Not enough power :O?!

[Giganizer300PRO]

So I just realised...

I have a 500W PSU for a 350W (cca) system... Basically, I can put in a weak CPU cooler aaaaaand that's it!

That's not good. I am looking to buy a serious cooler, later on (but soon) and I need more wattage. Also, this system is quite future-proof and another GPU would need a lot more power. So I'm thinking... I should return this PSU, since I still haven't used it (hopefully I can) and get a better one (but it would need to be for a very similar price). I'm thinking somewhere from 600 to 700W... Can you please help me? I want a TRUSTED PSU. Modular/non-modular is not really a thing, since the price is already kinda fix. Cable management is also (I think) not going to be a problem, since the case is great (not that it really matters THAT much...).

[Oshino Shinobu]

If you're planning SLI, go for a 750w for a good amount of headroom. 

 

Right now, you'd be fine, even with a good cooler and OCs on both the CPU and GPU. 

[Giganizer300PRO]

If you're planning SLI, go for a 750w for a good amount of headroom. 

 

Right now, you'd be fine, even with a good cooler and OCs on both the CPU and GPU. 

I have 150W spare on this one and I went looking for some coolers and they seem to have high wattage. Is that true? I mean... basically it's just fans, right? That doesn't take much power... or does it? Can you recommend some coolers? What do you think, should I go thru the trouble of getting a new PSU or should I later on, (not so soon), when I get another 970, also get another, stronger, PSU? What do I then do with this one? Sell it on ebay for $50?

Legend:

not so soon - at least 6 months

quite soon - max cca 1.5 moths

Thank you for your help!

[Oshino Shinobu]

I have 150W spare on this one and I went looking for some coolers and they seem to have high wattage. Is that true? I mean... basically it's just fans, right? That doesn't take much power... or does it? Can you recommend some coolers? What do you think, should I go thru the trouble of getting a new PSU or should I later on, (not so soon), when I get another 970, also get another, stronger, PSU? What do I then do with this one? Sell it on ebay for $50?

Legend:

not so soon - at least 6 months

quite soon - max cca 1.5 moths

Thank you for your help!

What's your budget for the CPU cooler? 

 

They don't take anywhere near 150W. The cooler itself (if it's a air cooler) takes no power, it's just the fans, and they don't use much power either. I'd go for a bigger PSU later when you get another card. 

[Giganizer300PRO]

What's your budget for the CPU cooler? 

 

They don't take anywhere near 150W. The cooler itself (if it's a air cooler) takes no power, it's just the fans, and they don't use much power either. I'd go for a bigger PSU later when you get another card. 

 

So basically any cooler should do fine?

I mean... water cooling is just some fans and a pump... right? How much does the pump take?

 

I haven't really decided on the budget for the cooler yet, but since I mostly do gaming and browsing, there is no BIG, URGENT NEED for overclocking, so something rather small would do - an air cooler that can get the CPU to somewhere like 4.0 gHZ, maybe 4.5 gHZ. (no idea on how it works for the temps and stuff)

[WhatTheQuack]

I have 150W spare on this one and I went looking for some coolers and they seem to have high wattage. Is that true? I mean... basically it's just fans, right? That doesn't take much power... or does it? Can you recommend some coolers? What do you think, should I go thru the trouble of getting a new PSU or should I later on, (not so soon), when I get another 970, also get another, stronger, PSU? What do I then do with this one? Sell it on ebay for $50?

Legend:

not so soon - at least 6 months

quite soon - max cca 1.5 moths

Thank you for your help!

 

Most heat-generating components in a computer (CPU, GPU etc) will have a specification called TDP, which is measured in watts. This is a measure of how much heat the component typically outputs under moderate load. The wattage you will find on a CPU cooler's spec sheet is referring to the maximum TDP that it can effectively dissipate.This has no relationship to the power consumption of the cooler so you should be fine to use whatever cooler you want. CPU coolers generally use very little power, usually under 10 watts.

 

More on TDP here:

[Giganizer300PRO]

Most heat-generating components in a computer (CPU, GPU etc) will have a specification called TDP, which is measured in watts. This is a measure of how much heat the component typically outputs under moderate load. The wattage you will find on a CPU cooler's spec sheet is referring to the maximum TDP that it can effectively dissipate.This has no relationship to the power consumption of the cooler so you should be fine to use whatever cooler you want as generally, they use very little power, usually under 10 watts.

 

More on TDP here:

 

THANK YOU!

 

This has helped me a lot! I seemed to be confusing TDP and wattage required.

[MoDtEc]

I have 150W spare on this one and I went looking for some coolers and they seem to have high wattage. Is that true? I mean... basically it's just fans, right? That doesn't take much power... or does it? Can you recommend some coolers? What do you think, should I go thru the trouble of getting a new PSU or should I later on, (not so soon), when I get another 970, also get another, stronger, PSU? What do I then do with this one? Sell it on ebay for $50?

Legend:

not so soon - at least 6 months

quite soon - max cca 1.5 moths

Thank you for your help!

If you get another 970 (not so soon) you shuld get a better PSU with that

i recommend (surprise) The EVGA SuperNova G2 750W

For the CPU cooler: get the BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 for performance and very quiet operation even on high rpms

Or the Noctua NH-D(14 or 15) which may cost a few bucks less, performs the same, is a tiny little bit louder and.... i personally like the DRP3 more for aestetics but thats personal taste here

[Giganizer300PRO]

If you get another 970 (not so soon) you shuld get a better PSU with that

i recommend (surprise) The EVGA SuperNova G2 750W

For the CPU cooler: get the BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 for performance and very quiet operation even on high rpms

Or the Noctua NH-D(14 or 15) which may cost a few bucks less, performs the same, is a tiny little bit louder and.... i personally like the DRP3 more for aestetics but thats personal taste here

 

Well noise doesn't matter that much for me and my PC is "hidden" (translates to: in a place where no one look at it) so I think that if I go with air, I'll choose Noctua, but I am not there yet at all. Trust me, I will flood the forums when I am choosing a cooler...