Looking for a new gpu and worried about power.

[BunnyHunter67]

I am looking to get a new gpu. I currently have a 3gb 280x that has been fine for things like counerstrike GO, but with the release of things like battlefront and fallout I am looking to upgrade. I run into a few issues. I have only a 600 W psu and I dont know if I would need to upgrade my psu if I bought something like a 970. So I have a budget of around 350$ (I could go a little over or under). So I am wondering what is the best card I could buy that doesn't  break the bank and also lets me not have to upgrade my psu. I have little understanding of the power consumption of my system. Here are my specs so you can gauge the power consumption or help me do so.

 

 

i5 4690k 8 gigs of ram 280x oc edition and a z97-g55 motherboard. Thanks for the help!  

[TechStyle]

 

 

 

Here are some charts of TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW UNDER GAMING LOAD as you can see a 970 consumes about 300W. I forgot their test bench but I'm pretty sure they run an i7 4960x that's overclocked as well. You will be fine with a 600w PSU

[royalcrown]

If it is a good name brand PSU then you'll be okay, if it's junk (like ultra) then upgrade it.

[Sam Z Man]

What PSU is it?

[BunnyHunter67]

What PSU is it?

A corsair cx 600 W

[Sam Z Man]

A corsair cx 600 W

Replace it now before you plan on upgrading anything.

[App4that]

Definitely upgrade the PSU no matter what to a better quality unit. The 390 uses much less power than the 290, so keep and eye on that GPU too.

[CamThaaMan]

I'm also looking to get a new gpu, but my psu is an EVGA GS 650w, and was looking into some of the nvidia cards, but dont know what to get for a z97 board.

[TheRandomness]

 

Here are some charts of TOTAL SYSTEM POWER DRAW UNDER GAMING LOAD as you can see a 970 consumes about 300W. I forgot their test bench but I'm pretty sure they run an i7 4960x that's overclocked as well. You will be fine with a 600w PSU

Just wondering, how does an R9 290 pull more watts than the more powerful R9 290x?

[SteveGrabowski0]

I'm also looking to get a new gpu, but my psu is an EVGA GS 650w, and was looking into some of the nvidia cards, but dont know what to get for a z97 board.

 

R9 390 is the best bang for your buck there, that's an extremely high quality PSU.

[SteveGrabowski0]

A corsair cx 600 W

 

GTX 970 for sure.

[TechStyle]

Just wondering, how does an R9 290 pull more watts than the more powerful R9 290x?

 

Quote from Anandtech.

 

 

 

Moving on to power consumption under Crysis 3, we can see just how AMD’s TDP hasn’t changed compared to the 290X. In fact because these cards are effectively tied in performance in this game, we can even see at least some of the impact of the 290’s higher voltages. By operating at higher voltages in general, and then furthermore higher clockspeeds (requiring higher voltages), the 290 draws just a wee bit more power than the 290X under our gaming workload. Power efficiency wasn’t AMD’s strongest hand to behind with on 290X, and 290 makes it just a bit worse.

[TheRandomness]

Quote from Anandtech.

Oh ok.

GTX 970 for sure.

Or 390 and use the money saved to buy a better PSU.

[SteveGrabowski0]

Oh ok.

Or 390 and use the money saved to buy a better PSU.

 

390 and 970 are around the same price

[TheRandomness]

390 - 8GB VRAM

970 - 3.5+0.5GB VRAM

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-axr93908gbd5ppdhe - Same price as 2 different brands of 970 + $50 left over for a good PSU.

[CamThaaMan]

R9 390 is the best bang for your buck there, that's an extremely high quality PSU.

What about a MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ? Should I get that instead or ?

[SteveGrabowski0]

What about a MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ? Should I get that instead or ?

 

I'd get the R9 390 myself, but the MSI Gaming cards are some of the best GTX 970s. But I do own a GTX 970 (got it long before the 390 was introduced) and it's an incredible card.

[AOforever1]

How long have you used your current PSU, and have you stressed it a lot during its lifetime?
I think those are also  important things to consider perhaps?

 

Don't forget to allow some headroom for your PSU, so you're not maxing it out all the time. One of the ways to keep your PSU healthy IMO.

[BunnyHunter67]

GTX 970 for sure.

Just to confirm my understanding, I do need to upgrade my psu before I go out and buy a 970? or am I fine where I am at.

[BunnyHunter67]

How long have you used your current PSU, and have you stressed it a lot during its lifetime?

I think those are also  important things to consider perhaps?

 

Don't forget to allow some headroom for your PSU, so you're not maxing it out all the time. One of the ways to keep your PSU healthy IMO.

I have had this psu for about a year.

[SteveGrabowski0]

Just to confirm my understanding, I do need to upgrade my psu before I go out and buy a 970? or am I fine where I am at.

 

The 280x is a 250W card, so if you ran it you should be fine running a 150W GTX 970. Though 280x is past what I would run longterm on a CX600 since their power is rated at 30C as far as I know.