Is my PSU good enough for overclocking? cooler master silent pro M600 80+bronze

[mojito]

I just received the secondhand i5 2500k in the mail and at the last minute I thought of my PSU.

I built my PC back in 2011 I think and I was a noob so I got the non k. For the past years its at 3.8ghz and its been alright for games like forza horizon 3 + 4 and gta in invite sessions.
Just recently I noticed the secondhand i5 2500k is like 50 bucks so I got one not knowing how well it will overclock.

I would like to know how much my psu can handle with cpu and gpu overclocked.

My specs
i5 2500k with NH d14 CPU cooler, as much overclock as I can get
GTX970 (as much overclock as I can get)
Asus P8P67 3.0 rev
8 GB DDR3 ram 1333 (will get 1600 soon)
1 barracuda 7200rpm hdd
no dvd or cd rom


Any help is appreciated many thanks!

 

[marco.da.man]

600w psu should be plenty for system you have

 

[mojito]

I really appreciate the speedy reply. Many thanks!!!

 

[pastymuncher]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

It's not all about the big number on the label. Take your 600w psu for example. It isn't capable of 600w on the all important 12v rail where you need the power. It only has 480w on the 12v rail, it did when new anyway. The rest is on the minor rails. It was a decent psu when launched back in 2008 but by todays standards where any decent psu should be able to deliver all or near enough all of it's power on the 12v rails along with improvements in efficiency and internal components, your psu would be at the low end of the market. It is also quite old now so any weak spots may be shown up with the extra power draw from overclocking. It should still have enough power to get a decent overclock but keep in mind it's age and that if you upgrade further, the gpu for example, then you should replace it with a modern, more efficient psu.

With regards to upgrading the memory going from 1333mhz to 1600mhz won't make the slightest bit of difference outside of benchmarking the memory. Ram speeds didn't really matter on DDR3 unless you had a APU. Have a read of this article in which they benchmark DDR3 memory of 1600mhz, 1866mhz, 2133mhz and 2400mhz. While it doesn't include 1333mhz memory the gains from 1600mhz to 1866mhz would be a similar percentage of what you would gain from 1333mhz to 1600mhz. As you can see, there is very little to gain from increasing DDR3 speeds apart from costing you more money which could be spent elsewhere.

 

[mojito]

First of all thank you so much for taking the time to write all the info down for a noob like me Thanks for the really comprehensive answer!!

I only wanted to upgrade the ram because I googled it and thought I should, but I probably won't upgrade the ram now. I will however add maybe 4 more Gigs

Regarding the PSU, I have in my mind think that I have kept it in a pretty good condition because I changed the fan to a much stronger fan so its cooled and also Im using good filters for my PC so it has very little dust.
Will it still be in bad shape?
I thought of getting a new PSU but If its not needed I would prefer not to. If you think I should can you please recommend me a PSU?

 

[pastymuncher]

It's not dust that is the problem, it's capacitor ageing that's the main problem and there is nothing that anybody can do to stop that. Like I said though, it's probably fine to get a decent overclock with but replace it if you upgrade further. A decent psu isn't cheap and it shouldn't be skimped on. The psu is argueably the most important component in a pc and is not the place to save money although sadly a lot of people still skimp on them.

If you really want to replace it now please note that I will only ever recommend something that I would be 100% happy to use myself. With that in mind the cheapest replacement psu that I would recommend on OCUK is the Bitfenix Formula series 550w at £66.95. It's gold rated, has all of it's 550w available on the 12v rail and has a 5 year warranty. The downside is that all the cables are fixed.

The cheapest semi-modular psu on OCUK that I would recommend is the Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro 550w at £73.99. It is gold rated, semi-modular (24 pin and 4+4 pin fixed, the rest removeable), has 540w of it's power available on the 12v rail and has a 7 year warranty.

The cheapest fully modular psu on OCUK that I would recommend is the Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550w at £82.99. It's gold rated, fully modular, has 540w of it's power available on the 12v rail and has a 10 year warranty.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 550W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £66.95
• 1 x Antec EarthWatts Gold Pro 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £73.99
• 1 x Seasonic Focus Plus 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £82.99

​

 

[mojito]

I truly am thankful for the advice. Many thanks. I will look into buying the cheapest that you recommend because l don't need a fancy one with detachable cables I just need it to function. With that in mind I will not overclock the gpu for the time being but will overclock the cpu to as much i could get. Is that advisable? or should I wait until I get a new PSU?

 

[pastymuncher]

I think you will be ok with the cpu overclocked, Sandybridge cpu's aren't exactly power hungry even when overclocked.

If you are going to buy a new psu soon I would wait and see what deals are on for Black Friday. At least one retailer should have some decent psu's included in their offers. If you need to make a quick decision rather than waiting for a reply on here you can do some easy research for yourself.

Forget the overall rating such as 500w, 600w etc and find out how the power is split across the rails. The 12v rail(s) is the most important and any decent modern psu will be able to deliver all or near enough all of it's stated power on the 12v rail. If it doesn't then it's probably either based on a old design or is just a budget psu designed that way to cut down on the build cost.

Check reviews from sites such as Jonnyguru and Techpowerup as they both do thorough tests and teardowns of the psu's. If they say a unit is good or bad then it's a good idea to listen to what they have to say about it. There are other sites that review psu's but some are not as thorough.

Most companies such as Corsair, Bitfenix, Antec, EVGA and many others don't build their own psu's. They can have some input on the design but many just put their own sticker on the units. The main builders (oem's) are Seasonic, Superflower, Delta, CWT, Great Wall, FSP, Enhance while others such as HEC, Andyson, and Sirtec build mainly budget psu's. I particularly dislike HEC built units and wouldn't touch one with a bargepole.

A decent psu from a good company that has faith in their products should have a good warranty. On the cheaper end such as the Bitfenix Formula series it is 5 years, others have 7, 10 or even 12 years. Be careful though as it can be a minefield. Companies such as Superflower and Be Quiet still only give a 5 year warranty even on their most expensive psu's which is a joke seeing as the Seasonic Focus Plus series can be much cheaper and have double the warranty.

Don't get sucked in by efficiency ratings. Yes Platinum and Titanium is more efficient than a gold rated psu but you are also paying a premium for that efficiency, some times massively more and you will never make the savings in electricity to justify the extra cost of these units. It is better to go with a decent gold rated unit and spend the money elsewhere unless the price difference is very small.

This site is a excellent source of information on psu's such as who makes it, power on 12v rail(s), number of pci-e connectors, whether it's fixed, semi-modular or fully modular cables, warranty length and links to reviews.

 

[mojito]

Thanks for that! I will use the reviews & the site for a more in depth look at the PSU's" when I find good deals. As for now I just hope I can get a good overclock with the 2500k this saturday!! Anyways, your help is much appreciated with Thanks.