GTX 480/System: Enough Power?

[PainInverter]

I know the lowest PSU suggested is 600W, so I wanted to make sure I've enough power for a GTX 480 in the following system (without straining the PSU):

Mobo: Gigabyte X58 UD5
CPU: i7 950 (3.07 currently)
RAM: 6GB DDR3
PSU: HX620
Six case fans, should be no big deal.

Will the GTX 480 strain my 620W PSU to any degree?

Hoping to not have to buy another, due to just having bought this one again (my original HX620 is in my wife's system) for this system.

 

[t2uciet]

Hmm you should be fine...

However, it might strain on load...you will have to give it a shoot and see. The Corsair's PS are really underrated and they're very high quality. Fermi's are still new so it will be hard to see.

 

[Ogilvy]

I had a corsair that I thought was rock solid. A 550w HX or whatever it was called. Thing couldn't run my 4870 at the time. Kept getting crashes and reboots. I wouldn't take a chance with that 620. Get one of those PC Power 750's that are always on sale at the very least.

 

[Q-BZ]

620's too close for my personal comfort. YMMV

 

[PainInverter]

Well, if the 480 pulls about 400W under load (going by [H]'s testing) that leaves about 200W for the rest of the system. Is that really cutting it that close?

I always go with Corsair, as stated above, I've felt their PSU line (especially the HX620) is one of the best out there. So, if enough of the consensus is thet 620W is cutting it close, then I suppose I'll upgrade to Corsair's HX750 line... or the TX line, since they seem to have gotten great reviews, both the 750W and 850W.

Just want to make sure it's really necessary before spending the money, especially since I just dropped a bit on this system, which I just built recently.

 

[t2uciet]

If it was the new 650HX, I would say go for it. My cousin is using a 620HX for his i7 920 3.6ghz OC with his GTX 295...

I say try it first and run some tests. It's not going to hurt either way. Personally myself, sell the 620HX for about $90-100 and upgrade to a 750HX.

 

[Tzzird]

Just one HDD? Any other peripherals?

 

[Conker]

Your going to get close to the maximum. Cpu is 100+watts plus 400 watt video card plus everything else 100watts. Your on the brink of total melt down. I would get a 1000watt power supply to have some head room.

 

[t2uciet]

I have to disagree, 1k is overkill for his setup...

 

[PainInverter]

If it was the new 650HX, I would say go for it. My cousin is using a 620HX for his i7 920 3.6ghz OC with his GTX 295...

I say try it first and run some tests. It's not going to hurt either way. Personally myself, sell the 620HX for about $90-100 and upgrade to a 750HX.

Sounds good, and what I was thinking. I suppose the worst that would happen would be hard shut-downs, though I'm not a fan of that happening out of nowhere, but that would tell me, I'd think.

Just one HDD? Any other peripherals?

Just one "active" HDD, one as storage and of course a DVD/CD ROM, the case fans and that's it.

I have to disagree, 1k is overkill for his setup...

Yeah, 1k seems a little unnecessary to me. The rest of the system doesn't pull that much power. Maybe 850W, but that's as high as I'm going to go, especially since there are many others running similar systems with 750W it seems.

 

[t2uciet]

My cousin has all this running on 620HX no problem whatsoever...

i7 920 3.6ghz OC'ed
6gb ram
EVGA GTX 295
2 HD's (1 raptor and 1 black)
1 Bluray Drive
Watercool setup cooling both CPU/GPU
5 120mm fans with a fan controller

 

[Conker]

If he wants to add a second one down the line or do a crossfire/sli setup its not overkill

 

[t2uciet]

If he wants to add a second one down the line or do a crossfire/sli setup its not overkill

Yeah I agree...Crossfire/SLI definitely. I'm a single GPU person myself...besides I dual view...

Disabling and re-enabling Crossfire/SLI is stupid or to avoid that, you get a 3rd video card...screw that...

 

[PainInverter]

My cousin has all this running on 620HX no problem whatsoever...

i7 920 3.6ghz OC'ed
6gb ram
EVGA GTX 295
2 HD's (1 raptor and 1 black)
1 Bluray Drive
Watercool setup cooling both CPU/GPU
5 120mm fans with a fan controller

Alright, so you think I might actually be alright with 620W?

So far, most are thinking not, but I'm also a "single-GPU guy", so no plans on running SLi etc.

I'll go with 850W to have the extra headroom if most think it truly necessary, but otherwise, I'd prefer to not have to, unless my system would really be straining the PSU @ 620W.

P.S.
What's the pull on the GTX 295? Just for comparison...

 

[t2uciet]

I think you might be able to use to. The problem is, fermi's do require more wattages. The GTX 295 recommends a minimum of 600w. My cousin plays all the latest games and he hasn't had a single problem yet.

I say try it for now. If it doesn't work, sell the 620HX and grab a 750HX. The 850HX only if you can afford to at the time.

Honestly, the 750HX will be enough for future upgrades if you plan on sticking with a single GPU.

 

[Burke888]

Try it and see if it works. I think you will be fine.

 

[t2uciet]

I'm 90% sure you'll be fine lol...try your luck and go for it! Do you have the GTX 480 now or plan on getting one?

 

[PainInverter]

I'm 90% sure you'll be fine lol...try your luck and go for it! Do you have the GTX 480 now or plan on getting one?

I'll be snagging a 480 as soon as they're back in stock. I've been "camping" Egg a bit for the eVGA (only manufacturer I'm really partial to), but there's no ETA so it could be a while.

Just to be "safe", I think I'll snag the HX850 now, due to their reputation and my experience with Corsair PSUs etc. over the years. Might as well have the extra headroom, just in the event. Probably a bit "overkill", but hopefully it ends up being worth it.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[t2uciet]

Cool. Good luck with your search. They had a few today on newegg. Tip...have your CC and info saved and logged in. That way it's just 3 clicks for you to check out lol.

Also, get whatever has the best pricing. The 750HX and 850HX will be fine either way.

 

[SpeedyVV]

"For a person wanting to run a single GTX 480, we would suggest no less than a 600 watt power supply but we would be more comfortable with a 700 watt power supply; again if you are overclocking anything in your system. That should give you a safe bit of headroom and keep your PSU from running "in the red" continuously. It is hard to suggest any less for the GTX 470 either. NVIDIA's official stance is a 600w PSU for GTX 480 and 550w PSU for GTX 470."

So I say, you are fine with your PSU if you have 40 Amps on the 12V rails.

I would use it and only upgrade if proven wrong.

Others:

Anand: Full system under load = 479W

Guru of 3D: GeForce GTX 480

On your average system the card requires you to have a 600 Watt power supply unit. We recommend at least 40 Amps in total available on the +12 volts rails (accumulated).

Tom's: Full System under load 450W.

 

[t2uciet]

There's your confirmation! Thanks for the post.

 

[PainInverter]

Yes, thank you for that info!

I had indeed read that the minimum suggested was 600W, which is what made me question all this in the first place, if I should go above the minimum, just in the event.

Of course, the PSU I just ordered already friggin' shipped, doh!

I ordered the HX850... is that just going to be complete overkill in terms of power? Or would it be "better" to just use it anyway, in the event? I could always return it...

Edit:

Of course, as per [H]'s statement (I actually just went back to the review before you posted that, heh), the statement of "keeping your PSU from always running in the red" might be a good reason to have the extra power anyway. While 620W might be enough in meeting the minimum, it might keep the PSU close to/in the "red" for longer periods than would be good... perhaps?

Especially considering the amount of gaming I do...

 

[t2uciet]

lol...what's done is done! Enjoy your new PS and get your game on! Now...go hunt for a GTX 480

 

[LostInRehab]

Its worth noting that when looking at power consumption on sites most sites if not all look at the power draw from the wall which means thats how much the psu is pulling. That is not the same as what the system is using. In order to find out how much power the system is using you need to take the power the psu is pulling from the wall and multiply it by the efficiency of the unit. Only problem is that efficiency varies depending on how the load the psu is supplying. The 80plus rating tells you the minimum the psu's efficiency has to be to meet that standard.

Example time. If you have a 80+ silver psu pulling 480 watts from the wall then your system is only using about 408 watts due to the 85% efficiency the rest is heat.

 

[PainInverter]

lol...what's done is done! Enjoy your new PS and get your game on! Now...go hunt for a GTX 480

Heh, yeah... but like I said, I could return it...

...though, doing the simple math, the headroom might be good, having the extra wattage.

GPU: 400W
CPU: 100W (approx; not sure how much the i7 950 stock actually pulls)
General: rest is probably negligible

Figure around 550W total pull when system is under load, so maybe having the extra 300W might be a good "safety zone" from keeping the PSU from straining.

Yeah, I'm actually waiting a few days before I serious "camp" the 480, waiting on the return of my cash on the second damn PIA 5870 (I swear I will not touch anything but nVidia again, power-hungry blast furnace or not, lol) and will be going with eVGA, as they've just always been my "preferred" camp. Never a problem with a single eVGA GPU, and I've owned many.

 

[PainInverter]

Its worth noting that when looking at power consumption on sites most sites if not all look at the power draw from the wall which means thats how much the psu is pulling. That is not the same as what the system is using. In order to find out how much power the system is using you need to take the power the psu is pulling from the wall and multiply it by the efficiency of the unit. Only problem is that efficiency varies depending on how the load the psu is supplying. The 80plus rating tells you the minimum the psu's efficiency has to be to meet that standard.

Example time. If you have a 80+ silver psu pulling 480 watts from the wall then your system is only using about 408 watts due to the 85% efficiency the rest is heat.

Interesting and helpful info, thanks for that. I'm not a "wattage guru" by any means, so what ever I can learn, all-the-better.

The PSU I just ordered is 80+ Cert., 850W and supposed to be extremely efficient.

So, what do you think my system would actually be using?

GPU: GTX 480
CPU: i7 950 (stock; 3.07)
RAM: 6GB DDR3
HDD: 1 (& 1 storage)
DVD: 1
Mobo: Gigabyte UD5
6 case fans...

...no idea how to really quantify all that, lol.

Edit:
Oh, and PSU is not always pulling the full 850W from the wall when not needed by the system, correct?

 

[vjcsmoke]

Alright, so you think I might actually be alright with 620W?

So far, most are thinking not, but I'm also a "single-GPU guy", so no plans on running SLi etc.

I'll go with 850W to have the extra headroom if most think it truly necessary, but otherwise, I'd prefer to not have to, unless my system would really be straining the PSU @ 620W.

P.S.
What's the pull on the GTX 295? Just for comparison...

Naah the 620W should be fine for ONE GPU unless you're running something really exotic in addition to the GTX 480. It's not like you have a junk brand PSU. It definitely won't power 2 480s though. You'd need a 1KW for that.

 

[PainInverter]

Naah the 620W should be fine for ONE GPU unless you're running something really exotic in addition to the GTX 480. It's not like you have a junk brand PSU. It definitely won't power 2 480s though. You'd need a 1KW for that.

Definitely, the HX620 is a solid PSU, definitely not junk... but, I do worry about straining it, given that even [H] has shown a 450W+ pull with the GTX 480 under load.

Well, there are some mixed opinions here, so I'm not certain whether or not I should potentially "push" the HX620, or keep the HX850 that's coming, just to have the headroom.

As I quoted [H], to keep it from being in the "red zone", which would only result in it burning out and/or poor performance, if indeed the HX620 does strain under the GTX 480.

Since 600W is the "bare minimum" suggested, I'm think that perhaps the HX850 might actually be good to go with, just to have the extra power, in the event.

I have no way of testing whether or not the HX620 would be under any strain, unless I were getting symptoms of it via crashing etc., so I'm almost leaning towards keeping the HX850, as just not to take the chance. As you say, I'm not running anything "exotic", and I don't OC, but still thinking it might be worth having the extra juice.

 

[TehQuick]

I think hx620 would've been fine but since you've already purchased the 850, use that instead. You can never have too much power

 

[LostInRehab]

Interesting and helpful info, thanks for that. I'm not a "wattage guru" by any means, so what ever I can learn, all-the-better.

The PSU I just ordered is 80+ Cert., 850W and supposed to be extremely efficient.

So, what do you think my system would actually be using?

GPU: GTX 480
CPU: i7 950 (stock; 3.07)
RAM: 6GB DDR3
HDD: 1 (& 1 storage)
DVD: 1
Mobo: Gigabyte UD5
6 case fans...

...no idea how to really quantify all that, lol.

Edit:
Oh, and PSU is not always pulling the full 850W from the wall when not needed by the system, correct?

Well your system would use 380-410 watts under furmark and less while gaming. You can look at [H]ard's review as your system is comparable to theirs except your cpu isn't OC'd to 3.6Ghz like theirs is which means it would use less power.

If your psu is rated for 850W then it would need to draw more than 850W to supply 850W to the system. But to answer your question the psu only supplys how much power is needed to run so if your system is only using 250W it will only draw what is required to supply 250W.

 

[Digital Viper-X-]

Your going to get close to the maximum. Cpu is 100+watts plus 400 watt video card plus everything else 100watts. Your on the brink of total melt down. I would get a 1000watt power supply to have some head room.

what the hell? the gpu isn't 400w 300w in furmark + 130W cpu(on all 8 cores maxed) + about 60w for everything else

 

[centvalny]

I ran GTX480s SLI overclocked with afterburner and 1 HDD, 2 fans, Phenom II X4 oc'd @ 4.6Ghz vcore at 1.685V. My Corsair TX850 kinda toasty and I'm not sure if it will hold out the load for an extended time

 

[vjcsmoke]

I ran GTX480s SLI overclocked with afterburner and 1 HDD, 2 fans, Phenom II X4 oc'd @ 4.6Ghz vcore at 1.685V. My Corsair TX850 kinda toasty and I'm not sure if it will hold out the load for an extended time

Yeah, a 1KW unit would be safer territory for the rig you're describing. I've got a 1.2KW unit that I bought to run 2x 5970. [Quadfire scaling was iffy though! ] Looks like the GTX 480s are nearly as power hungry as the dual gpu 5970s so I'm glad I have the power to spare!

 

[t2uciet]

I ran GTX480s SLI overclocked with afterburner and 1 HDD, 2 fans, Phenom II X4 oc'd @ 4.6Ghz vcore at 1.685V. My Corsair TX850 kinda toasty and I'm not sure if it will hold out the load for an extended time

Definitely upgrade when you get the chance

 

[edifyingkarma]

it'd be a close one

 

[PainInverter]

Thanks again to all for the feedback... helpful info.

Well, since even [H]'s testing showed the GTX 480 pulling upwards of (ironically) 480W under full stress load, and generally 400W under normal load conditions, if you add even just another 100W for everything else, you're looking at 500W+ right there. So even if I'm not OC'd like [H], you're still looking at a 400W load with the 480, generally speaking.

Honestly, I'd rather have the headroom of an 850W PSU, that being the case. Better than having the HX620 really having to push consistently, as even mentioned in the review. Keeping anything further away from always running in/close to that "red zone" on a consistent basis is at least good for the longevity of hardware, if nothing else.

As I've said, the recommended minimum is a 600W PSU, so...

The GTX 480 is a 400W GPU under load, as shown in every review, so combined with the rest of a system such as mine, even without OC'ing etc., I think it'd be pushing the higher-end of the work a 620W PSU would have to do, the more I think about it. I'm sure it'd probably work, but for how long it'd hold out under that kind of continual load, I don't know.

Especially since my system is on most of the day and night, and I'm a heavy gamer, so... eh... right, you can never have too much power .

 

[Dangman]

Interesting and helpful info, thanks for that. I'm not a "wattage guru" by any means, so what ever I can learn, all-the-better.

The PSU I just ordered is 80+ Cert., 850W and supposed to be extremely efficient.

So, what do you think my system would actually be using?

GPU: GTX 480
CPU: i7 950 (stock; 3.07)
RAM: 6GB DDR3
HDD: 1 (& 1 storage)
DVD: 1
Mobo: Gigabyte UD5
6 case fans...

Well we know that the GTX 480 uses about 10W more than a HD 5970 as shown in this review.

Under OCCT Load, a HD 5970 can use up to 360W of power by itself. So a GTX 480 would use about 370W at OCCT load, give or take a 10W.

A stock Core i5 950 with one drive, mobo, and RAM will use up to 190W at full CPU load. So you're looking at 560W plus a few extra wattage for the DVD burner and fans. So let's call it about 600W even.

So while doable with the 620HX, it's pretty much pushing that PSU to the limit. So yeah, the purchase of that 850HX was most wise.

 

[LostInRehab]

Why don't people understand that the 480W that Hardocp posted is for the ENTIRE SYSTEM. You do not need to add more watts for the cpu or hard drives or anything else. Even the above benchmark from Xbitlabs says that the chart was for the SYSTEM power consumption not just the cpu by itself.


Second lesson of the day no retail video card uses more than 300W due to pci-e specs. They can draw more that 300 watts with voltage tweaks and oc'ing but no company will sell a video card that does not meet pci-e specs out of the box or they could not call it a pci-e card. This is why the 5970 was downclocked to 5850 speeds because in order to fall under 300w pci-e specs they could not run at 5870 speeds and still draw less than 300w.





Looking at the above chart you'll see that under almost a full system load that a i7 @ 4Ghz draws 645w at almost full load.

 

[Dangman]

Why don't people understand that the 480W that Hardocp posted is for the ENTIRE SYSTEM. You do not need to add more watts for the cpu or hard drives or anything else. Even the above benchmark from Xbitlabs says that the chart was for the SYSTEM power consumption not just the cpu by itself.

Which Xbit lab benchmark? I linked to three different ones. Two which measured the entire system and one which measured just the video card itself which clearly showed the HD 5970 using more than 300W. Unless I missed something in that particular review of course..

 

[LostInRehab]

Which Xbit lab benchmark? I linked to three different ones. Two which measured the entire system and one which measured just the video card itself which clearly showed the HD 5970 using more than 300W. Unless I missed something in that particular review of course..

Looks like you were right. I will say this though that OCCT is admittedly faulty because it makes the gpu fail and the psu over-voltage protection kick in. So yeah while that 355w is the absolute max the hd 5970 could use it won't ever reach that because occt and furmark put a load on the graphic system that no game or normal application would ever dream of using.