GeForce GTX 590 on 600W psu

DarkFury-EX · 18 Nov 2011 at 12:26

Hi, I'm new to these forums so be gentle.

Basically I'm thinking of upgrading my graphics card, maybe a GeForce GTX 580 or even a 590 but i only have a 600w psu and Nvidia recommend at least a 700w psu for the 590.
I've tried a few web sites and such to see roughly how much power(w) my PC build is using, i found this site http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/Power put my specs in which are

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 ITX
Processor - Intel Core™ i5-650 3.20GHz Socket 1156 (Clarkdale)
Memory - Crucial 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3 PC3-10600 Dual-channel
Graphics - Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256Mb
Hard Drive - Western Digital Scorpio Black 160GB 7200RPM SATA II 16MB
Optical Drive - Sony AD-7713H-01 8x Slim DVD-SM
Case - SilverStone Sugo SG07 mini-ITX Case
PSU - 600W customized SilverStone - SST-ST60F-SG 150×86×140 mm

and this is what it came up with

239w total @100% System load

NOW! if i i put a GeForce GTX 590 into the list

575w total @100% System load

So my question is, will i run into problems having such a power hungry graphics card on a 600w psu even tho it seems to have the power that is needed?
or
Do you think an upgraded psu is needed? bare in mind it's a complete pain in the arse finding a psu that will physically fit in my case (150×86×140 mm)
or
Shall i just play it safe and go with the GTX 580

MooMoo444 · 18 Nov 2011 at 12:29

I wouldn't risk it personally.

StonedPenguin · 18 Nov 2011 at 12:31

What res you playing at? If its ~1080p then I'd just go for 1 580.

I wouldn't trust a 600w PSU for a 590 either.

ReAPeR101 · 18 Nov 2011 at 12:38

I wouldnt use a 600watt PSU with a 590 IMO, although a friend of mine has a GTX295 running with a OCZ 600watt. Which should technically draw more watts.

The GTX 580 will be sufficient for you, and should be fine on a good named 600w PSU.

DarkFury-EX · 18 Nov 2011 at 14:21

Thanks for the quick replies an all.
I'll be playing at 1080p, i would like 4xFSAA + 16AF and Physx enabled in modern games also it would be great if i could get best graphics settings in Battlefield 3, can only fit 1 graphics card see... i may upgrade the processor later on to a Core™ i7-870 2.93GHz (Lynnfield) but not sure bout that yet.

I've been out of PC gaming for a while now, used to build and play them all the time, this build wasn't intended to be a gaming PC at all, just for Photoshop.

Not sure what to go for then the GTX 580 or upgrade the psu to a 700w or above for the GTX 590 but it's finding a psu that'll fit.
If you have any recommendations? the dimensions must be 150×86×140 mm tho to fit in my case.

Thanks again

Rroff · 18 Nov 2011 at 14:24

Yeah don't do it - even if the PSU can reliably power it, your pushing the PSU quite hard and it will result in less than optimal power characteristics which very much can cause premature hardware failure, extra heat/noise and so on.

I'm very much of the opinion that the PSU is one of the most important parts of the system and that people should purchase one well above their requirements so the PSU is running as little stressed as possible to provide the cleanest power and lower levels of noise and heat from the PSU.

Wilderbeast · 18 Nov 2011 at 16:16

Rroff said:
I'm very much of the opinion that the PSU is one of the most important parts of the system and that people should purchase one well above their requirements so the PSU is running as little stressed as possible to provide the cleanest power and lower levels of noise and heat from the PSU.

Agree with this, and remember the bigger the difference between its max rated output and the actual usage, equals greater efficiency. For example, its better to run 570w from a 1.5kw psu than it would be to run it from a 600w, as the 1.5kw one will be more efficient at less than 50% load, as opposed to almost full load of the 600w. PSU's get less and less efficient the closer they get to max load.

As a rule of thumb (and this is just me) I always rate my system then double the power of the psu requirements.

Etuj · 18 Nov 2011 at 17:39

Wilderbeast said:
Agree with this, and remember the bigger the difference between its max rated output and the actual usage, equals greater efficiency. For example, its better to run 570w from a 1.5kw psu than it would be to run it from a 600w, as the 1.5kw one will be more efficient at less than 50% load, as opposed to almost full load of the 600w. PSU's get less and less efficient the closer they get to max load.

As a rule of thumb (and this is just me) I always rate my system then double the power of the psu requirements.

Sorry for jumping on this one here but I was thinking about this today with a new build - If I got a higher PSU spec it wouldn't necessarily draw any more than it needed? And from what you're saying, the more powerful it is, then the more energy efficient it is?

ThePengu1n · 18 Nov 2011 at 17:42

No, it wont draw more power than needed, as for efficiency, it all depends on load and what the psu is rated for e.g. 80plus Gold, silver etc

Etuj · 18 Nov 2011 at 17:48

I was looking at getting a 650W Corsair but now wondering if (as someone suggested) if I should spend that bit more - the person helping me with the build (and certainly knows his stuff!) was surprised and thought 650W was too big:

P8Z68 V Pro Gen3
i7 2700k
8gb RAM
GTX 560 (possibly) and 1 SSD in addition to 2 HDDs when prices settle

ZZZAC · 18 Nov 2011 at 17:50

dont do it!

DamoTourettes · 18 Nov 2011 at 17:52

Quality PSU's are always components that you can move from build to build. If you're even vaguely considering SLI/Xfire etc it's definitely something that's a worthwhile investment - I personally went for an AX1200 and can see it lasting through a number of build cycles from now.

shadow_boxer · 18 Nov 2011 at 17:53

Will the GTX590 fit in your case? Given the heat they give out I would go with a single GTX580. If your playing at super high resolutions go for the 3GB version.

pastymuncher · 18 Nov 2011 at 18:59

Your Silverstone psu has a maximum of 46A and 552w on the 12v rail. Personally i would'nt risk it with a 590.

Craterloads · 18 Nov 2011 at 19:35

no chance in hell

DarkFury-EX · 18 Nov 2011 at 21:41

shadow_boxer said:
Will the GTX590 fit in your case? Given the heat they give out I would go with a single GTX580. If your playing at super high resolutions go for the 3GB version.

Yeah the GTX590 will fit in my case with over an inch spare. and my psu is 80+ Bronze.

If i am using 575w total with a GTX590 with all components at 100% load (which won't really happen unless I'm doing benchmarks or stress tests) with 25w to spare, shouldn't that be enough?

Craterloads · 19 Nov 2011 at 02:33

i had to upgrade to a 1200w unit, moving from a 750w unit. No way would i even try on a 600w unit.

Rroff · 19 Nov 2011 at 02:35

Etuj said:
I was looking at getting a 650W Corsair but now wondering if (as someone suggested) if I should spend that bit more - the person helping me with the build (and certainly knows his stuff!) was surprised and thought 650W was too big:

P8Z68 V Pro Gen3
i7 2700k
8gb RAM
GTX 560 (possibly) and 1 SSD in addition to 2 HDDs when prices settle

Corsair 650watt would be perfect for that setup - its probably a little more that requirement but its not too big - 1000watt would be too big

I'd always err on the side of slightly overkill PSU wise as mentioned above its one of the components your most likely to take from build to build so over-speccing a little initially gives you better future proofing.

Troezar · 19 Nov 2011 at 07:58

Surprised no one has questioned the choice of a 590. They used to catch fire but I thought the fix was just limiting the overclocking or voltage? In my mind that's not a fix... Personally I'd go for a 7970...

DarkFury-EX · 19 Nov 2011 at 13:11

OK may need a new psu then i think (that's if i decide to go with the 590 that is) HELP! any recommendations? preferably a modular 700w or above but it must have 150×86×140 mm dimensions.