600 Watt PSU enough for 6950XT?

[maartendc]

Hello all,

 

This is my current build: According to PCpartpicker, it uses 440 Watts of power. I have a Corsair SF600 Gold rated PSU.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor  (Purchased For $250.00)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock LP 51.4 CFM CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $17.75)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  (Purchased For $118.00)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (Purchased For $136.11)
Storage: Corsair MP510 960 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $135.47)
Video Card: EVGA Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6 GB Video Card  (Purchased For $350.00)
Case: Silverstone SG13 Mini ITX Tower Case  (Purchased For $39.99)
Power Supply: Corsair SF600 600 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  (Purchased For $78.69)
Case Fan: Noctua P14r redux-1500 PWM 78.69 CFM 140 mm Fan  (Purchased For $16.28)
Total: $1142.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-04-15 04:35 EDT-0400

 

I'd like to swap my 980Ti for the reference AMD 6950 XT:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor  (Purchased For $250.00)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock LP 51.4 CFM CPU Cooler  (Purchased For $17.75)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  (Purchased For $118.00)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (Purchased For $136.11)
Storage: Corsair MP510 960 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $135.47)
Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT Radeon RX 6950 XT 16 GB Video Card
Case: Silverstone SG13 Mini ITX Tower Case  (Purchased For $39.99)
Power Supply: Corsair SF600 600 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  (Purchased For $78.69)
Case Fan: Noctua P14r redux-1500 PWM 78.69 CFM 140 mm Fan  (Purchased For $16.28)
Total: $792.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-04-15 04:34 EDT-0400

 

I know AMD recommends 850 Watts PSU for the 6950XT, but that is taking into account people might have super power hungry CPU's, bad quality PSU's, etc.. According to PC partpicker, this build only uses 540 watts though... Would my 600 Watt Corsair SF600 Gold rated PSU be enough?

 

Thanks!

[Sima01]

Never cheap out on PSU. Especially with that power hungry beast.

 

Even with that PSU, thats not optimal at all.

[filpo]

4 minutes ago, maartendc said:

now AMD recommends 850 Watts PSU for the 6950XT, but that is taking into account people might have super power hungry CPU's, bad quality PSU's, etc.. According to PC partpicker, this build only uses 540 watts though... Would my 600 Watt Corsair SF600 Gold rated PSU be enough?

How old is your psu? If it’s more than like 3 years I would swap it out for an 850. If it’s relatively new then it should be fine but it’s better to overspend on your psu

[_Omega_]

Nope, a friend of mine has a 6900XT and it crashes frequently when not undervolted with his 650W PSU. He has a 3950X for his CPU so it is a bit more powerhungry than your CPU but I'd don't think it'll run fine with just a 600W PSU

[filpo]

1 minute ago, Sima01 said:

Never cheap out on PSU. Especially with that power hungry beast.

 

Even with that PSU, thats not optimal at all.

They might just scrape by. Just. Not if it’s an old unit tho

[Sima01]

2 minutes ago, filpo said:

They might just scrape by. Just. Not if it’s an old unit tho

It might work, indeed. 
But there is a same chance that it won't.

[maartendc]

2 minutes ago, filpo said:

How old is your psu? If it’s more than like 3 years I would swap it out for an 850. If it’s relatively new then it should be fine but it’s better to overspend on your psu

Its like 4.5 years old. How time flies.. DO PSU's really degrade over time though?

 

2 minutes ago, _Omega_ said:

Nope, a friend of mine has a 6900XT and it crashes frequently when not undervolted with his 650W PSU. He has a 3950X for his CPU so it is a bit more powerhungry than your CPU but I'd don't think it'll run fine with just a 600W PSU

Ok, that is good info, thanks for the feedback. I guess getting the 6950XT would mean also needing to get a new PSU... need to factor that into the cost then. Thanks!

[Sima01]

1 minute ago, maartendc said:

Its like 4.5 years old. How time flies.. DO PSU's really degrade over time though?

 

Ok, that is good info, thanks for the feedback. I guess getting the 6950XT would mean also needing to get a new PSU... need to factor that into the cost then. Thanks!

Capacitors age over time, losing the ability to perform their job.

But at the end of the day, run benchmarks when you build it, if it turns off you need new PSU. In the worts case it will just turn it self off and thats it.

[filpo]

11 minutes ago, Sima01 said:

It might work, indeed. 
But there is a same chance that it won't.

Yes ofc it’s better to be safe.

 

11 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Its like 4.5 years old. How time flies.. DO PSU's really degrade over time though?

 

Ok, that is good info, thanks for the feedback. I guess getting the 6950XT would mean also needing to get a new PSU... need to factor that into the cost then. Thanks!

since you got an old enough psu I would go with a new cooler master V850 or SF850 from Corsair

[QuantumSingularity]

The PSU is the least of your worries. First - that case can't physically fit that GPU. You need at lest 15cm more to fit it in. Second - that cooler can't handle that CPU in that case, especially with a source of heat like a 6950XT. That card needs air and a lot of it, just to stay in the comfortable 80°C. The thing this case lacks is exactly that. Then you get to the PSU. pcpartpicker only does rough calculations. 2700X can easily drain 140W, the 6950XT has no problem with going over 300W jsut through the PCIe leads alone. Add another 75-80W from the PCIe slot, Just get a proper case, sell the 2700X drop in a 5600X, get a nice 850W+ PSU and then go for the 6950XT.

 

And AMD don't recommend a minimum of 850W because of people with inefficient CPUs. It's because of something called transient spike - a brief moment when any piece of electronics can drain twice or even triple the power it usually does or is rate for. The 6950XT has been detected draining 818W on its own during transience for 8-9ms - just enough time to overpower the PSU. That's why 850W is the minimum recommendation. 

[maartendc]

On 4/15/2023 at 11:36 AM, QuantumSingularity said:

TFirst - that case can't physically fit that GPU. You need at lest 15cm more to fit it in.

Euhm, the max GPU length that can fit in the Sugo is 270mm, 280mm if you put it right up to the mesh panel. The reference 6950XT is 267 mm long.. In fact, I have a 267mm card in there right now, and it fits fine.

The max thickness for GPU is 54mm, this is 50mm thick.

On 4/15/2023 at 11:36 AM, QuantumSingularity said:

Second - that cooler can't handle that CPU in that case, especially with a source of heat like a 6950XT. That card needs air and a lot of it, just to stay in the comfortable 80°C. The thing this case lacks is exactly that.

This cooler has been on this CPU for 4 years and running great. The CPU doesnt go above 75C at full load and 100% GPU usage. Sure the 6950XT will be hotter than the 980Ti and add more heat to the case, but I doubt it cause my CPU to all of a sudden hit 100C. This case is full of holes, it is basically an open bench.

 

I can accept that the PSU is not powerful enough. But the rest of the comments you made, I don't think you are correct.

[maartendc]

On 4/15/2023 at 11:00 AM, filpo said:

Yes ofc it’s better to be safe.

 

since you got an old enough psu I would go with a new cooler master V850 or SF850 from Corsair

Thanks. Sadly Corsair doesnt make an SF850. The highest SFX PSU they make is SF750.

 

It seems like Cooler Master has a Gold rated 850 Watt SFX PSU though...

[maartendc]

On 4/15/2023 at 10:51 AM, Sima01 said:

Capacitors age over time, losing the ability to perform their job.

But at the end of the day, run benchmarks when you build it, if it turns off you need new PSU. In the worts case it will just turn it self off and thats it.

Thanks, didn't know that. Yes you are right, I can always just try it and see how it goes.

[starsmine]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:48 AM, maartendc said:

Its like 4.5 years old. How time flies.. DO PSU's really degrade over time though?

 

Ok, that is good info, thanks for the feedback. I guess getting the 6950XT would mean also needing to get a new PSU... need to factor that into the cost then. Thanks!

Yes, but not enough to be worried about at 4.5 years.

Most PSUs last over 7 years inside spec and Many last over 10 years (assuming being ran almost 24/7). 

Any that last under 7 cheaped out on components or were in above 60C & 60% humidity enviroments its entire life. 

This is why companies like Seasonic are able to warrenty most of their line over 10 years.

so long as your PSU is still in spec, its fine.

I would not overclock your 6950xt though. At stock wattage things should be fine. 

[maartendc]

18 hours ago, starsmine said:

Yes, but not enough to be worried about at 4.5 years.

Most PSUs last over 7 years inside spec and Many last over 10 years (assuming being ran almost 24/7). 

Any that last under 7 cheaped out on components or were in above 60C & 60% humidity enviroments its entire life. 

This is why companies like Seasonic are able to warrenty most of their line over 10 years.

so long as your PSU is still in spec, its fine.

I would not overclock your 6950xt though. At stock wattage things should be fine. 

Thanks, good info. It's a Corsair PSU and Gold rated, so I am assuming it is solid quality and still OK.