Do I need a bigger PSU?

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SheLookedLevel18

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Hi guys,

I'm looking at upgrading my PC a bit, currently I'm running this
550W Huntkey
ASRock Pro3 Z77
MSI 550Ti
Crucial M500 128GB
Seagate 1TB 5400
2x4 GB G.SKill 1.25v 1600 CL9
i5-2500 (not K as in quote)
6 USB devices

I'm looking at getting a 1 or 2TB 7200RPM (Non-green, would be running games and some editing software) drive to replace the aging 5400, and a "PowerColor AXR9 270X 2GBD5-TDHE/OC TurboDuo Radeon R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 256bit Graphics Card"

Would I need to up my PSU too?
(And if I got a 770 OC?)
 
Last edited:
SheLookedLevel18 said:
Hi guys,

I'm looking at upgrading my PC a bit, currently I'm running this
550W Huntkey
ASRock Pro3 Z77
MSI 550Ti
Crucial M500 128GB
Seagate 1TB 5400
2x4 GB G.SKill 1.25v 1600 CL9
i5-2500 (not K as in quote)
6 USB devices

I'm looking at getting a 1 or 2TB 7200RPM (Non-green, would be running games and some editing software) drive to replace the aging 5400, and a "PowerColor AXR9 270X 2GBD5-TDHE/OC TurboDuo Radeon R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 256bit Graphics Card"

Would I need to up my PSU too?
(And if I got a 770 OC?)
Click to expand...

You do need a power supply. But for the reason you think.

550w is more than enough, but Huntkey is crap Cheap makes usually inflate their wattage numbers. A proper brand will underspec the wattage numbers so you actually got more, not less.

Get one of these:

http://www.wootware.co.za/openbox-s...er-supply-warranty-expires-november-2018.html

http://www.wootware.co.za/corsair-cp-9020050-ww-vs550-550w-desktop-power-supply.html

http://www.wootware.co.za/corsair-cp-9020051-ww-vs650-650w-desktop-power-supply.html

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/7424-sea...23-80-plus-bronze-certified-active-pfc-6.html
 
I have to agree with Chevron, 550w would cut it, just not THAT 550w PSU.
 
Chevron said:
There's a 8pin(6+2)pin as well that you missed.
Click to expand...

Yup.

Quick thought though, the 6 pin and 8 pin has limited wattages.
So if a graphics card has two 6 pin connections, it can't use more than 150w?
 
Huntkey PSU's are really not that bad. 100x better than Raidmax. The "Green Power" models are a bit lacking though. I have the 600W APFC model, and it's been going strong for almost 4 years now. It powered a C2D PC with a GTX260, 3 Hard Drives and 2 DVD-writers for the first 3 years of its life.
 
HideInLight said:
Yup.

Quick thought though, the 6 pin and 8 pin has limited wattages.
So if a graphics card has two 6 pin connections, it can't use more than 150w?
Click to expand...

If a graphics card uses 2 6pin it means that it can use 75w from the PCI-e slot and 150w each from the 6pin connectors. Quite often though even if a gpu needs 225w they will rather use 2x6pin.
 
Ah when I was buying this, Pada was advising me on the old Twilight forums - IIRC he said it's "ok for a budget PC", which this was

So what would say is the best value for money option? Corsair 650W?
Apparently that 270X needs 2x 6pin PCi-E

RIP Dreams of GTX770 OC
 
Please not huntkey. last time i googled them there was an article on how they explode
 
gelid said:
Please not huntkey. last time i googled them there was an article on how they explode
Click to expand...

citation-needed.jpg
 
Totempole said:
Huntkey PSU's are really not that bad. 100x better than Raidmax. The "Green Power" models are a bit lacking though. I have the 600W APFC model, and it's been going strong for almost 4 years now. It powered a C2D PC with a GTX260, 3 Hard Drives and 2 DVD-writers for the first 3 years of its life.
Click to expand...

I have one in my PC atm, actually it's the second one (First one made sparkies).
I'm willing to power a HD6790 and i5 with it, but is where I'm drawing the line.

Forgot to look at the amp requirements for the R9 270x, I'm going to power one with a Gigabyte plus 550w, that one has 30A on each 12v rail so I never bothered checking.

My huntkey which is better than the 550w one has 18Ax2
 
HideInLight said:
Quick thought though, the 6 pin and 8 pin has limited wattages.
So if a graphics card has two 6 pin connections, it can't use more than 150w?
Click to expand...

The wattage "limitations" are really just guidelines for GPU manufacturers to adhere to the ATX specification (as well as to cover manufacturers who use thin, substandard cabling). GPUs can and often do overdraw on those 12v rails, with the most recent culprits being the Radeon R9 295X2 and the Geforce GTX Titan Z. Most GPUs fall under the limitations, though.

Totempole said:
Huntkey PSU's are really not that bad. 100x better than Raidmax. The "Green Power" models are a bit lacking though. I have the 600W APFC model, and it's been going strong for almost 4 years now. It powered a C2D PC with a GTX260, 3 Hard Drives and 2 DVD-writers for the first 3 years of its life.
Click to expand...

It depends really on how you're loading it. I had a Green Power 550 (also known as the V-Power, which Chev linked to a review for) for three years. I expected it to fail after roughly three years and it did eventually give out last year. It's been replaced by a Corsair VS550. If you stayed under the "continuous" power delivery of 360W on a Gigabyte Odin 500W PSU, things would be alright, but not perfect. Like the Odin family, Huntkey Green Power PSUs are rated for peak output, but don't expect to ever actually get to that point.
 
I stumbled upon a website that lists all the PSU's on the market and it tells you who the manufacture is. Anyone know the website.
 
Was wondering, do you wait for a PSU to fail, or do you replace it beforehand.
 
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