550w for a r9 290

[Matthew12106]

So up until this point i was convinced I needed a new power supply if I was to upgrade to a new r9 290. So I currently have a 

XFX PRO550W P1-550S-XXB9 Power Supply (PSU) Core Edition

So I made a post about if that was enough for an r9 290 (It's going to be a non-reference so it will be OC most likely an Asus or MSI one IDK)

I got some pretty upseting comments that convinced me that I needed a new psu like the following 

 

550w imho is pushing it as well. Stock speeds/voltages and no synthetic benchmarking yeah it may be hovering about the 400w'ish mark but run 3dmark.... yeah its gonna be high. Now add any oc at all and you'll be exceeding that figure for sure. I would look at a eg. xfx750w (or more)  that way you'll have a bit of headroom after overclocking shenanigans. Stick with xfx - price point and seasonic as the oem you cant go wrong.

 

The issue is not that it can't but when it can't. When pushing a psu 90% plus the power is no longer efficient. Lack of power kills hardware. May have issues in the future or you may not. That's why a lot of veterans purchase over kill psu. When it comes to efficient power don't cut corners. Better to sell you psu purchase a 750 bronze psu at the very least imo.

 

Although I got some comments that made me think I was fine like the following

 

550W should basicly be fine, for a single gpu setup.

The powercolor 290 pcs+ cannot draw more power then 300W, it will probably draw arround 250W / 275W max, in the worst case scenario.

 

I use an MSI 290X gaming on a 500w coolermaster bronze psu. The card doesn't draw enough to turn it off, and it runs at 1040mhz with no issues or throttling. I use it with a 4 core 95 watt tdp processor, 4 hard drives, 2 1600mhz ram sticks, and 5 case fans. 

I mean I don't know any more if I should get the new card or not I mean I do and will benchmark if I get the card just really unigine valley and heaven 4.0 but still ... and just searching '550w for r9 290' the majority seem to say yes it's ok. If I have to buy a new psu I might as well wait for the new gtx 800 series card which will be more power efficient 

 

List of my full specs: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Matthew12106/saved/4XFbt6

[nj4ck]

People love to go full-on drama queen when it comes to PSUs. First off, lack of power doesn't directly kill hardware. Overstressing your PSU however might kill your PSU over time, which then again could damage your hardware. People also like to overexaggerate the power draw of AMDs Hawaii cards. I've heard people state that the card alone can pull up to 500W, which is BS. As to the question if 550W will be enough... yes. I run my R9 290 on a 650W Corsair CS650M, my entire system is overclocked and I can't even get the PSU fan to ramp up. People have been running Titans off a 450W PSU. You'll be fine. 

 

Plus you already have the PSU, just get the card and get a kill-a-watt, see how much power your entire system draws from the wall under load. I'd be surprised if it exceeds 450W. If it does get too close to the edge, you can still upgrade your PSU.

[OrangeFlavoured]

I would say you are fine, but upgrading won't hurt. You definitely will need to upgrade to get anything more than what you have now and a R9 290.

[Matthew12106]

I would say you are fine, but upgrading won't hurt. You definitely will need to upgrade to get anything more than what you have now and a R9 290

"You definitely will need to upgrade to get anything more than what you have now and a R9 290"

um... so you're saying I'm fine

[Matthew12106]

People love to go full-on drama queen when it comes to PSUs. First off, lack of power doesn't directly kill hardware. Overstressing your PSU however might kill your PSU over time, which then again could damage your hardware. People also like to overexaggerate the power draw of AMDs Hawaii cards. I've heard people state that the card alone can pull up to 500W, which is BS. As to the question if 550W will be enough... yes. I run my R9 290 on a 650W Corsair CS650M, my entire system is overclocked and I can't even get the PSU fan to ramp up. People have been running Titans off a 450W PSU. You'll be fine. 

 

Plus you already have the PSU, just get the card and get a kill-a-watt, see how much power your entire system draws from the wall under load. I'd be surprised if it exceeds 450W. If it does get too close to the edge, you can still upgrade your PSU.

Thanks for the help man I'm going with your so when I get the card the the wattage meter is this one okhttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-13-AMP-PLUG-IN-POWER-ENERGY-MONITOR-CONSUMPTION-VOLT-METER-WATTAGE-KWH-/380883518303?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item58ae6d435f

[Sonefiler]

It should be fine. By the way, good choice in graphics card