Hi, I'm planning to build a pc with; 2700k overclocked to 4.8, and either a gtx 570 or 580. I currently have a corsair HX520 psu and wondered if this would be enough to run it or if i needed something more like a 750? Thanks
ok thanks guys. Think i'll bite the bullet and buy a new psu too then. Which psu would you recommend, if i wanted the flexibility of being able to go sli in a year or so with a 570 or 580?
Right thanks for the info. I'm not planning on buying a new psu again for a few years. And i might end up with a newer gpu or sli, is it worth paying a bit more now and going for a decent 850w psu.
It outright power terms the HX520 will be ok with that setup (should draw around 400w not overclocked) but I would be concerned pushing a PSU that is a few years old. Unless you really need the extra CPU threaded performance drop the 2700K to a 2500K and spend the difference on a Corsair TX850W (v2) PSU (or similar).
If you aren't in a hurry to upgrade it may be worth waiting another few months until the 28mn GPUs start coming out. You may find that you can pick up the same performance as a 580 for significantly less power draw. If you can't wait and you are overclocking the CPU I would suggest a slightly larger PSU would be a wise investment. As a minimum I would suggest a 650W (assuming you do not have a silly amount of HDDs) but you may want to consider a 750W or 850W if you wanted some spare capacity.
If you want headroom for future upgrades, don't cap it at 850W. I'd recommend getting 900W - 1000W based on Pookey's experience with his 580 SLI setup (powering off randomly with a good branded 800W PSU). And although newer cards are more efficient than older cards, the developing trend since 2007 has definitely been one of higher power draw. If you have your heart set on keeping the same PSU for a few years, then you should definitely make it count and get a powerful one. You can get a good modular 1000W PSU for around £130.
as far as the original question goes, yes, the hx520 would be plenty, unless you plan on running furmark 10 hours a day, 7 days a week (i'm taking into account capacitor aging and assuming you have had the unit 2+ years). if you are going to buy a new one, a gold rated 750 would be plenty for sli'd 580 cards...but as lenny says, get enough headroom to last a few years, the gpu trend is more power, at least on the green team's side (how ironic, no?) ax850 or above would be good, if you can afford it
Thanks guys. good to know. The psu is about 4-5 years old i think, so i might get a new one. What do you recon to this as a safe bet? Coolermaster RS-A00-AMBA Silent Pro M 1000W Modular Power Supply
its a group design enhance-built unit...you could get a gold-rated silverstone 1000 watt for slightly less...check here...either way ur going to be ok...but bear in mind these two units are nowhere near the top of their class...
Right, so if i'm planning to keep this psu for a few years is it worth going better? If so what should i be looking at? Or should i get a top notch 850?
It also depends what other components you have in your system. Graphics cards draw the most power, but other components like HDDS and other add-in cards can draw a fair bit of power too. The HX850 would be a very good buy.
