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Will this PSU power any GPU worth buying? (e.g. rx460)

sparkythewildcat

Hi guys,

I'm looking to slap a graphics card into my prebuilt to allow me some modest frames at 720-1080p, but I'm hoping I can get away without replacing my current power supply immediatelyI plan to buy a new PSU around black friday, but it's not really in the budget right now.

 

My build is:

i3-4170

7200RPM HDD

8GB stick of ram

optical drive

a few usb ports used

and an 80 mm case fan

 

So, what do you say, guys, can I get away with a very modest gpu for a couple months, or do I need to suck it up and wait till I can buy both?

 

FYI, to save you some time here's what a PSU calculator says:

current system:  Load Wattage:94 W
Recommended UPS rating:250 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:144 W

 

with rx 460: Load Wattage:178 W
Recommended UPS rating:400 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:228 W

 

I know it says I would technically be in the clear, but I just want a second opinion, as I'm wary of the quality of this thing and I can't afford to fix fried components.

thumbnail_IMG_3257.jpg

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That's what I'm worried about. But, according to this, I should be in the clear. Are you simply thinking that the PSU won't be able to operated that close to its stated limits, or is there something I'm missing?

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11 minutes ago, sparkythewildcat said:

Hi guys,

I'm looking to slap a graphics card into my prebuilt to allow me some modest frames at 720-1080p, but I'm hoping I can get away without replacing my current power supply immediatelyI plan to buy a new PSU around black friday, but it's not really in the budget right now.

 

My build is:

i3-4170

7200RPM HDD

8GB stick of ram

optical drive

a few usb ports used

and an 80 mm case fan

 

So, what do you say, guys, can I get away with a very modest gpu for a couple months, or do I need to suck it up and wait till I can buy both?

 

FYI, to save you some time here's what a PSU calculator says:

current system:  Load Wattage:94 W
Recommended UPS rating:250 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:144 W

 

with rx 460: Load Wattage:178 W
Recommended UPS rating:400 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:228 W

 

I know it says I would technically be in the clear, but I just want a second opinion, as I'm wary of the quality of this thing and I can't afford to fix fried components.

thumbnail_IMG_3257.jpg

The way prebuilts make most of their cash is by getting a bad power supply. Would not risk.

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For some reason the image uploaded terribly the first time, so here's one you can actually read.

thumbnail_IMG_3257 (1).jpg

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Well, that's unfortunate, but not unexpected. Would be interested in other opinions, though

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First of all, the wattage at 12V rail is only 216V, which falls below the needed 228W. 

 

Second of all, it's a bomb wrapped in a silver box. DO NOT use it at any cost. Your PC will most certainly blow up and instead of saving 30$, you will lose much more than that. 

Home PC: i5 6402P | Kingston HyperX 8GBx2 | Gigabyte G1 gaming GTX 1060 | Kingston UV400 240GB | WD blue 1TB Gigabyte H110m-S2 Cooler Master B500 v2

Laptop: Lenovo Yoga 710(Kaby Lake)

Phone: Oneplus 3

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+3.3V +5V +12V
9.7 A 12.6 A 13.7 A
95 W 164 W

My bad for not posting this earlier, but the theoretical wattage needed on the 12V rail is actually only 164W. I'm still overall weary, but I don't understand why it shouldn't be fairly safe to run it at about 76% of its stated maximum on that rail. If it was 90% or higher, then I wouldn't even try, but I feel like even a crap PSU should be able to hold out at 76%

 

I could (and probably would) remove most USB drives and wouldn't use the optical drive while gaming, which brings the numbers down to:

 

Amperage (combined)
+3.3V +5V +12V
9.7 A 7.9 A 11.6 A
72 W 139 W

That brings the 12V rail down to 65% utilization and the other two down to 86%. Also, at this point I would be running a "350W" PSU on a system that only draws 161 W and recommends 211W PSU Even though it's a crap PSU and the sustained rating is much closer to 300W, these numbers indicate what appears to be a very healthy headroom for power draw, or maybe I'm just crazy. Is it really a thing for these things to be so terrible that they can't hold up against <80% loads when they're almost new?

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Personally, I wouldn't even put extra components close to that power supply. The unheard of Chinese brand is a big giveaway, and if your GPU pulls too much power, or there is a fault in the PSU then it could fry your entire system. Invest in the power supply first, then the GPU. (Go for like 500W or similar)

I edit my posts a lot.

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According to the picture, your power supply can output up to 216 watts on the 12v line, split into two rails that can peak at maximum 13 amps each. One of the rails is probably used by the 24 pin connector and the other rail is probably used by the 4-8 pin cpu power and sata/molex cables.  (note: IF there are even two separate rails, or if the power supply actually has current sensors and over current protections to turn off the power supply if something uses more than that value from a single rail, a lot of power supplies don't bother)

 

RX 460 uses around 50-60 watts which will probably all be drawn from the 24pin connector so it's unlikely you'll have rail issues.

You could temporarily use utilities to lower the maximum frequency to a lower value (both gpu and ram) in order to make it use less power (for example to get it down to about 40-45 watts), at least until you can buy a new power supply. 

 

With this being said, the processor probably averages 50w-80w, the hard drive averages at about 6w on 12v, the cpu fan uses a couple of watts, the motherboard probably draws around 20-30 watts on 12v, so you're really only looking at about 120-140w on 12v without a video card.  With an RX 460, your system shouldn't really go higher than 200 watts. 

Most power supplies can handle bursts of power a bit over their maximum specified output, and your power supply isn't a chinese no-name one. AcBel isn't great but it's not bottom of the crapheap either, so I suspect if needed it could do 250w or something like that on 12v for a couple of seconds, before turning itself off.

 

So keeping all this in mind, I say you should be fine for the moment with that power supply, at least until you can afford at least a 450w power supply - don't go overboard with wattage, you'd be better off going for something with gold efficiency instead of bronze but more watts.

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If the PSU were of better quality than what AcBel provides then I would say that you're fine as RX460s don't draw nearly enough power to concern yourself there. However, that PSU is garbage and it's time for it to go. A Corsair CX450M or EVGA 600B would do you nicely.

|PSU Tier List /80 Plus Efficiency| PSU stuff if you need it. 

My system: PCPartPicker || For Corsair support tag @Corsair Josephor @Corsair Nick || My 5MT Legacy GT Wagon ||

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I plan to eventually get something like an EVGA 650W P2 or something similar in the area of 600-800W with gold or higher efficiency to allow for silent operation with one card/sli in the future.I would just like to get something to let me game at higher than <25FPS at 720p without limiting me to simplistic 2d indie games, until I can find a deal on a PSU. The rx460 is a good card that is better than what the PS4 has, so I'd probably be happy with the 900p@60fps that it could probably offer me for a year or two, but the PSU I plan to keep with me for 10+ years, so I don't want to skimp out on it. That's why I'm waiting until I can afford a good one, instead of doing what I'm trying to do with this GPU (just buying one that will work with my current rig and get me by).

 

I'm just wondering if there's actual evidence that this setup wouldn't be okay, or if it's just kind of a thing that's passed around that you shouldn't use pre-built PSUs. 

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I wouldn't chance the PSU, just wait until black friday. 

On 9/4/2016 at 0:28 PM, sparkythewildcat said:

 

I plan to eventually get something like an EVGA 650W P2 or something similar in the area of 600-800W with gold or higher efficiency

 

The Supernova P2 is total and complete overkill for an i3 and a 460 (or even multiple 460's).

 

On 9/4/2016 at 10:32 AM, STRMfrmXMN said:

 

If the PSU were of better quality than what AcBel provides then I would say that you're fine as RX460s don't draw nearly enough power to concern yourself there. However, that PSU is garbage and it's time for it to go. A Corsair CX450M or EVGA 600B would do you nicely.

 

Agree, both those should do just fine for OP.

May Our Framerates Be High And Our Temperatures Be Low.

PSUs: EVGA B2/G2/GQ/GS, Corsair RMx/i, Grey-Label CXM, Everything Seasonic/Delta/Super Flower, XFX except XT

Use pcpartpicker.com

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On 9/4/2016 at 5:37 AM, sparkythewildcat said:
+3.3V +5V +12V
9.7 A 12.6 A 13.7 A
95 W 164 W

My bad for not posting this earlier, but the theoretical wattage needed on the 12V rail is actually only 164W. I'm still overall weary, but I don't understand why it shouldn't be fairly safe to run it at about 76% of its stated maximum on that rail. If it was 90% or higher, then I wouldn't even try, but I feel like even a crap PSU should be able to hold out at 76%

 

I could (and probably would) remove most USB drives and wouldn't use the optical drive while gaming, which brings the numbers down to:

 

Amperage (combined)
+3.3V +5V +12V
9.7 A 7.9 A 11.6 A
72 W 139 W

That brings the 12V rail down to 65% utilization and the other two down to 86%. Also, at this point I would be running a "350W" PSU on a system that only draws 161 W and recommends 211W PSU Even though it's a crap PSU and the sustained rating is much closer to 300W, these numbers indicate what appears to be a very healthy headroom for power draw, or maybe I'm just crazy. Is it really a thing for these things to be so terrible that they can't hold up against <80% loads when they're almost new?

 

Crap PSU's can fry your parts via ripple either instantly or over time depending on bad it is which will decrease the lifespan of your build, it could be unstable could cause BSOD, it could be lacking in protections, it might not actually be able to do the wattage it claims, etc. Trying to save about $50 could end up costing you hundreds if fries parts or decides to take everything to the grave with it when it goes out. 

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It technically has enough wattage, but even if you don't plan on upgrading your parts, I would recommend at least 400w.

Aside from the wattage, the quality of that psu looks horrible. I would not be surprised if I malfunctions and harms some of your components. You can get a decent 400-450w psu for around $50 or less and I can save you a lot in the long run(or even the short run with a psu this bad) as I don't think you want to purchase new components to replace the ones broken by this psu.

Seriously, sell this online and get yourself a decent psu. This is the only part of your computer you simply can't cheap out on.

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7 hours ago, WEEEEEE said:

The Supernova P2 is total and complete overkill for an i3 and a 460 (or even multiple 460's).

The Supernova P2 isn't for my i3 and 460 (though it might be in that build for awhile). It's intended to be moved over to my next build with a i7-6700k and gtx1060/1070, and probably the build after that, hell maybe even the one after that one. 

 

I think I've decided to pick up my buddy's brother's old gtx 960 (as he's selling it for only $80) until I'm able to get a better PSU and then GPU (that might even tide me over for some good 1080/900p gaming until vega or nvidia's next gen drops) 

 

I think I'll probably pair it with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438038

 

unless you guys think I could get by with anything cheaper. 

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13 hours ago, sparkythewildcat said:

I think I'll probably pair it with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438038

 

unless you guys think I could get by with anything cheaper. 

Wouldn't recommend that either. Pretty sure it isn't 80+ certified (the product listing on Newegg is wrong). 

May Our Framerates Be High And Our Temperatures Be Low.

PSUs: EVGA B2/G2/GQ/GS, Corsair RMx/i, Grey-Label CXM, Everything Seasonic/Delta/Super Flower, XFX except XT

Use pcpartpicker.com

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On 9/4/2016 at 5:10 AM, sparkythewildcat said:

For some reason the image uploaded terribly the first time, so here's one you can actually read.

*snip*

 

Aerocool DS are the best fans you've never tried.

 

Hypnotoad's RAM is dying, his motherboard is acting like the 6-year-old AsRock it is, a couple of SATA ports have just stopped working, but the RGB remains. The RGB always remains. Hypnotoad lives. All glory to the Hypnotoad.

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Not cheaper.

 

The cheapest I would probably choose would be LEPA N500-SA for $35 (budget hEC design, ok quality, could be a bit on the noisy side due to fan) : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817494002&ignorebbr=1

The 500w is a bit deceiving because in theory it can only do 400w on 12v, but even that is enough on your system.

Somewhat better would be Corsair CX 430 at $40 which while rated for 430w, it can do 385w on 12v : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&ignorebbr=1 It has slightly better capacitors and a slightly more modern design, which would make it a tiny bit more efficient and less noisy compared to the lepa.

I'd put the quality of this CX 430 at the same level with Enermax NAXN 450w which can do about 360w on 12v : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194090&ignorebbr=1 It's old solid CWT platform with good fan and good efficiency.

 

If you want semi-modular and with a decent efficiency of more than 85%,  Rosewill Glacier 500 M is a good deal at 45$ (it's a good Andyson design, good fan, up to 445w on 12v, 3 year warranty): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182339&ignorebbr=1

 

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I'd personally recommend the EVGA 500B-

I don't understand why, but it seems like it's been getting a fair bit of hate recently.

I run a watercooled GTX 760 at 1350 MHz on it, in addition to an i7- 4790, and it's worked for over two years like that, so I don't personally know what people are talking about.

If you can find an older model one (truly a 500B, not a 500B1 or whatever they're calling it), they're about 30 bucks, which is really inexpensive, especially for the quality of supply you get for your money.

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