GPU Power Requirements - 550W PSU

[roadie]

Hi All,

In October 2021 I upgraded from an AMD RX480 to an RX6600. It's a great card, but I am GPU limited in my favourite games. All cards above the RX6600 to have incredibly high PSU requirements - I have an EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G3, which I think is pretty robust for the overall level of power it delivers.

What level of AMD card might be recommended for my power levels? Could I manage an RX6800XT or RX6800?

Thanks!

 

[Tetras]

I know it isn't a great answer, but it totally depends on the behaviour of the PSU and how it handles the transients. In theory a 6800 is manageable (about 250 average), but like all modern cards it can spike a lot (400 odd). According to the THG review of your PSU it doesn't trip until it is massively over, so that's a good sign.

 

[adam98150]

You might get away with either of those, manufacturers typically overestimate the minimum PSU wattage. XTs minimum is 650 but I'm willing to bet there's a good chance it'd be fine - it draws 250w leaving 300w spare for everything else.

My friend was running a 3070 on a 450w with no crashes. Not ideal but it actually worked which was surprising.

If you buy a new card just be aware there's a small chance you might need to get a new PSU too so I'd factor that in incase it doesn't work out.

 

[B@Th*nG]

i did A LOT of reading around this subject some time back. The best performance you can get with a 550W PSU recommendation was a 3060ti. Interestingly, i've just had a look at a chart which seems to think the RX6700XT uses a bit less power than that, though AMD recommend a 600w PSU - go figure.

you MIGHT get away with a 6800 but it's quite a risk if it goes wrong. I'd forget a 6800XT if I were you.

This is average consumation, so it's not peak, but it'll give you an idea of what sort of area you can look at if you use the 3060ti power as a rough maximum:

 

[eeii]

hmmm interesting question. I think you will be right on the ragged edge with 6800xt to be honest. The 6700xt will be just about be OK. As the old saying goes suck it and see

 

[ljt]

I've just upgraded a friend's PC that has a 550w psu from a rx 580 to a rx 6700 (none XT) and it pulls less power than the rx 580! Max the 6700 pulls is 160w!

 

[G J]

The advice B@Th*ng seems pretty solid as I've been using a 500w PSU for years that only has a 6+8pin so I avoid any cards with 8+8pin and I'm really cautious of running anything higher than around 225w although this PSU ran many cards over the years the most power hungry being a 2070 Super and AMD 290. Also as some cards may be suitable but have transient power spikes that may be a concern.

Also agree with the posters about the power consumption as I returned a B-Grade 6600XT recently and that I got unlucky with the issues with it which is why it was B grade as it was pretty much 2070 Super performance at around ~130 watt. I'm currently looking for a nvidia card to replace it but its taking time but I'm leaning to opening up my wanted thread and trying another 6600/6600XT/6700 again.

 

[muon]

I've had a 550W PSU for ~7 years (EVGA G3). Over that period I have used (of the more power hungry cards)

2080Ti with 300W power limit (+20%)
3070 Ti with 319W power limit (+10%)
6800 with above stock power consumption, don't know exactly what as the card only shows TGP rather than TBP
3080 with stock power limit of 320W (this is where i drew the line as I noticed peak power consumption under intense load of CPU/GPU was approaching maxing out the PSU)

All without a problem.

There is also no risk with a good PSU as they have OCP/OVP/OPP.

 

[roadie]

Thank you for all the replies fellas, really useful context.

I've just changed my CPU from an AMD 3800X to an AMD 5700X and it is pulling ~130W from the wall during the most CPU intensive Prime95 test at its stock settings. I think that gives me plenty of wiggle room, but I don't think I'll be running any graphics cards that go much over 300W if I decide to upgrade. Maybe the lower tiers of the new AMD cards will be really efficient like the RX6600?

 

[newuser]

I used an EVGA 550G2 up until recently with various hardware. Final config that ran without issue:-

2080ti Strix, max power limit about 300w peak
12400 cpu at 65w
4x8 3200 ddr4
nvme and 2 x sata ssd
5 x P12 fans

 

[Donnie Fisher]

Sooooooooo I shouldn’t be running my 3950x and a 3080fe on my 600w psu then like I have been doing for the last wee while without issue ?

To be fair I’ve limited the PPT to around 90 and left PBO on , but that’s it.

That said I do agree with the transient comments though. I had a 5800x before that it and it seemed to crash with PBO regularly and I put it down to the spikes it could hit chopping too fast between power states.