# Is a quality 500W PSU sufficient? (gaming PC)



## bippukt (Dec 23, 2013)

I am considering buying a new gaming PC. It will have an i5 and a single graphics card? No overclocking of either the graphics card or the processor. So, is a qulaity PSU like the Seasonic 520W sufficient for such a rig, for any single graphics card? In the future, if I get a beast graphics card like the GTX Titan or 780, will it be enough? I want to buy a cabinet (thinking Corsair 400R) and a PSU that will not need to be upgraded for 4-5 years, even if I upgrade my PC. Or I should I bite the bullet and go for the 620W?

Any other suggestions for good PSUs in a power/price similar range?


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## harshilsharma63 (Dec 23, 2013)

> Post the complete config. Which i5? What's the budget?

> If you haven't bought the components, it would be better to start a thread in "PC config" section for suggestions on best config.


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## bippukt (Dec 23, 2013)

I will. I am doing some research myself to come up with a decent config. Currently thinking of an i5 4570 or 4670. No OC of either the CPU or the GPU. I was wondering if a 500W PSU is future proof as the price of quality 600-650W ones seem to be 6k.


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## harshilsharma63 (Dec 23, 2013)

bippukt said:


> I will. I am doing some research myself to come up with a decent config. Currently thinking of an i5 4570 or 4670. No OC of either the CPU or the GPU. I was wondering if a 500W PSU is future proof as the price of quality 600-650W ones seem to be 6k.





> >* Post the complete config.* Which i5? What's the budget?



Which graphic card, how many hard disks?


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## Nerevarine (Dec 23, 2013)

For most single GPU configuration, a 500w usually suffices.. However, You might want to let us know which GPU you are gonna be using before taking a decision.. Higher end GPUs like GTX 780 will require slightly more power and running even one on a 500w PSU will be cutting it too close


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## ASHISH65 (Dec 23, 2013)

Get Seasonic s12 620w. it can handle any single gpu with any cpu setup


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## bippukt (Dec 23, 2013)

Thanks for the replies guys. I will make a full config post in the appropriate forum section with all the required information as soon as I zero in on other parts.


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## anirbandd (Dec 24, 2013)

all the gpu's you have mentioned will scream to be OC'ed. 
infact, if you dont OC them, it will a bad decision. 

get a ~700W PSU, OC your card and stay safe.
for a long time.


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## bippukt (Dec 30, 2013)

Thanks, but it is unlikely that I will OC the card. There will be no AC in the room where the PC will be kept, unfortunately. Anyway, I have access to to a gaming PC with overclocked i5 (4.3 GHz) and 7950 VaporX on the weekends, so I think I will wait for a few more weeks before buying a new PC. It won't be easy to bring one from Nehru Place to Haridwar


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## bssunilreddy (Dec 30, 2013)

Get Seasonic SS650KM3 @7500 which is best even for 700w requirements.


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## harshilsharma63 (Dec 30, 2013)

bippukt said:


> Thanks, but it is unlikely that I will OC the card. There will be no AC in the room where the PC will be kept, unfortunately. Anyway, I have access to to a gaming *PC with overclocked i5 (4.3 GHz) and 7950 VaporX *on the weekends, so I think I will wait for a few more weeks before buying a new PC. It won't be easy to bring one from Nehru Place to Haridwar



> Overclocked i5? There is nothing like that.

> You can get 280x for the price of 7950 whihc is much much faster. Better start a new thread in"PC Config" section as I'm afraid you'll not get the optimum config.


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## rijinpk1 (Dec 30, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> > *Overclocked i5? There is nothing like that.*



sorry.. what was wrong there?


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## harshilsharma63 (Dec 30, 2013)

rijinpk1 said:


> sorry.. what was wrong there?



'Overclockable' i5 is understandable, but what is 'overclocked' i5?


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## rijinpk1 (Dec 30, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> 'Overclockable' i5 is understandable, but what is 'overclocked' i5?



it surely means an i5 cpu which is already overclocked to the specified frequency as he mentioned the frequency.  there is no need to use overclockable.


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## bikramjitkar (Dec 30, 2013)

rijinpk1 said:


> it surely means an i5 cpu which is already overclocked to the specified frequency as he mentioned the frequency.  there is no need to use overclockable.



Exactly.

OP: If you're going to go for a monster graphics card like the 780, it's better to err on the higher side.


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## bippukt (Dec 31, 2013)

C'mon guys, don't argue about small things. You know what I mean when I say i5 @ 4.3GHz 

I will post a new thread in the appropriate section when I am about to leave for Delhi. Right now the weather is miserable.



bikramjitkar said:


> Exactly.
> 
> OP: If you're going to go for a monster graphics card like the 780, it's better to err on the higher side.



Nah, 780 will be beyond my budget. 25k is the max for me, so R9 280X sounds good. I asked just to know how to make my PC 'future-proof' with respect to PSU, if that is even possible.

*A very happy new year to you all, one day in advance *


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## anirbandd (Dec 31, 2013)

a very happy new year to you too!!

and all others!


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## harshilsharma63 (Dec 31, 2013)

bippukt said:


> *C'mon guys, don't argue about small things. You know what I mean when I say i5 @ 4.3GHz*
> 
> I will post a new thread in the appropriate section when I am about to leave for Delhi. Right now the weather is miserable.
> 
> ...



This is a tech forum. You cannot call an i5 with turbo boost up to 4.3 GHz as _overclocked i5_.


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## ASHISH65 (Dec 31, 2013)

There is no i5 which is @ 4.3ghz(with turbo boost) 

Turbo boost is not OC


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## rijinpk1 (Dec 31, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> This is a tech forum. You cannot call an i5 with turbo boost up to 4.3 GHz as _overclocked i5_.



he has not mentioned about turbo boost


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## harshilsharma63 (Dec 31, 2013)

rijinpk1 said:


> he has not mentioned about turbo boost



Turbo boost is the only thing in a locked i5 which I can remotely compare with overclocking.


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## rijinpk1 (Dec 31, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> Turbo boost is the only thing in a locked i5 which I can remotely compare with overclocking.



he has not mentioned about a locked i5 cpu either


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## ASHISH65 (Dec 31, 2013)

rijinpk1 said:


> he has not mentioned about a locked i5 cpu either



read all post 



> I will. I am doing some research myself to come up with a decent config. Currently thinking of an i5 4570 or 4670. No OC of either the CPU or the GPU. I was wondering if a 500W PSU is future proof as the price of quality 600-650W ones seem to be 6k.


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## rijinpk1 (Dec 31, 2013)

ASHISH65 said:


> read all post



well, read post no. 9 



> anyway, *I have access* to to a gaming PC with overclocked i5 (4.3 GHz) and 7950 VaporX on the weekends,


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## bssunilreddy (Jan 1, 2014)

Is Turbo Boost applied dynamically or it stays that way permanently? I mean AMD has Zero Core right but they have higher TDP?


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## harshilsharma63 (Jan 1, 2014)

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology?On-Demand Processor Performance and Intel Turbo Boost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## bssunilreddy (Jan 1, 2014)

harshilsharma63 said:


> Intel® Turbo Boost Technology?On-Demand Processor Performance and Intel Turbo Boost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



So Turbo Boost will work only on 2 or more cores but not all cores right? What is the significant performance boost when 1 or 2 cores does not work but gives a speed boost.I think its better to go with stock speed of i5 4XXX or go for FX 6300. In Intel even the TDP increases when Turbo Boost is activated(I thought it stays the same).
FX 6300 is slower per core but have 2 additional cores but i5 4XXX/3XXX are having faster cores but limited to only 4 cores. Which CPU is best suited keeping in view the advantages of MANTLE of AMD in games?

If AMD discontinues FX series but shows developments in APU then its good.Kaveri APU benchmarks are also to be taken into account.


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## ashis_lakra (Jan 1, 2014)

A very Happy new year to you all. Seasonic s12 620w should be more than sufficient for long time gaming on quite an highly overclocked setup , of course with single GPU only. This is my personal experience where i pushed my i5 to 4.5GHZ and GPU to 1060 Mhz Boost to 1184 Mhz and still my system drawing less than 350W from wall which is easily manageable by aforementioned PSU. A PSU delivers maximum efficiency within 40-60% load only, so get a PSU which will deliver at least 40-50% of its rated power to your system setup with max efficiency.


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## harshilsharma63 (Jan 1, 2014)

^ do you have a kill-a-Watt meter?


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## bssunilreddy (Jan 1, 2014)

harshilsharma63 said:


> ^ do you have a kill-a-Watt meter?



I don't have and I suppose to be future proof I don't need to use that meter.


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## ASHISH65 (Jan 1, 2014)

bavusani said:


> So Turbo Boost will work only on 2 or more cores but not all cores right? What is the significant performance boost when 1 or 2 cores does not work but gives a speed boost.I think its better to go with stock speed of i5 4XXX or go for FX 6300. In Intel even the TDP increases when Turbo Boost is activated(I thought it stays the same).
> FX 6300 is slower per core but have 2 additional cores but i5 4XXX/3XXX are having faster cores but limited to only 4 cores. Which CPU is best suited keeping in view the advantages of MANTLE of AMD in games?
> 
> If AMD discontinues FX series but shows developments in APU then its good.Kaveri APU benchmarks are also to be taken into account.



Turbo boost actives automatically.Basically,when your cpu isn't using all of it's cores,it *increases *clockspeed of one that are running to improve performance and also works by shutting the cores-For eg - If your core 1 and 2 are maxout and remaining 3rd and 4th are not being used at all then pc will shut the 3rd and 4th core and push the all power to both 1st and 2nd cores.

yep tdp increases by slight margin,though you won't need a aftermarket cooler for it

For more info go here - *www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-029908.htm?wapkw=

I don't know about mantle much.



bavusani said:


> I don't have and I suppose to be future proof I don't need to use that meter.



Buddy see the post,harshil is asking to ashis-lakra


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## harshilsharma63 (Jan 1, 2014)

bavusani said:


> I don't have and I suppose to be future proof I don't need to use that meter.



My question was to *ashis_lakra*


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## rajnusker (Jan 1, 2014)

Buy a PSU that has more capabilities than you need. PSU is not the thing you would upgrade quickly... I bought a stupid 550W PSU and now I can't upgrade my GPU becoz of it.

P.S. My PSU is the XFX PRO 550 Core, an enhanced version of the Seasonic 520W.


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## bssunilreddy (Jan 1, 2014)

ASHISH65 said:


> Turbo boost actives automatically.Basically,when your cpu isn't using all of it's cores,it *increases *clockspeed of one that are running to improve performance and also works by shutting the cores-For eg - If your core 1 and 2 are maxout and remaining 3rd and 4th are not being used at all then pc will shut the 3rd and 4th core and push the all power to both 1st and 2nd cores.
> 
> yep tdp increases by slight margin,though you won't need a aftermarket cooler for it
> 
> ...



Ok.If a certain game requires all 4 cores then what happens if we want to use Turbo Boost?


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## ASHISH65 (Jan 1, 2014)

bavusani said:


> Ok.If a certain game requires all 4 cores then what happens if we want to use Turbo Boost?



You cannot use turbo boost manually,it works automatically when boost is *needed*

For Eg take a i5 @ 3.4ghz >> 3.8ghz turbo boost,so TB will be :-

When One core is used > 3.8ghz

When two cores are used > 3.7ghz

When three cores are used > 3.6ghz

When all four cores are used > 3.5ghz



lets leave this topic here only.......


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## rijinpk1 (Jan 1, 2014)

turbo boost can be enable or disabled in the bios.



rajnusker said:


> Buy a PSU that has more capabilities than you need. PSU is not the thing you would upgrade quickly... I bought a stupid 550W PSU and now I can't upgrade my GPU becoz of it.
> 
> P.S. My PSU is the XFX PRO 550 Core, an enhanced version of the Seasonic 520W.



why cant you upgrade your gpu?


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## ASHISH65 (Jan 1, 2014)

rajnusker said:


> Buy a PSU that has more capabilities than you need. PSU is not the thing you would upgrade quickly... I bought a stupid 550W PSU and now I can't upgrade my GPU becoz of it.
> 
> P.S. My PSU is the XFX PRO 550 Core, an enhanced version of the Seasonic 520W.



that is great psu,it can handle any single gpu upto gtx 780ti


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## bssunilreddy (Jan 1, 2014)

rajnusker said:


> Buy a PSU that has more capabilities than you need. PSU is not the thing you would upgrade quickly... I bought a stupid 550W PSU and now I can't upgrade my GPU becoz of it.
> 
> P.S. My PSU is the XFX PRO 550 Core, an enhanced version of the Seasonic 520W.



When did you buy it? Can you provide a link? Is it fully modular or partially modular?


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## ASHISH65 (Jan 1, 2014)

rijinpk1 said:


> turbo boost can be enable or disabled in the bios.



Ya only if we use assemble pc,there are many OEM pc where TB is enabled by default and even disabled(in acer) 



bavusani said:


> When did you buy it? Can you provide a link? Is it fully modular or partially modular?




 *www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=225


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## rajnusker (Jan 1, 2014)

bavusani said:


> When did you buy it? Can you provide a link? Is it fully modular or partially modular?



It is not modular. Just vanilla PSU  But it runs very quiet and cool.

Link: XFX - United States - Pro Series 550W PSU

P.S. Bought it on 2011.


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