Question Will my PSU provide enough power ?

[Azowel]

Hi!
I bought the Corsair SF750 as a PSU (750W Platinium SFX, high quality PSU)
and this GPU: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/sapphire-radeon-rx-6950-xt-nitro-pure/36.html
The minimum recommanded PSU on Sapphire website in 850W, but on techpowerup we have 700W and 1000W (1000W on the previous link)
and 700W on this link: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/sapphire-nitro-rx-6950-xt-pure.b9634
On the other hand I calculated the total wattage, Newegg finds 600-700W, pcpartpicker finds 658W.
When I read the review on techpowerup website I see few spikes that exceed the PSU wattage by 50W but on average it is 100W lower than the maximum wattage.

Should I return my GPU or will my PSU will be enough ?

 

[volkgren]

Please list your complete system specs.

 

[hotaru.hino]

The problem with a lot of PSU calculators is they assume everything is running full bore under the worst case scenario. Unless you're running Prime95, FurMark, and something to drive your storage drives up the wall, you're not going to see that power usage.

Like for instance PCPP thinks my computer will use 480W. I can almost guarantee you that's not the case even if I'm running a relatively hard game on it. It'll probably use more like half that.

 

[Azowel]

The problem with a lot of PSU calculators is they assume everything is running full bore under the worst case scenario. Unless you're running Prime95, FurMark, and something to drive your storage drives up the wall, you're not going to see that power usage.

Like for instance PCPP thinks my computer will use 480W. I can almost guarantee you that's not the case even if I'm running a relatively hard game on it. It'll probably use more like half that.

Ok, so it means that 750W will be enough?

 

[Azowel]

Please list your complete system specs.

GPU	AMD Sapphire Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro+
CPU	Intel Core i5-13600KF
MBD	Asus ROG B760-I
CASE	LianLi A4 H2O
SSD	Intel 670p 2To
RAM	Corsair 2x16Go DDR5 6400MHz CL32
COOL	Cooler Master ML240 V2 RGB
PSU	Corsair SF750

https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/list/n8tHC6

 

[hotaru.hino]

For transparency regarding the last post I made, I realized I hadn't actually done a system power consumption test yet. So I quickly went and did that with Cyberpunk 2077.

• If the card's running on its default settings (i.e., no MSI Afterburner), the system consumes around ~325W.
• If I set the card to a lower power profile through MSI Afterburner, it drops to ~245W

Either way, no where near the 480W that PCPartPicker claims.

Ok, so it means that 750W will be enough?

Given the rest of the specs you posted, and going on https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i5-13600k/22.html , we can ignore the application power consumption despite it going up to 180W because your video card isn't likely going to be active the entire time. If you take the gaming measurements, the worst case appears to be 105W.

Assuming the worst power spike from the RX 6950XT at 500W and the worst case scenario from the CPU at 105W, you're looking at 605W for just these two. The rest of the system likely will likely add enough to put the total consumption close to 715W.

I'd say 850W would be a safer bet here to account for the spikes, even though the average power consumption would be much lower overall than 750W.

 

[Azowel]

O

For transparency regarding the last post I made, I realized I hadn't actually done a system power consumption test yet. So I quickly went and did that with Cyberpunk 2077.

• If the card's running on its default settings (i.e., no MSI Afterburner), the system consumes around ~325W.
• If I set the card to a lower power profile through MSI Afterburner, it drops to ~245W

Either way, no where near the 480W that PCPartPicker claims.


Given the rest of the specs you posted, and going on https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i5-13600k/22.html , we can ignore the application power consumption despite it going up to 180W because your video card isn't likely going to be active the entire time. If you take the gaming measurements, the worst case appears to be 105W.

Assuming the worst power spike from the RX 6950XT at 500W and the worst case scenario from the CPU at 105W, you're looking at 605W for just these two. The rest of the system likely will likely add enough to put the total consumption close to 715W.

I'd say 850W would be a safer bet here to account for the spikes, even though the average power consumption would be much lower overall than 750W.

Ok, *removed* ... What is the risk if I run it on a 750W PSU ?
And if I undervolt my GPU and set a power limit on adrenaline?

 

[hotaru.hino]

Ok, ... What is the risk if I run it on a 750W PSU ?
And if I undervolt my GPU and set a power limit on adrenaline?

Assuming the power supply has all the protections (I'm too lazy to look it up), you may trip either over-current or over-power protection. And since the spike are relatively short and quality power supplies can handle a little more than their rated output, it shouldn't damage it, though there's still the possibility it may not be as reliable if it keeps happening

And you might be able to get away with setting a power limit or undervolt, but I don't know the behavior of the spikes in that setting and catching them in the first place requires professional lab equipment.

Setting a frame rate cap may also help too, but if the game is really taxing that might not help

 

[Azowel]

Assuming the power supply has all the protections (I'm too lazy to look it up), you may trip either over-current or over-power protection. And since the spike are relatively short and quality power supplies can handle a little more than their rated output, it shouldn't damage it, though there's still the possibility it may not be as reliable if it keeps happening

And you might be able to get away with setting a power limit or undervolt, but I don't know the behavior of the spikes in that setting and catching them in the first place requires professional lab equipment.

<Removed by mod> stupid spikes, how can they happend ?
I won't change my psu because it is new and if I resell it I will lose at least $50, but I can send back my gpu.
What do you think about the RX 6800 XT Sapphire Pulse ?

 

[hotaru.hino]

<Removed by mod> stupid spikes, how can they happend ?
I won't change my psu because it is new and if I resell it I will lose at least $50, but I can send back my gpu.
What do you think about the RX 6800 XT Sapphire Pulse ?

There doesn't seem data from my 5 minutes of google searching on power spikes, but it looks like it's a lot tamer.

I also don't really think most halo cards are worthwhile

 

[Azowel]

There doesn't seem data from my 5 minutes of google searching on power spikes, but it looks like it's a lot tamer.

I also don't really think most halo cards are worthwhile

ok thanks, and what about the 7900 xt ?
It seems that the recommanded psu for this gpu is 750w so exactly mine

 

[hotaru.hino]

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Review

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the same Navi 31 GPU as the XTX, but with fewer chiplets, which helps bring down the price. In our review this $900 graphics card is able to match the performance of GeForce RTX 3090 Ti that launched at $2000 just a few months ago.

www.techpowerup.com

Spikes go up to 350W in gaming, so I'd say that's much better. Just don't run Furmark on it with a CPU test going on

 

[Azowel]

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Review

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the same Navi 31 GPU as the XTX, but with fewer chiplets, which helps bring down the price. In our review this $900 graphics card is able to match the performance of GeForce RTX 3090 Ti that launched at $2000 just a few months ago.

www.techpowerup.com

Spikes go up to 350W in gaming, so I'd say that's much better. Just don't run Furmark on it with a CPU test going on

ok nice, so I will probably purchase it, but some people talk about coil whine ... Is it possible to fix it if I have some ?

 

[hotaru.hino]

ok nice, so I will probably purchase it, but some people talk about coil whine ... Is it possible to fix it if I have some ?

"Possible" depends on how much energy you're willing to spend trying to figure out exactly what's causing it.

 

[volkgren]

ok nice, so I will probably purchase it, but some people talk about coil whine ... Is it possible to fix it if I have some ?

I thought you already had your PSU and GPU? Which parts do you have versus looking to purchase?

If you can avoid this GPU + PSU combination, I would. Your system will like consume around 500-550W on average. While that may work fine for some time, it is higher than optimal operating capacity for that PSU. Try to stick to around half the maximum wattage of the PSU for normal load operation.

 

[Azowel]

I thought you already had your PSU and GPU? Which parts do you have versus looking to purchase?

If you can avoid this GPU + PSU combination, I would. Your system will like consume around 500-550W on average. While that may work fine for some time, it is higher than optimal operating capacity for that PSU. Try to stick to around half the maximum wattage of the PSU for normal load operation.

I have both but I can return my GPU but not my PSU.
I bought:

AMD Sapphire Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro+

Intel Core i5-13600KF

Asus ROG B760-I

Intel 670p 2To

Corsair 2x16Go DDR5 6400MHz CL32

Cooler Master ML240 V2 RGB

Corsair SF750

but I can still return my GPU and I didn't buy yet my case but will buy the Lian Li A4H2O A4, just waiting for a discount

 

[volkgren]

Have you considered the RTX 4070? It has considerably lower power consumption and similar (slightly lower performance) as the RX 6950 XT, and should beat it out when using DLSS. Only major drawback is lower VRAM, which will likely show up in performance dips in a couple years or more.

 

[Azowel]

Have you considered the RTX 4070? It has considerably lower power consumption and similar (slightly lower performance) as the RX 6950 XT, and should beat it out when using DLSS. Only major drawback is lower VRAM, which will likely show up in performance dips in a couple years or more.

Initially I was planning to buy the RTX 4070 but what changed my mind is: my screen is G-Sync comaptible and FreeSync Premium, RTX 4070 was initially planned to have a MSRP at $749, I'm angry against NVIDIA about their RTX 40xx gen (in Europe it is 10% more expansive), low VRAM (I plan to keep my setup for 5 years).
And there is a non negligible gap between RTX 4070 and RX 6950 XT

https://tpucdn.com/review/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-founders-edition/images/average-fps-2560-1440.png

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mNqohEaqdMxBVH9ADNSMaH-970-80.png.webp (4070 = 3080)

https://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2023/15/4/1681387808-1.png

Finally, I want a GPU that uses 100% of my CPU, RX 6950 XT, RX 7900 XT, RTX 4070 Ti are perfect in 1440p with an i5-13600KF.

RTX 4070 Ti is at 930€ in Europe, I will never buy it, RX 6950 XT is at 684€ in Europe, RX 7900 XT at 850€ but AMD announced a drop to 780$ in the USA so maybe it will be the same in Europe.
I wanted to buy my GPU in the USA (I'm currently in the USA), but I don't think that there is any international warranty ...