Szynek

Hello, my relative's TV broke down couple days ago, I'm looking for a replacement. My priorities may be a bit unusual, as this is not very demanding nor tech-savvy person, so I'd like to optimize for cost in a sense of the new one to live for as long as possible (hopefully at least 5 years), but without spending all that much. Priorities are: Android TV (the same as GoogleTV these days?) with support for all major VODs (Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max etc., nothing locked out that would require side-loading). Image quality that is not worse than the previous `Philips 43PUS6501` (hopefully impossible). Probably bigger size (but not larger than 65", as the distance from TV is ~3 meters max). OS, that actually works properly; I can live with maybe some UI animations slowdown, but previous `Philips 43PUS6501` had issues displaying smooth 4k output towards end of its life, either audio or video was stuttering (and some VOD apps do not allow you to reduce quality). I really want to avoid having to set up some additional Android Box, teach to use 2 remotes etc. OS, that will be at least somewhat supported (ergo won't get abandoned immediately after initial release, which could potentially lead to dropping VOD apps support). From what I found: My initial choice was something like this, which seems like a natural way forward --> https://www.morele.net/telewizor-philips-55pus8057-12-led-55-4k-ultra-hd-android-ambilight-11898483/ This also looks interesting, as it often gets recommended as a cheap TV and also I know that Xiaomi supports their product software-wise (at least in case of MiBox they do) -- >https://www.morele.net/telewizor-xiaomi-a2-l55m7-led-55-4k-ultra-hd-android-12288111/ Then there us this, a bit more expensive, but 10" larger, and QLED, so honestly looks pretty good; the problem is, that I have 0 experience with TCL, so no idea about reliability, software quality, or track record when it comes to support --> https://www.morele.net/telewizor-tcl-65c645-qled-65-4k-ultra-hd-android-12813221/ Any comments, or maybe other suggestions?

I eventually bought `be quiet! Straight Power 12 1200W` AKA still overkill, but not that crazy (fwiw, still ATX 3.0). It was ~950PLN for that + I added cheap PC fan for my home server box (old was getting loud). Word of caution though, be careful with gift cards, not sure how common that is, but it seems like my platform really wanted me to not use it "by accident". Basically what happened was, that it would automatically un-assign my gift card every time I changed anything else in the order (like changing an address, or even ticking "invoice" checkbox) without any warning or anything. Idk, maybe it was just bad design, but I smelled dark pattern.

I generally agree, though I thought that things like PSU are exceptions to this rule (though again, I'm kind of contradicting myself here, because those new 12V connectors came out fairly recently). Then on the other hand, cost difference is really low here (for much more albeit redundant for me atm). I think I'm gonna gather some more opinions and maybe sleep on it.

I agree with that to some extent. That plus probably want to be super-cautious, plus when giving such recommendation they don't really have a context of the rest of the PC (so they probably take worst-case scenario into account). That said, 6950XT is still quite power-hungry, supposedly can spike to even 500W+ on its own --> https://www.igorslab.de/en/radeon-rx-6950xt-rx-6750xt-and-rx-6650xt-review-with-the-energetic-crowbar/9/ If you add 5800X3D on the top of that (which will probably mean more GPU utilization as well, as currently I'm CPU limited), and then possibility to switch to OC BIOS on the top of that, and then the fact that you should have at least some breathing room in terms of wattage, it seems dangerously close to me. Let me put it this way: I probably wouldn't consider it, if it weren't for the fact that it really is "free money" (mostly) at this point, and that way my hands won't be tied in the future. Hah, read that too late, that is exactly what I meant to convey.

You may (or may not) be right, opinions (including the ones I got outside of t his forum) seem to have been split, even though my own testing shown that it was likely to be ok-ish but possibly close --> https://linustechtips.com/topic/1540478-6950-xt-power-usage-psu/ Also, please do not forget about the other points that I have made.

Yup, I meant UPS, characters' order got confused there Anyway, thanks for the response, that is the answer I was hoping for. Well, that's true today, but this is a product with 10 years warranty + generally I'd say that PSU is something that you should be able to future-proof (?). I mean the way I see it, if today's card like 4090 can draw over 650W, then ~5 years from now it *could* become a TDP standard for mid-range cards. On the other hand though, it is possible that at that point some completely new standard/technology *could* emerge, which would make my current purchase obsolete.

As mentioned in the OP: 1. I'm cutting it close atm. Just because something technically works, doesn't mean it is safe. Note, that for 6950XT, 850W is recommended. 2. I'm planning to upgrade to 5800X3D at some point in the future. I can't start with new CPU though (as this PSU would not be enough, IMO), so I'm starting with PSU. 3. If you have better suggestions on what to upgrade withing that budget, I'm opened to them.

Hello, Got a surprise gift card for 1000PLN (~250$) for Christmas, and as I already upgraded my GPU recently, I decided to spend it on PSU; preferably all of it (it can even be an overkill, especially given future upgrades), unless you have better ideas to upgrade, based on my spec. Note, that I'm not sure when it is due and how many times it can be split, so I'm planning to spend it all in one go (perhaps with some additional cost from my wallet, without getting too crazy of course). Current/future spec: * MSI B450M MORTAR MAX * AMD Ryzen 3700X (stock cooling); planned upgrade to 5800X3D at some point * 4x8GB DDR4-3200 * 1xSATA HDD * 1xSATA SSD * 1xM2 SSD * 3x case fans (stock, included in be quiet 802 case) * Sapphire 6950 XT Nitro+ I don't know a lot about PSUs, but here are 2 that seem fairly popular: * Seasonic Prime GX-1000 1000W --> https://allegro.pl/oferta/zasilacz-seasonic-prime-gx-1000-80plus-gold-13746799660 * be quiet! Straight Power 12 1500W --> https://allegro.pl/oferta/zasilacz-be-quiet-straight-power-12-1500w-80-plus-platinum-atx-3-0-14761326792# Now, I know that the 2nd one is a crazy overkill (though the hope is, that it would have been enough for the next decade or so), but considering the price/differences ratio (500W more, ATX 3.0, platinum instead of gold) + the fact that I would effectively pay fraction of its price anyway, I think it may not be a bad choice (?). Then again, I don't know much about PSUs, so I'm opened to suggestions. Of course I could find 900-1000W PSU for ~800PLN but that only makes sense if there's any idea as to how to spend the rest. Also, I could maybe do a stretch and buy Ryzen 5800X3D right now (instead of PSU that is), but I'd be afraid to run it with current GPU on 750W (theoretically could work, but way too risky for me, I had some suggestions that I'm already cutting it too close as it is). Also some general questions: 1. I remember reading couple years ago, that it is generally advised to have separate cable/connector per GPU socket. Is this still true for 2.5 connectors (8+8+6) on 6950XT (or was it ever true for that matter)? I'm asking, because eg. be quiet! one seems to have only 2 physical cables (each of them splits to 2x8), so I'm wondering if that's not ideal: 2. I have a "only" 900W PSU atm, but I assume that it isn't dangerous to use them together? I mean the way I see it, worst-case scenario (only when/if 900W gets exceeded) is that the UPS will stop serving its purpose in that moment, but it does not mean that either it or PC will get physically damaged (it will just turn off during such outage). Of course preferably it would be better to have UPS functioning all the time, but tbh my power outages usually last for couple of seconds, so I find it extremely unlikely that I would just happen to have such huge spike in that exact moment (if ever).

Ok, I got the card today and started testing it. After running 3D Mark, it seems like the power draw is ok, but I wonder whether I should be worried about the temperatures. On the surface, it seems ok, max ~85 for the most time. However, hot spot is ~110 for the most time, and it even spiked to 114 at least once. Now, I realize that hotspot can be higher than the "normal" temperature, but such a huge difference still seems odd. Also, looking at GPU-Z, fan speed is at max value, but core clock and memory clock still have some room on the chart. Does that mean, that my card is thermal-throttling and should I be overall worried about it? See results here --> https://imgur.com/a/1lNLTYd Also note, I am still to check the GPU in real-life conditions (AKA actual games).

When it comes to rest of your questions, I can't help you much, other than saying that I used ThrottleStop (Windows) and intel-undervolt (Linux), but I have no idea if you should do it this way for desktop cards. I'd say it's probably an option to do it via some GPU-specific software. You'd probably have to google some tutorial for that though (as I probably will, if the card gets too hot). Also, as somewhat safer solution (I think), my seller told me that in order to make card quieter and less hot (which I reckon limited power usage as well) he used this --> https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/radeon-software-chill

I think that statement is somewhat misleading. True, AFAIK it won't physically damage the GPU, but too much UV may cause instability(which equals BSODs and/or restarts). Simply put, it's comparable to OC (albeit less dangerous); I mean: you need to UV a little, benchmark hard, UV a little, benchmark again etc.; then but eventually, you should get something that you may consider unstable, retract from that, and then have your max UV. Problem is, it may work for a while, but there's still a chance of increased number of crashes sometimes (eg. different games, different APIs, etc.). Of course your results may vary (especially if you do it to reasonable extent) but I'm just saying that it may cause instabilities as well, if taken too far. Bear in mind, I only have limited experience with UV (GPD device), but I think the general rule still stands (it's based on both my experiences, plus what I've read online). To minimize the problems, I'd suggest running as much different benchmarks as possible, before saying: "ok, now this is stable".

Obviously there are consequences to PC randomly turning off (beyond obvious like loosing your data, or in this case game state). Most electronic devices doesn't "like" being forcefully powered off. In case of PCs, first thing that may have problems are disks (as they are usually doing something at all times, and unlike RAM, data needs to persistent); this is especially true if yours is encrypted, even worse if you are eg. in the middle of Windows Update Let me put it this way: couple years ago, I had weird electricity spikes every couple days, sometimes hours (lights dimming, power-downs that lasted ~3 seconds etc.). After couple months of that, I bought an UPS, simply because I had troubles booting a few times, so I figured that the risk is too high at this point. I also remember us having similar issue in one of my previous workplaces, except there (likely due to encryption) OS reinstall was needed sometimes. That said, if such shutdown were to happen once every couple times, I'd say the risk is negligible (unless you are extremely un-lucky).

That said, just to be on the safe side: what is the worst-case scenario if wattage gets exceeded? Does it "just" cut off the power/reboots, or can it actually damage itself; plus if it blows up, then what first, PSU or rest of the PC?

Ok, so after doing some more reading online (with mixed results), I eventually decided to test my own PCs max power draw (excluding GPU, if possible), and add this max 550W to it (while keeping in mind, that this is worst-case scenario anyway). Idle/desktop --> https://imgur.com/a/b8Y3ehX Nothing exciting really, 127W total: Max CPU usage (prime95) --> https://imgur.com/a/0TPWAnp This, I would consider my worst case scenario, to which I should add max 550W from 6950XT. The result is ~180W from the wall (which seems to be a bit lower than 170W reported by some software from CPU alone, and given the fact that everything else would probably draw more than 10W?). Anyway, even if it was 200W, it should still technically be fine; plus I would hope that having max CPU+GPU usage at the same time doesn't really happen all that often in real life. Max CPU+GPU usage (prime95 + Furmark) --> https://imgur.com/a/XOAIosO This is kind of a dumb scenario for this case (considering that I'm replacing that very GPU), but I was curious. The result is under 300W from the wall; and around 400W, if I were to sum all the max values from the software. Turns out, my current Seasonic is probably bored for the most time, I wonder why I even bought it, my old 520W would have been more than enough (hell, I could have even squeezed my Chieftec 450W, if it wasn't super-old ) "Normal" high usage scenario (3DMark stress test) --> https://imgur.com/a/t6uBWy3 For something a bit more realistic (I think), I just decided to run plain 3DMark stress test alone. Results as expected, somewhere in between the 2 above; I don't think it added much overall, other than the fact, that real-life CPU usage in gaming never really reaches 100% on all CPU cores (which was also my experience in regular gaming, outside of emulation, and maybe some strategy games); that leaves even more headroom for GPU. (if I misread/misinterpreted something, please let me know) Summary I've bought the card, will see how it goes; if I ever decide to run some of the tests when card arrives, I'll share the results (though probably not the CPU+GPU one, sounds like a bad idea...). When it comes to real-life usage, I'm somewhat aware, that if I were to start copying files on all my drives, connected some USB fans/heaters/whatever, and run some combination of stress-test benchmarks for every component, it could eventually reach beyond limit, but I'm not really planing to do any of those things.

Hm, good guess, might be I guess I'll reach out to the store I bought it from, maybe they will know for sure. One more thing: does having UPS (900W) help in any way in case of those spikes?