Will I need a new PSU?

[tfninja]

I have an r5 1600, 16gb 3200mhz, 2x SSD, 2x HDD, soundcard and fans plus a few USB devices

I am looking to buy either a 2070 super or 5700xt. My present PSU is a 650w fractal integra r2. It has 30a on the 12v1 rail and 22a on the 12v2 rail. It's around 5 years old.

Is a new PSU necessary to power these graphics cards? Realistically what is the worst that would happen if it fails? Is it >95% likely that a failure won't effect other components?

Thanks

[Sakkura]

It's really only the age that speaks in favor of replacing it.

 

I'd say budget for a replacement within a year or two. No particular rush.

[Pauleft]

I think you should be able to handle it but monitor how your computer acts. If you wanna be safe then get a 750w+ if you have the money (Having more power is never going to hurt)

[Sakkura]

16 hours ago, Pauleft said:

I think you should be able to handle it but monitor how your computer acts. If you wanna be safe then get a 750w+ if you have the money (Having more power is never going to hurt)

Don't get more wattage, it's completely unnecessary. Get more quality instead. A good 650W power supply is a far better choice than a mediocre 750W power supply.

[Pauleft]

2 hours ago, Sakkura said:

Don't get more wattage, it's completely unnecessary. Get more quality instead. A good 650W power supply is a far better choice than a mediocre 750W power supply.

Yeah obviously but what I'm saying no matter what more wattage will never hurt your PC 

[OrionFOTL]

25 minutes ago, Pauleft said:

Yeah obviously but what I'm saying no matter what more wattage will never hurt your PC 

It won't, but I don't see what's the merit in mentioning that.

You can buy twice as much RAM as you need and it won't hurt anything, twice as much drive space and it won't hurt, 6 additional fans and it won't hurt anything, or even a separate case just to stand empty next to your PC, and it won't hurt anything too.

 

Generally, when you have finite money, you should have a better reason to buy something more expensive than just "it won't hurt". 

[Pauleft]

42 minutes ago, OrionFOTL said:

It won't, but I don't see what's the merit in mentioning that.

You can buy twice as much RAM as you need and it won't hurt anything, twice as much drive space and it won't hurt, 6 additional fans and it won't hurt anything, or even a separate case just to stand empty next to your PC, and it won't hurt anything too.

 

Generally, when you have finite money, you should have a better reason to buy something more expensive than just "it won't hurt". 

Like I said if he has the money go buy a larger psu but if you have limited money buy a lower but better psu. It's not that hard to understand

[OrionFOTL]

11 minutes ago, Pauleft said:

Like I said if he has the money go buy a larger psu

Why?

[FALC0N]

This isn't always an either/or scenario. Sometimes the higher wattage unit is on sale and is both the better and best priced option.  The Corsair TXM 650 at $69 a week or two back would be one example.  Though, the overall point is well taken. Usually better to have quality than size.

[tfninja]

So, I went for 5700XT in the end and everything seems fine. Timespy gave me a graphics score of about 8836 at stock settings, which seems pretty good. Things seem relatively stable. I have had a few crashes but it's hard to tell if that's the 5700XT or to do with power. Twice in Hunt:Showdown the game started producing artifacts but only when returning from an alt-tab... probably drivers. Rage 2 and Mankind Divided have crashed a couple of times over 5-6 hours but that could be the games or drivers.

There is one concern, despite scoring well and performing well, I don't see power usage going above 200w. I see 190-200. That would indicate the PSU is having difficulty.. however, if i turn the power limit of the card up by 10%, I do see it using 210-220.. so maybe the PSU isn't tapping out. Either wya, i'll probably replace it within 6 months. I just wanted to update you guys and say thanks for the help.

[OrionFOTL]

56 minutes ago, tfninja said:

I don't see power usage going above 200w. I see 190-200. That would indicate the PSU is having difficulty..

I don't see why you think the PSU is having difficulty?

[tfninja]

1 hour ago, OrionFOTL said:

I don't see why you think the PSU is having difficulty?

Because the card has a TDP of 225w, and it is operating at 100% in benchmarks and only pulling 200.

[Spotty]

2 hours ago, tfninja said:

There is one concern, despite scoring well and performing well, I don't see power usage going above 200w. I see 190-200. That would indicate the PSU is having difficulty.. however, if i turn the power limit of the card up by 10%, I do see it using 210-220.. so maybe the PSU isn't tapping out.

How are you measuring power usage?

[OrionFOTL]

43 minutes ago, tfninja said:

Because the card has a TDP of 225w, and it is operating at 100% in benchmarks and only pulling 200.

TDP isn't power consumption, and power supplies don't even work the way you're imagining ("having difficulties" and not supplying enough power), so there's nothing to worry about,