My system with a compact GTX960 4GB,Xeon E3 1230 V2,16GB of DDR3,a 480GB SSD and two 2TB HDDs consumes around 190W under load running 3DMark or Crysis 3. I have a relatively small case too(a mini-ITX one with limited cooling). Thing is the most I have ever seen it go upto is like 210W briefly. Many games are under that so that means the actual 12V line is much less loaded.Most modern OEM PSUs in system are from companies like Delta or FSP and are biased towards the 12V line anyway.
People overestimate how much of a PSU they really need since many PSU companies like to push excessive wattage PSUs at every turn.
Valve probably knows what they are talking about:
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/10/05/steam-box-specs-revealed/
The 300 prototype units will ship with the following components:
GPU: some units with NVidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660
CPU: some boxes with Intel i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3
RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB GDDR5 (GPU)
Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD
Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold
Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high
Yep,Valve was powering a Geforce Titan and a Core i7 4770 off a small form factor 450W.
I wonder how a decade a go I managed with 250W to 400W PSUs in my SFF systems with half decent cards. Oh wait,my last two systems had under 500W PSUs too.
Do yourself a favour and buy a RX470 4GB or a GTX1060 3GB. Even if you have to spend £35 on a PSU,they are both better value.
Even my GTX960 4GB is pushed in games now,so the GTX1050TI is a waste of time at £140 to £160 and my card cost less too. Have you noticed how the review sites tested the expensive ones too??
If you want GTX960 level performance - buy a secondhand GTX960 4GB for under £100 or save up for a proper card. Companies like Gigabyte have transferable warranties as they are dependent on the serial number(not the original purchaser) IIRC.
You could have bought similar performance last year or even the year before. The card is not even massively cheaper. You could get GTX960 and R9 285/R9 380 2GB cards for £120 a YEAR ago,and 4GB cards for not much more on offer.
This is why on Steam more people bought a GTX970 or a GTX960 than either a GTX750TI or GTX750. In reality the GTX970 and GTX960 needing additional power didn't factor into most people's considerations. I would argue the fact the GTX750 and GTX750TI were £80 to £100 were more important.
The problem is that both the RX460 and GTX1050/GTX1050TI are using mobile GPUs tarted up in desktop cards. I am sure relative to their ancestors in each range they look much better in laptops where cooling and size is more limited.
The lack of low profile and single slot RX460,GTX1050 or GTX1050TI cards is hilarious. If companies are going to boast about power consumption and TDP at least make cards which can actually fit into more systems.
No,lets make cards BIGGER than a mini-ITX GTX1070 or a Fury Nano.