I am planning to have my gaming PC built by PC Specialist and have recently been doing some window shopping, configuring some possible specs etc. and have one question concerning choosing the right power supply unit for my graphics card.
Namely, I already own a brand new Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top edition and on its original packaging it says that the recommended system requirements for the card include a "minimum 750W system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 24A)".
However, when configuring a hypothetical Intel-based system and including that very model of graphics card, their website tells me that a Corsair 550W power supply is enough to run the system: "You have selected a 650W power supply, but based on our calculations you actually only need a 550W power supply. We have calculated your specification to require around 486W of power including a 20% allowance."
Now, if I get things right - 20% allowance for a 486W use is an extra 97W which is 583W in total. A little more than a 550W PSU can give. When investing so much money in a desktop, I need to be 100% sure that I'm choosing only the right components, especially the PSU, since it was the PSU in my previous desktop that cooked both the motherboard and everything on it and turned a brilliant-working computer into a piece of junk within just a split second.
So here comes the question - what power supply does Asus Radeon R9 280X require and, most importantly, why?
Namely, I already own a brand new Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top edition and on its original packaging it says that the recommended system requirements for the card include a "minimum 750W system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 24A)".
However, when configuring a hypothetical Intel-based system and including that very model of graphics card, their website tells me that a Corsair 550W power supply is enough to run the system: "You have selected a 650W power supply, but based on our calculations you actually only need a 550W power supply. We have calculated your specification to require around 486W of power including a 20% allowance."
Now, if I get things right - 20% allowance for a 486W use is an extra 97W which is 583W in total. A little more than a 550W PSU can give. When investing so much money in a desktop, I need to be 100% sure that I'm choosing only the right components, especially the PSU, since it was the PSU in my previous desktop that cooked both the motherboard and everything on it and turned a brilliant-working computer into a piece of junk within just a split second.
So here comes the question - what power supply does Asus Radeon R9 280X require and, most importantly, why?