Insufficient psu

[Tigercub72]

Hi there

I have just bought a slightly scrapyard wars style computer and a legit 280x. The possibly dodgy computer has a 4570 i5, unknown ram, some gigabyte motherboard and a NRXN 500W PSU.

I'm trying to do this cheaply and have got both for $500 NZD (maybe $300 usd) but I was wondering if I could cause permanent damage due to the shady psu.

What's the worst that could happen??

Thanks for your time.

[ThatOneRussian]

the psu could ruin your other hardware at worse cast scenario

[The Official Czex]

What the Hell is NRXN?

 

Did you mean NAXN? Enermax PSU' s are not the best by any measure.

[MG2R]

A bunch of people here are going to shout that your system is going to explode and cause a black hole that will consume the universe. I'm here to tell you that it's probably going to be OK.

 

Yes, there is a chance that the PSU craps out and sends a power surge through your components, effectively killing your entire system. There's also a chance that a meteor falls on top of your house tomorrow, effectively killing your entire system.

 

If it can provide sufficient power, with a fair bit of headroom, and you can keep it fed with fresh air (and make sure that fan is spinning), it's probably going to be a happy camper all day long.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't think too much about it. If you have the budget to replace it, by all means, do so. But if you don't, or you have other priorities right now, then just don't worry too much about it.

[ThatOneRussian]

Sorry, I'm on my phone and just getting used to tapatalk.

Can you please give me an answer.

we gave you an answer .... it will be enough worst case scenario it ruins your hardware.

Edited November 16, 2015 by MG2R
Thread merge

[Naeaes]

OP, there is a reason GPUs come with different types and numbers of power connectors. 

 

As per ATX and EPS12V specifications, 75W@12V is provided to the GPU via the PCI-E connector. A 6-pin PCI-E supplementary power connector delivers 75W and the 8-pin delivers 150W. A molex delivers 45W.

 

Your card has 1 6-pin and 1 8-pin power connectors, right?

The reason for it is that the developers deemed that 225W (75W from the slot + 2x 75W from two 6-pin connetors) is not enough for specified operations. And also that 375W (75W from slot + 2 x 150W from two 8-pin connectors) would be redundant or just too much.

The slot, the 6-pin and the 8-pin can provide up to 300W together so your GPUs power consumption will fall somewhere between 300W and 225W.

 

By standard, these are minimum amounts. There is no reason why the 6-pin on your PSU wouldn't deliver, say 95W. But the manufacturer is not required to and there is no way to tell without testing. The 'pool' of which the PSU draws the 12V power might be combined and stressing other components less, might give the GPU connectors more leeway. Then again, no amount of splitters or adapters will turn a 75W 6-pin connector to a 150W 8-pin connector. Or a 45W molex connector to a 75W 6-pin connector. That's just not how electricity works. And to go even further, the fact that the GPU has the ability to draw 300W, doesn't mean it will. It can be designed better, it can be a particularly low-power individual, you can simply not stress it so much and so on.

 

All this is to say; a ) if your PSU doesn't natively have the connectors for your GPU, it wasn't designed to provide enough power for it and you're likely to run into trouble. b ) It might still work if you use adapters. No-one can 100% certainly tell you if it will work or if it won't.

 

The stories about powersupplies 'blowing up' are true but there are countermeasures like over-current protection (OCP) built into the PSU. Especially if yours has this feature and you trust it, just try and hope for the best.