Underpowering a GTX 680

[kevinsbane]

running ANY psu at 90% of its max rated capacity is not really a good idea. considering this is Corsair's entry level psu that even they recommend for basic computers and 30C temps then thats even more of a reason NOT to do it.

Corsairs' CX430 is more than capable of doing 100% its rated capacity at typical temperatures and for extended periods of time. Insinuating otherwise is to cast a poor light on an excellent, although budget, power supply.

he will have a new PSU in 2 days now and it makes the most sense to wait at this point. if you want to risk damaging or pushing your hardware really hard then knock yourself out but no way in hell will I recommend it to someone asking.

The risk to damaging his hardware is basically 0. In this case, there is more risk to his hardware by him manually mishandling it (ie, dropping it) than by running a GTX 680 off a CX430. Actually, considering that the old power supply is known to work, he is more likely to damage the GTX 680 by running it off the new power supply, which might actually be faulty and fry his system the first time he runs it.

Your recommendations are your own, but I wouldn't post stuff like "risk damage to your hardware" or "low end PSU", or "NOT SAFE for running x/y/z on a xxx power supply" without some sort of backup. Especially since the "risk" is absolutely minimal (as I said, he risks more damage to his hardware with the new psu than the old), the CX430 is not a low end power supply, and it is definitely safe (though maybe not recommended for extended periods or high overclocks) for running a GTX 680 + i7 combo on a CX430.

Edit: For what it's worth, my i5-750 with a GTX 680, both overclocked by a decent amount (3.8 on CPU, +100/+150 on GPU) run off a X-650, pulls ~350W from the wall. That's the MOST I've ever managed to get from it. That translates to ~320W power draw, or a little less than half of what my power supply is capable of.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Yes my comment remains as stated, you won't be reaching anywhere near 500 watts, not even 400, not even 350.

You're looking at sub 300w avg load on your PC with everything stock.

You should have no concern at all about ripple effects.

 

[toyota]

Yes my comment remains as stated, you won't be reaching anywhere near 500 watts, not even 400, not even 350.

You're looking at sub 300w avg load on your PC with everything stock.

You should have no concern at all about ripple effects.

and I just explained in detail why I have my current psu. no way would I go back to the Neo Eco 520 watt with its 480 watts on the 12v that had to work its ass off in some demanding games. I had to reduce my small oc on the gtx570 just to make that power supply fan not annoyingly ramp up some demanding games. it is better to have a quiet psu that does not have to work hard and allows room for upgrades then to save a measly 20 bucks or so.

 

[Davste]

I'll tell you what. I have some unbranded, white PSU in the garage. It's labelled 500W. Should be better than my corsair (which is 430W). I'll go try it on that then - brb (joking, lol)

 

[kevinsbane]

I'll tell you what. I have some unbranded, white PSU in the garage. It's labelled 500W. Should be better than my corsair (which is 430W). I'll go try it on that then - brb (joking, lol)

Is it a diablotek?

500W no name psu, now there's something I'd never put into my computer

 

[BallaTheFeared]

and I just explained in detail why I have my current psu. no way would I go back to the Neo Eco 520 watt with its 480 watts on the 12v that had to work its ass off in some demanding games. I had to reduce my small oc on the gtx570 just to make that power supply fan not annoyingly ramp up some demanding games. it is better to have a quiet psu that does not have to work hard and allows room for upgrades then to save a measly 20 bucks or so.

None of this means anything and is no where near what you were stating before.

Annoying fan or not has nothing to do with his PSU not being capable of running that system at stock, nor does it have anything to do with killing everything and burning his house down as you had insinuated prior.


Would I OC everything and run it balls out in Prime95+Furmark, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't run it 24/7 folding, and I wouldn't run it forever at stock. I would however run it for a couple of days while I waited for a PSU upgrade - without worry.

 

[Davste]

None of this means anything and is no where near what you were stating before.

Annoying fan or not has nothing to do with his PSU not being capable of running that system at stock, nor does it have anything to do with killing everything and burning his house down as you had insinuated prior.


Would I OC everything and run it balls out in Prime95+Furmark, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't run it 24/7 folding, and I wouldn't run it forever at stock. I would however run it for a couple of days while I waited for a PSU upgrade - without worry.

Even if I have to add a 6 pin adapter? The PSU only has one. Two 6 pin adapters came with the card, though.

 

[toyota]

None of this means anything and is no where near what you were stating before.

Annoying fan or not has nothing to do with his PSU not being capable of running that system at stock, nor does it have anything to do with killing everything and burning his house down as you had insinuated prior.


Would I OC everything and run it balls out in Prime95+Furmark, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't run it 24/7 folding, and I wouldn't run it forever at stock. I would however run it for a couple of days while I waited for a PSU upgrade - without worry.

not once did I insinuate something that bad you know it. I said I would not risk damaging something or even just stressing that entry level power supply out by putting such a huge load on it.

and since you cant seem to follow what I am saying let me break it down for you. the fairly high quality Antec Neo eco that I used was WAY more than enough on paper. in the real world just loading up only 65% of what the 12v was supposedly capable of caused the fan to annoyingly ramp up. clearly the psu was having to work a bit hard so I cant imagine putting a 90% load on an even cheaper psu that is rated to run at only 30 C is a good idea. again if you guys want to do that to your own stuff then fine. no way am I going to advocate that though to someone who asks.

 

[Davste]

not once did I insinuate something that bad you know it. I said I would not risk damaging something or even just stressing that entry level power supply out by putting such a huge load on it.

and since you cant seem to follow what I am saying let me break it down for you. the fairly high quality Antec Neo eco that I used was WAY more than enough on paper. in the real world just loading up only 65% of what the 12v was supposedly capable of caused the fan to annoyingly ramp up. clearly the psu was having to work a bit hard so I cant even imagine putting a 90% load on an even cheaper psu that is rated to run at only 30 C. again if you guys want to do that to your own stuff then fine. no way am I going to advocate that though to someone who asks.

Hmm, come to think about it - it starts blowing out quite a lot of hot air even with my 6850 while gaming. Here at malta average room temperatures are pretty hot. That's why I'm getting an 850W PSU - to run cooler, quieter and maybe I'll add another graphics card if I suddenly become a maniac and decide I need more monitors.

 

[Puppies04]

running ANY psu at 90% of its max rated capacity is not really a good idea. considering this is Corsair's entry level psu that even they recommend for basic computers and 30C temps then thats even more of a reason NOT to do it.

Oh the ubiquitous "they". The same "they" who quote MPG on your new car at nothing higher than 50mph never using more than 10% throttle. Does that mean the engine will blow up if you do 55mph?

Your whole 30C arguement has been shown to be untrue already. As for running a PSU at 90% capacity the only reason I wouldn't do it long term is because it will be more inefficient costing me money in the long run that would be better spent overspeccing it in the first place.

you have done nothing but act like a jerk for this entire thread for no other reason than to jump on me. you have nothing at all to offer the OP while I am trying to at least help him based on what I think is the best for him. he will have a new PSU in 2 days now and it makes the most sense to wait at this point. if you want to risk damaging or pushing your hardware really hard then knock yourself out but no way in hell will I recommend it to someone asking.

and you have been asked for any sort of proof by several members several times. Sure you are entitled to an opinion but you dress it up as fact and dance around from one pooly defended point to another while ignoring anyones post that asks you to back up your claims. I would take issue with anyone who had posted what you had it is nothing personal, you on the other hand seem to want to turn this into something it isn't.

As for saying I have nothing to offer the OP, other than facts and sound advice such as "yes it will run it but I wouldn't recommend it long term" which BTW is the same viewpoint of several other members I guess I dont.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Is it a diablotek?

500W no name psu, now there's something I'd never put into my computer

I don't know why, but I always enjoy reading reviews on crappy products. It's hilarious some of the comments that can be made, and it's always funny to see benchmarks where the unit actually failed. Hilarious.

When I worked in IT we had bought a bunch of Diablotek video cards, they were like 20 bucks. Not a single one worked in our IBM computers. They were totally worthless and could not be returned.

But yeah when it comes to power supplies it's best to go with quality. The only thing I'd use a cheap PSU for is if you need a source of 3.3,5,12 volts for various projects in test scenarios. But not for a computer.

 

[TemjinGold]

Yes there was electrical noise when it was asked to pull 548 watts at 45C. That is WAY over spec. Why are you surprised?

 

[TemjinGold]

Guys, let's face it. There has never been proof because PSU manufacturers count on this fear mongering to sell enormous PSUs. The OP's psu would not blow up. IF it were inadequate, the WORST that would happen is it would power down. That would alert the OP that he shouldn't run that further. But the key here is, it would never do that because it is well within ability to run.

The OP wanted to run that PSU for TWO DAYS, not 24/7 for the rest of his life. Just because toyota doesn't like hearing the PSU fan, does not mean it can't handle it. Do you demand that your CPU and GPU only ran at a speed where the fan never kicks on either?

OP: I know you have no interest in trying it after all the fear mongering but if you really were curious as to who has it right, there's a really easy way: Ask Corsair if you loaded up the PSU to 90% of spec and no more and ran that 24/7 for the duration of its warranty period, would that be voiding the warranty. They will say no. Why? Because when a quality company selling a quality products warrants their product for a certain level of performance it means it will work fine.

 

[VirtualLarry]

While it would probably work, in theory, in practice, it's less than ideal.

I would wait and use a beefier supply.

 

[Puppies04]

Here is my final word on the subject.

This is anands test on a boutique build with water cooling, a 3770 overclocked to 4.4ghz, 2 yeah thats right 2 GTX680s, 4 x 4gb RAM, custom LED lighting, 1 SSD, 1HDD.... the list goes on.

471 watts at full load.

So will a PSU rated at 430W run a single card in a normal system (no water loop, no cpu overclock)?

Answers on the back of a postcard.

 

[TemjinGold]

But Puppies, the fan on the PSU of Anand's system must be turning on. I think his PSU is going to die in 5 minutes if he doesn't switch to a 1000-watter!

 

[Puppies04]

but puppies, the fan on the psu of anand's system must be turning on. I think his psu is going to die in 5 minutes if he doesn't switch to a 1000-watter!

lmao

 

[toyota]

But Puppies, the fan on the PSU of Anand's system must be turning on. I think his PSU is going to die in 5 minutes if he doesn't switch to a 1000-watter!

I love how you twist my comments just to make a smartass remark

 

[toyota]

Here is my final word on the subject.

This is anands test on a boutique build with water cooling, a 3770 overclocked to 4.4ghz, 2 yeah thats right 2 GTX680s, 4 x 4gb RAM, custom LED lighting, 1 SSD, 1HDD.... the list goes on.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/puppies04/46002.png

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/puppies04/46003.png

471 watts at full load.

So will a PSU rated at 430W run a single card in a normal system (no water loop, no cpu overclock)?

Answers on the back of a postcard.

he does NOT have 430 watts to power the system. I told you that already but you insist on claiming that just to make an argument. about 95% of the power needed will come from the 12v which is only rated for 336watts at unrealistically low 30C. his full system with a gtx680 could easily pull a little over 300 watts in some games. so I would not recommend pushing that entry level psu close to 90%. no it wont blow up but I saw no point in doing that when he had a new power supply on the way.

this thread was already dead and the OP already has a new psu but I guess you insist on stirring up crap.

 

[blastingcap]

Well, I'm getting a new GTX 680 today - and I have a corsair Cx 430W.
I'm getting (have already ordered) a CX 850 but it will arrive next tuesday.

Is it a really bad idea to use the GTX 680 with my current power supply (28A Rating ~336W output on 12v) until next tuesday? I also have an i7 2600K (not OC), 4GBx2 1333Mhz Ram, and an Asus Z68 motherboard.

Damn my impatience

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_680_Direct_Cu_II/26.html

Peak usage is 189W. Let's say your CPU/RAM/mobo/hard drives/optical drives/USB-powered stuff/case fans/CPU fan/etc. add up to 200W at peak. That still adds up to less than 400W. And it's almost unheard of for everything to max out at the same time, so your realistic peak load will probably be more like 350W. (Corroborating evidence here: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/04/nvidia_kepler_geforce_gtx_680_overclocking_review/6 And note that PSUs aren't 100% efficient so the actual power draw is even less than what they said. The Killawatts measure current at the wall; multiply by the PSU's power efficiency to get the actual wattage of your system components. For instance if the Killawatt says 500W but your PSU is 80% efficient, then your system components are actually drawing only 400W.)

However this is with zero overclocking. Do not attempt major overclocks, and try not to overvolt at all.

EDIT: NEVER MIND, I didn't see your 12V rail was rated only up to 28 amps. (How the hell is it rated that low? My fanless Seasonic 460W produces up to 38 amps on the 12V rail for instance.) That could be a big problem. 336W for the CPU and GPU isn't a lot of power to go around if both are maxed out at the same time and peaking. You could probably do it with a little undervolting, but why risk it?

 

[tato27]

its fine and he say its just for few day until u r new psu arrive dont worry its safe but tray dont push alot heavy to keep u r part in safe

 

[toyota]

its fine and he say its just for few day until u r new psu arrive dont worry its safe but tray dont push alot heavy to keep u r part in safe

lol, why would you reply to say that? check the date as the OP already has his new psu for over a week now...

 

[BallaTheFeared]

You guys still talk to toyota?

 

[Davste]

ok ok, guys.. It's done

I got the new power supply, and getting a new fan for my CPU. I'm pushing everything now. I have my CPU at 4GHz but intend to have it at 4.5 after I get the new fan. Playing the witcher 2 at ultra with ubersampling - I need to have my graphics card as 132% TDP to never have it drop below 33 FPS.

 

[lehtv]

I don't even notice much of a difference in image quality with and without Ubersampling. Better to turn it off for constant 60fps smoothness.