Recommended PSU calculator vs recommended via GPU site?

[Steven P. Administrators]

Hello heroes! I built my PC at the end of last summer and almost thought I opted for a weak PSU but every calculation I've done says that 550W is fine https://outervision.com/b/czi3aJ

 

My actual PC is:

• be quiet! Pure Base 600 Midi case
• be quiet! 550W Straight Power 11 80 Plus Gold
• Aorus Z390 Wifi Pro
• Intel i5-9600K (not overclocked)
• 2x 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4 3200Mhz
• KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 Super EX (1-Click OC)
• 2x NVMe: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 256GB Windows / Intel 660p (data)
• 1x Toshiba P300 3TB (7.2k rpm)
• 1x LG Blu-ray CD-DVD/RW optical drive

However the web page at KFA2 says the minimum requirement for the card is 650W (bottom of page, Requirement link) , who is right? 

 

I have not experienced a hum or increase in noise levels beyond hearing the GPU fans when I am gaming.

 

 

Night photo of PC 😛 

 

[spaceelf]

NV recommends a 550 so I imagine KFA2 is covering their asses wrt people using poor power supplies.

 

Might deny support if you ever need it, but might not.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

You'll probably be fine.  TechPowerUp did a whole system per draw (Witcher 3 gaming) with a 9600k, ASUS z390 and a 1080ti (comparable to the 2070 Super power-wise) and hit 360W.

 

Nvidia does, however, recommend a 650W.  The 2070 non-Super was 550W.

 

I wouldn't worry about it though...unless you start adding more components/HDDs or contemplate o/c'ing

[spaceelf]

Ahh, so they do.  My bad

 

I rarely get confused looking up spec info.  Let's just call it mornings

[Steven P. Administrators]

41 minutes ago, Jim K said:

You'll probably be fine.  TechPowerUp did a whole system per draw (Witcher 3 gaming) with a 9600k, ASUS z390 and a 1080ti (comparable to the 2070 Super power-wise) and hit 360W.

 

Nvidia does, however, recommend a 650W.  The 2070 non-Super was 550W.

 

I wouldn't worry about it though...unless you start adding more components/HDDs or contemplate o/c'ing

This 650W recommendation though I am guessing that is just a vanilla PSU, not the 80 Plus Gold rated ones?  I read somewhere that 80 Plus Gold guarantees the rated output, while standard PSUs do not, and have a far lower overall output.

[Astra.Xtreme]

3 minutes ago, Steven P. said:

This 650W recommendation though I am guessing that is just a vanilla PSU,not the 80 Plus Gold rated ones?  I read somewhere that 80 Plus Gold guarantees up to 550W output, while standard 550W ones do not and have a far lower overall output.

You're exactly right.  Recommendations are going to assume you aren't using an efficient PSU, so you can definitely scale it back if you get a higher tier one.  There's a pretty big difference between an 80 Plus (or lower) and an 80 Plus Titanium.

 

https://www.velocitymicro.com/blog/what-is-psu-efficiency-and-why-is-it-important/#:~:text=80 Plus is a certification,of 625W at 100% load.&text=Most power supplies available today are at least 80 Plus rated.

 

[Jim K Global Moderator]

8 minutes ago, Steven P. said:

This 650W recommendation though I am guessing that is just a vanilla PSU, not the 80 Plus Gold rated ones?  I read somewhere that 80 Plus Gold guarantees the rated output, while standard PSUs do not, and have a far lower overall output.

 

5 minutes ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

You're exactly right.  Recommendations are going to assume you aren't using an efficient PSU, so you can definitely scale it back if you get a higher tier one.  There's a pretty big difference between an 80 Plus (or lower) and an 80 Plus Titanium.

 

https://www.velocitymicro.com/blog/what-is-psu-efficiency-and-why-is-it-important/#:~:text=80 Plus is a certification,of 625W at 100% load.&text=Most power supplies available today are at least 80 Plus rated.

 

I do not know if Nvidia takes power efficiency into their recommendations nor do I think it matters.  A lower efficient PSU is going to draw more power from the wall to achieve power needs of the system.  It doesn't mean, necessarily, that a non-efficient 650W won't deliver 650W...it might just need to pull 1.21 Gigawatts from the wall.

 

Assuming non-230V EU cert:  650W on a 80 Plus at 100% load (80%) will pull ~812W from the wall while a 80 Plus Titanium (90%) will be pulling only ~706W from the wall.

 

The 12v rail on the PSU label is probably what Nvidia uses.

 

Though, as I mentioned previously...I think you'll be fine. 

[spikey_richie]

Lots of good answers in here. I tend to depend on pcpartpicker's estimated power consumption tool, it is pretty reliable.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NL6nYH

Edited August 24, 2020 by spikey_richie