Is EVGA B3 550W safe? (and are 550W enough?)

[LucaAlba297]

So a few days ago i posted asking for help for building my first rig, and that's the result:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  (€188.58 @ Amazon Italia)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  (€116.43 @ Amazon Italia)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory  (€79.99 @ Amazon Italia)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€69.99 @ Amazon Italia)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Red Dragon Video Card  (€429.14 @ Amazon Italia)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB511 ATX Mid Tower Case  (€38.99 @ Amazon Italia)
Power Supply: EVGA B3 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€75.00)
Total: €998.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 

After researching a little bit more about the components i bought I discovered that the B3 has some serious safety issues, someone says that those issues are now resolved but i can't find anything concrete on google.

 

Is the B3 safe?

 

are this PSUs better?:

- Corsair TXM 550W (75,54€ on Amazon Italia)

- Corsair CXM 550W (72,98€)

 

The CXM is classified as Tier B (same as B3), while the TXM 2017 is tier A, even if I can't tell if the selected model is the 2017 one. Both of them aren't fully modular (not that it's too important to me) and they don't have an ECO mode like the B3.

 

And lastly, are 550W enough? I saw that the 5700XT has 650W has recommended power output.

 

[Spotty]

Do you already own the EVGA B3 550W or were you planning on buying it? There's usually better power supplies around the same price.
 

2 minutes ago, LucaAlba297 said:

are this PSUs better?:

- Corsair TXM 550W (75,54€ on Amazon Italia)

- Corsair CXM 550W (72,98€)

Yes. If the TX550M is the same price as the EVGA B3 550W then you should choose the TXM.

[EA_1337]

I think 550W is not enough. I have a similar rig and got the Seasonic S12II-620 (620W) and I'm pretty happy with it. It's extremely quiet and reliable.

[ManosMax13]

Yes amd cards need more power than nvidias but if you dont plan to overclock i dont think there will be a problem. However, psu's work most efficiently when the system uses like 15% so getting a 700w psu would be better even if it is not a bronze or gold one just a 80 plus,but get it from a reputable brand like thermaltake,corsair,silverstone,etc whichever company is cheapest where you live

 

 

[JoostinOnline]

It's safe, and yes, 550W is more than enough. People (and wattage calculators that are designed to sell you more expensive power supplies) wildly overestimate how much power your system needs.

[seon123]

1 minute ago, ManosMax13 said:

Yes amd cards need more power than nvidias but if you dont plan to overclock i dont think there will be a problem. However, psu's work most efficiently when the system uses like 50% so getting a 700w psu would be better even if it is not a bronze or gold one just a 80 plus,but get it from a reputable brand like thermaltake,corsair,silverstone,etc whichever company is cheapest where you live

If you have absolutely no clue about what you're talking about, I recommend at least not spreading misinformation. 

4 minutes ago, EA_1337 said:

I think 550W is not enough. I have a similar rig and got the Seasonic S12II-620 (620W) and I'm pretty happy with it. It's extremely quiet and reliable.

Why would 550W not be enough for a system that needs 300W? The S12 II is one of the louder PSUs, and you're saying it's reliable, based on a sample size of one...?

9 minutes ago, LucaAlba297 said:

are this PSUs better?:

- Corsair TXM 550W (75,54€ on Amazon Italia)

- Corsair CXM 550W (72,98€)

Out of those, the TXM makes more sense. The BitFenix Formula 450W also costs €75 on Amazon It, and it should be quieter than those, which will be noticeable if you have a quiet system. 

[LucaAlba297]

5 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Do you already own the EVGA B3 550W or were you planning on buying it? There's usually better power supplies around the same price.
 

Yes. If the TX550M is the same price as the EVGA B3 550W then you should choose the TXM.

I bought it yesterday so i can cancel the order.

The TX550M is the same price but i'm not sure it is the 2017 one (I believe it makes the difference, otherwise it wouldn't be specified on the Tier list).

 

7 minutes ago, EA_1337 said:

I think 550W is not enough. I have a similar rig and got the Seasonic S12II-620 (620W) and I'm pretty happy with it. It's extremely quiet and reliable.

 

5 minutes ago, ManosMax13 said:

Yes amd cards need more power than nvidias but if you dont plan to overclock i dont think there will be a problem. However, psu's work most efficiently when the system uses like 50% so getting a 700w psu would be better even if it is not a bronze or gold one just a 80 plus,but get it from a reputable brand like thermaltake,corsair,silverstone,etc whichever company is cheapest where you live

 

4 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

It's safe, and yes, 550W is more than enough. People (and wattage calculators that are designed to sell you more expensive power supplies) wildly overestimate how much power your system needs.

I don't know what to believe now.

[ManosMax13]

2 minutes ago, LucaAlba297 said:

I bought it yesterday so i can cancel the order.

The TX550M is the same price but i'm not sure it is the 2017 one (I believe it makes the difference, otherwise it wouldn't be specified on the Tier list).

 

 

 

I don't know what to believe now.

Ok here is the deal your system wont be outputting that muchj power but if you plan to make it go all 100% as fast as posible etc get some more watts to have some headroom but you are gonna be fine either way.

[JoostinOnline]

1 minute ago, LucaAlba297 said:

I don't know what to believe now.

Post count should clear up some of the confusion on who's got more experience, but I agree with Spotty about trading in the power supply. He helped write the tier list.

[Spotty]

Just now, LucaAlba297 said:

The TX550M is the same price but i'm not sure it is the 2017 one (I believe it makes the difference, otherwise it wouldn't be specified on the Tier list).

The one you linked to on Amazon is the recent model.

 

1 minute ago, LucaAlba297 said:

I bought it yesterday so i can cancel the order.

Up to you. The EVGA B3 550W would work and you shouldn't have any issues with it with your system, though there are other options available. The TX550M is the better power supply in my opinion, and there might be other options like the Bitfenix Formula as well as @seon123 pointed out.
If you would incur any penalty for cancelling the order then I wouldn't worry about it and just keep the EVGA B3, though in future it's easier to ask for help before buying.

 

Just now, JoostinOnline said:

but I agree with Spotty about trading in the power supply. He helped write the tier list.

I was not involved with any revision of the PSU Tier Lists.

[JoostinOnline]

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

I was not involved with any revision of the PSU Tier Lists.

My mistake, I could swear I saw your name on there.

 

Anyway, could you explain to ManosMax why the whole 50% usage thing is wrong? I'm going to sleep.

[LucaAlba297]

4 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Post count should clear up some of the confusion on who's got more experience, but I agree with Spotty about trading in the power supply. He helped write the tier list.

 

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

The one you linked to on Amazon is the recent model.

 

Up to you. The EVGA B3 550W would work and you shouldn't have any issues with it with your system, though there are other options available. The TX550M is the better power supply in my opinion, and there might be other options like the Bitfenix Formula as well as @seon123 pointed out.
If you would incur any penalty for cancelling the order then I wouldn't worry about it and just keep the EVGA B3, though in future it's easier to ask for help before buying.

 

I was not involved with any revision of the PSU Tier Lists.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I can cancel it for free, I did ask for help on this forum and on an italian one where they suggested the B3, when i posted the list here for a second opinion the guys/gals that helped me were pretty neutral because they didn't know the PSU but they saw it ranked B on the tier list.

 

If you don't have any other suggestions  I'll change the B3 with the TXM. Thanks again.

10 minutes ago, seon123 said:

If you have absolutely no clue about what you're talking about, I recommend at least not spreading misinformation. 

Why would 550W not be enough for a system that needs 300W? The S12 II is one of the louder PSUs, and you're saying it's reliable, based on a sample size of one...?

Out of those, the TXM makes more sense. The BitFenix Formula 450W also costs €75 on Amazon It, and it should be quieter than those, which will be noticeable if you have a quiet system. 

Unfortunately the BitFenix has 30€ of additional shipment costs.

[Fasauceome]

28 minutes ago, ManosMax13 said:

However, psu's work most efficiently when the system uses like 15% 

Never heard this one before, but it's the same as the 50% rule, it's just not true. Every power supply has its own efficiency curve, they don't all top out at the same percentage. 

 

29 minutes ago, ManosMax13 said:

so getting a 700w psu would be better even if it is not a bronze or gold one just a 80 plus,but get it from a reputable brand like thermaltake,corsair,silverstone,etc whichever company is cheapest where you live

It's not about efficiency or brand, it's about quality.  You could get a Corsair VS for this system and it will turn on, but it would have other problems, even though Corsair is a "good brand"

 

21 minutes ago, ManosMax13 said:

your system wont be outputting that muchj power but if you plan to make it go all 100% as fast as posible etc get some more watts to have some headroom

I don't see any circumstance where a ryzen 5 and an RX 5700 XT can draw over 450 Watts, maybe 500. 

[FALC0N]

5 hours ago, EA_1337 said:

I think 550W is not enough. I have a similar rig and got the Seasonic S12II-620 (620W) and I'm pretty happy with it. It's extremely quiet and reliable.

 

The S12II is VERY reliable.  Very high heat tolerance also.  They are tough as nails. 

 

 

5 hours ago, seon123 said:

The S12 II is one of the louder PSUs, and you're saying it's reliable, based on a sample size of one...?

 

 

Sample of one?  You realize the S12II reliability is legendary, right?  That's a big reason why it's been around so long.

 

On sound level, it depends on who you ask.  I have used countless S12II's and they have alway been very silent.  Several pro reviews drew the same conclusion.  On the other hand, some pro reviews and users have found them to be a little loud under heavy load.  A lot of variables play into perceived sound level.  

[Zando_]

5 hours ago, LucaAlba297 said:

I don't know what to believe now.

An X5670 (hexacore Westmere-EP Xeon) at 1.45v on the core, along with a maxed power target MSI Gaming X 1080 Ti (a 250W card, probably slightly higher with the 120% power target), 3x8GB DDR3 at 1.65v and OCed to around 2100Mhz, on an older, more power hungry EVGA X58 Classified 4-way SLI mobo, with a custom loop on the CPU (so the PSU was powering 3 fans for the rad and one or two for the heatsinks on the mobo, along with a D5 pump at max RPM), pulled 553W under the hardest synthetic tests I could put it under. 

So far I haven't seen my current rig (i7 5820K at 1.32-1.34v on the core, overclocked Radeon VII, 4x8GB DDR4 at the standard 1.35v, also a custom loop) step much higher than that. I think it could probably pull 550-600W if I pushed voltages a bit more and slapped it under full synthetic load. 

Highly doubt an R5 3600 and RX 5700 XT will pull more than those rigs do. 
 

6 hours ago, ManosMax13 said:

Yes amd cards need more power than nvidias but if you dont plan to overclock i dont think there will be a problem. However, psu's work most efficiently when the system uses like 15% so getting a 700w psu would be better even if it is not a bronze or gold one just a 80 plus,but get it from a reputable brand like thermaltake,corsair,silverstone,etc whichever company is cheapest where you live

"Yes amd cards need more power than nvidias but if you dont plan to overclock i dont think there will be a problem" - not by much, the 5700 XT is about equal with a 1080 Ti power draw wise, maybe a bit more efficient: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx_5700-rx_5700_xt,6216-5.html 

"However, psu's work most efficiently when the system uses like 15%" uh no... pretty sure the efficiency drops at that level of load, I think it was around 70% or maybe more where PSUs work the best, but the efficiency curve can also vary by PSU. 

[Vejnemojnen]

550w will be fine. Even custom rx5700xt cards with 9900k overclocked to 5ghz all-core require only around 390 watts . With a much more efficient processor, there should not be any problems.

 

 

 

see these total system power consumption charts  test-rig has 9900k OC-d, so it's kind of a "worst case scenario" (in terms of power)