1GPU, 2PSUs

[Pesky Ngon]

planning on doing something a tad jank, so wanted to get some opinions from those with more knowledge than me.

 

I have a vega 64 I want to use in a secondary system but I only have a 500w psu with a single 8 pin. they recommend a 750w psu for the vega64, but those psus are pretty pricey. so instead, I was thinking of buying a second hand phanteks power combo device and a second 500w psu. this would cost me about 35%less in total, and give me more upgrade options in future. this would provide more than enough power in total, but it would mean Im powering the psu with one 8pin from each psu. would this cause me any issues? 

 

I would really appreciate any advice on this before I blow up one of my most expensive parts.

[GoldenLag]

3 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

would really appreciate any advice on this before I blow up one of my most expensive parts.

Get a good 550w PSU to begin with.

 

What PSUs are you using

 

[Spotty]

3 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

so instead, I was thinking of buying a second hand phanteks power combo device and a second 500w psu. this would cost me about 35%less in total, and give me more upgrade options in future. this would provide more than enough power in total, but it would mean Im powering the psu with one 8pin from each psu. would this cause me any issues? 

All of this is a bad idea. 2 crap power supplies do not make 1 good power supply. It just doubles the problems & risk of failures.

Buy a new PSU, one that is suitable for your system.

[OrionFOTL]

According to Cybenetics Radeon Vega 64 consumes 300W on average in gaming, 340W peak. Depending on your setup, which you haven't described, you may not need a 750W PSU to power your entire setup. (You didn't describe what PSU you have now, and what PSU you plan to buy either).

 

Powering a graphics card from a separate PSU requires you to use an independently regulated unit, or one with DC-DC converters. That already rules out all the budget group regulated units, which would have troubles to keep stable 12V output when they don't have to output anything else on the lower voltages.

 

Using an entire second 500W power supply just to use a single 8pin connector to share load with a 2x8pin + 75w PCIe slot card doesn't seem economical to me either. Since Vega64 consumes 340W at peak, and it will already sip 75W from the slot and more than that from one 8pin already, the second 8pin won't really have much load going to it.

 

Two separate power supplies will also be less efficient, noticeably louder, and also you'll have to find space to put the second PSU somewhere.

[Pesky Ngon]

Just now, Spotty said:

All of this is a bad idea. 2 crap power supplies do not make 1 good power supply. It just doubles the problems & risk of failures.

Buy a new PSU, one that is suitable for your system.

who said they are crap? the one I have already is an aero cool that has worked without any problems for a year (stopped using because added more GPUs to system) and the second one I was thinking of buying is a corsair. 

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

who said they are crap? the one I have already is an aero cool that has worked without any problems for a year (stopped using because added more GPUs to system) and the second one I was thinking of buying is a corsair. 

Neither of the two mentioned is a PSU......

 

Those are brands...... Also working doesnt mean its good. A Lada Niva might work, but it doesnt meab its good.

[OrionFOTL]

4 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

the one I have already is an aero cool

4 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

and the second one I was thinking of buying is a corsair. 

I'm thinking of buying an MSI graphics card. How good is it?

 

4 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

that has worked without any problems for a year

Crap power supplies slowly damage your components over time, and if nothing suddenly exploded for a year, that doesn't mean it's fine.

Just like when you drive without a seatbelt for a year, and you have no accidents, that doesn't mean it's safe.

 

But yes, if you say your 500W Aerocool only has one 8pin, then you can't use it to power Vega64 indeed.

[GoldenLag]

Just now, OrionFOTL said:

Crap power supplies slowly damage your components over time,

What?

 

That is the first time ive ever heard of such bull.

 

[Pesky Ngon]

2 minutes ago, OrionFOTL said:

According to Cybenetics Radeon Vega 64 consumes 300W on average in gaming, 340W peak. Depending on your setup, which you haven't described, you may not need a 750W PSU to power your entire setup. (You didn't describe what PSU you have now, and what PSU you plan to buy either).

 

Powering a graphics card from a separate PSU requires you to use an independently regulated unit, or one with DC-DC converters. That already rules out all the budget group regulated units, which would have troubles to keep stable 12V output when they don't have to output anything else on the lower voltages.

 

Using an entire second 500W power supply just to use a single 8pin connector to share load with a 2x8pin + 75w PCIe slot card doesn't seem economical to me either. Since Vega64 consumes 340W at peak, and it will already sip 75W from the slot and more than that from one 8pin already, the second 8pin won't really have much load going to it.

 

Two separate power supplies will also be less efficient, noticeably louder, and also you'll have to find space to put the second PSU somewhere.

thanks for the info. the setup would be the vega 64, i5 7400, 16gb ram, 1tb hdd. the psu I currently own is an aero cool unit. 
noise and space wont be an issue for me, so I don't have to worry about that bit at least.

[GoldenLag]

Just now, Pesky Ngon said:

the psu I currently own is an aero cool unit. 

Thats a brand. Not a PSU unit.

[Pesky Ngon]

2 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

Neither of the two mentioned is a PSU......

 

Those are brands...... Also working doesnt mean its good. A Lada Niva might work, but it doesnt meab its good.

the point I was trying to make is that they aren't some random no-name Chinese brand that screams low quality. 

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

the point I was trying to make is that they aren't some random no-name Chinese brand that screams low quality. 

You know its usually from china most PSUs come from..... Right?

 

Also, it doesnt tell us the name of the PSU, which is the important bit.

[Stormseeker9]

3 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

the point I was trying to make is that they aren't some random no-name Chinese brand that screams low quality. 

Even a reputable Brand like Corsair or EVGA will have shitty quality units

 

can you provide us with the psu model?

[Pesky Ngon]

5 minutes ago, OrionFOTL said:

I'm thinking of buying an MSI graphics card. How good is it?

 

Crap power supplies slowly damage your components over time, and if nothing suddenly exploded for a year, that doesn't mean it's fine.

Just like when you drive without a seatbelt for a year, and you have no accidents, that doesn't mean it's safe.

 

But yes, if you say your 500W Aerocool only has one 8pin, then you can't use it to power Vega64 indeed.

I dug out the unit to find what it says exactly: Aerocool Integrator 500W Power Supply, 80 Plus Bronze

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aerocool-Integrator-Efficiency-Mainstream-Systems/dp/B00JKVHKSU/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=500w+psu&qid=1566976284&s=gateway&sr=8-4

 

the one I was thinking of buying was this: Corsair VS450 450 W Active PFC 80 PLUS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-VS450-Active-Certified-Supply/dp/B078Y44N73/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=500w+psu&qid=1566976284&s=gateway&sr=8-8

[Pesky Ngon]

1 minute ago, Stormseeker9 said:

Even a reputable Brand like Corsair or EVGA will have shitty quality units

 

can you provide us with the psu model?

I dug out the unit to find what it says exactly: Aerocool Integrator 500W Power Supply, 80 Plus Bronze

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aerocool-Integrator-Efficiency-Mainstream-Systems/dp/B00JKVHKSU/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=500w+psu&qid=1566976284&s=gateway&sr=8-4

 

the one I was thinking of buying was this: Corsair VS450 450 W Active PFC 80 PLUS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-VS450-Active-Certified-Supply/dp/B078Y44N73/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=500w+psu&qid=1566976284&s=gateway&sr=8-8

[Pesky Ngon]

3 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

You know its usually from china most PSUs come from..... Right?

 

Also, it doesnt tell us the name of the PSU, which is the important bit.

I know most come from there, but surely you know what I mean when I talk about "made in china" stereotypical quality and random off brands?

[Stormseeker9]

2 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

I dug out the unit to find what it says exactly: Aerocool Integrator 500W Power Supply, 80 Plus Bronze

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aerocool-Integrator-Efficiency-Mainstream-Systems/dp/B00JKVHKSU/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=500w+psu&qid=1566976284&s=gateway&sr=8-4

 

the one I was thinking of buying was this: Corsair VS450 450 W Active PFC 80 PLUS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-VS450-Active-Certified-Supply/dp/B078Y44N73/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=500w+psu&qid=1566976284&s=gateway&sr=8-8

Both are Basically crap

 

do not buy the VS model as it’s crap.

 

buy something like a TXm or CX or RMx or be quiet pure power 11 etc 

[OrionFOTL]

3 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

4 minutes ago, OrionFOTL said:

Crap power supplies slowly damage your components over time

What?

 

That is the first time ive ever heard of such bull.

 

You never heard of components going bad because of crap PSUs? I thought the dangers of using a very low-quality power supply are already widely known. I mean, that's pretty much why ATX specs exist, and also why we steer people away from bad PSUs.

 

Voltage tolerances and ripple limits all exist to ensure other components get appropriate power. Their voltage regulator modules, and specifically transistors and diodes that receive power directly from the PSU, have specific ranges of working input voltages. If they receive too low or too high voltage, they must work harder to correct it to acceptable levels. The strain and bigger heat that comes from this makes them wear out faster.

 

Same with ripple and bad load regulation. It's one thing if a FET has to constantly boost a voltage that is too low or too high, but when it fluctuates from one point to the other, it heats it up and strains it even more.

 

That's such a weird thing to say... I mean I'm not saying anything new to anybody, right? Most of people here should already that crappy PSUs are bad for your computer. Heck, customers going back to the shop with parts damaged by bad PSUs is the sole reason @jonnyGURU started his website when he was still working his previous jobs!

[Pesky Ngon]

1 minute ago, Stormseeker9 said:

Both are not that good.

 

do not buy the VS model as it’s crap.

 

buy something like a TXm or CX or RMx or be quiet pure power 11 etc 

ouch, 30%more expensive for the same wattage. I understand you get what you pay for, but that still stings. 

 

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

I know most come from there, but surely you know what I mean when I talk about "made in china" stereotypical quality and random off brands?

And among them there are decent units. And brands say nothing about the quality of the unit.

4 minutes ago, Pesky Ngon said:

the one I was thinking of buying was this: Corsair VS450 450 W Active PFC 80 PLUS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-VS450-Active-Certified-Supply/dp/B078Y44N73/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=500w+psu&qid=1566976284&s=gateway&sr=8-8

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/dDH48d/corsair-txm-gold-550w-80-gold-certified-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020133-na

 

Here, get an actual good PSU.

 

This is the cheapest good unit you could run with any consumer Hardware config.

[Stormseeker9]

Just now, Pesky Ngon said:

ouch, 30%more expensive for the same wattage. I understand you get what you pay for, but that still stings. 

 

But it’s worth it in the end. Especially with a power hungry card like the Vega 64.

[OrionFOTL]

@Pesky Ngon, Corsair VS450 is group regulated, so it may not keep good 12V voltage regulation when it's used solely to power a graphics card.

[Stormseeker9]

Just now, OrionFOTL said:

@Pesky Ngon, Corsair VS450 is group regulated, so it may not keep good 12V voltage regulation when it's used solely to power a graphics card.

Nah it’s just fucking crap mate

[Pesky Ngon]

Just now, OrionFOTL said:

@Pesky Ngon, Corsair VS450 is group regulated, so it may not keep good 12V voltage regulation when it's used solely to power a graphics card.

I appreciate the info, but I don't think it would only power the gpu because of the phanteks combo. it shares the load of the mobo and cpu between the 2 psus. 

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, OrionFOTL said:

You never heard of components going bad because of crap PSUs?

Thats a PSU failing. And not what you said. You said a crap PSU damages your components over time. 

3 minutes ago, OrionFOTL said:

why we steer people away from bad PSU

Yeah, you dont need to make a wall of text about it. 

 

But a PSU damaging components over time would be highly unusual. And would be a PSU constantly rippling and supplying the wrong voltage. 

 

A crap PSU is crap for whole load lf other reasons.