Power Question

[nicky9499]

Hi all,

I recently added a 7970 to one of my old setups. It's powered by a 520W Seasonic S12G, 80+ Bronze unit. I've searched around and those angmoh forums say 500W is good for this card.

Then out of curiosity I went to the Extremevision calculator and put in my specs.

Intel 3570K OC 4.2GHz
2x8GB DDR3-1866
Powercolor 7970
1x SSD
1x 10k rpm HDD
1x 5.4k rpm HDD
5x fans excl CPU
No USB devices

It tells me usage is only 363 W.
Is this zhun bo? Even if I add in my old 7850 its still under 500W.

 

[royfrosty]

Hi all,

I recently added a 7970 to one of my old setups. It's powered by a 520W Seasonic S12G, 80+ Bronze unit. I've searched around and those angmoh forums say 500W is good for this card.

Then out of curiosity I went to the Extremevision calculator and put in my specs.

Intel 3570K OC 4.2GHz
2x8GB DDR3-1866
Powercolor 7970
1x SSD
1x 10k rpm HDD
1x 5.4k rpm HDD
5x fans excl CPU
No USB devices

It tells me usage is only 363 W.
Is this zhun bo? Even if I add in my old 7850 its still under 500W.

More than enough.

But i wont really trust the calculator.

I go by reviews and how much tdp does it really takes.

Most power drawn is the cpu and gpu only. The rest is very negligible between 1w-7w per component.

 

[nicky9499]

I see, thanks Roy.

 

[haylui]

More than enough.

But i wont really trust the calculator.

I go by reviews and how much tdp does it really takes.

Most power drawn is the cpu and gpu only. The rest is very negligible between 1w-7w per component.

TDP isn't just a figure for heat dissipation?

 

[avsquare]

Actually this PSU calculator I think quite reliable

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

I've been using it all along and the figures it gives are pretty legit.

Dialed in my rig specs (including my CPU overclock) for everything except GPU, selected GTX980 3-way SLI it gives a min wattage of 797W and suggests to go for a PSU with min 847W

If you try other lame calculators like Intel's or PSU manufacturer's like Corsair's they all sure ask you go more than 1000W

 

[royfrosty]

TDP isn't just a figure for heat dissipation?

Not really. But what the component is capable of drawing. But i dont take the max figures of it. Cause in real life it will not take full TDP. It will always be below.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

More than enough.

But i wont really trust the calculator.

I go by reviews and how much tdp does it really takes.

Most power drawn is the cpu and gpu only. The rest is very negligible between 1w-7w per component.

I still prefer guru3D power test...

 

[nicky9499]

Actually this PSU calculator I think quite reliable
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Yes, this was the one I used, had a brain fart and mucked up my first post. When it told me how little I was using I was like "sure or not" since I was expecting it around 500W with a "big" card like 7970.

 

[avsquare]

Yes, this was the one I used, had a brain fart and mucked up my first post. When it told me how little I was using I was like "sure or not" since I was expecting it around 500W with a "big" card like 7970.

Nah unless you are throwing in a Titan X, your mainstream rig with a mainstream card are fine with 500-550W usually.

 

[royfrosty]

So long as its a single card. You are fine with 500w. Its more than enough not unless you buy some cheapo psu.

 

[jianrong]

Is it true psu power degrade after some years of usage? The power level watt number decrease?

 

[royfrosty]

Is it true psu power degrade after some years of usage? The power level watt number decrease?

Yes. Usually during its years of aging. And after the warranty period.