Power Supply for GeForce GTX 650 Ti

damojag

Hi, I built a PC for gaming using the specs here but it turns out that the graphics card is too powerful for the power supply I have.

Motherboard: ASRock 960
Graphics: GeForce GTX 650 Ti
The case has two fans and there are 6 USB ports (2 USB 3.0)

From the specs page it looks like it needs 450W to run the card alone, can anyone recommend something that will power the lot for me? I'm thinking along the lines of the Corsair 600W or the Corsair 700W - would really appreciate some help!

Gumbi

No. Quality over quantity. nVidia are just trying to cover their asses vs terrible PSUs. 650ti draws next to nothing. Your system won't even draw more than 350w. Less actually.

damojag

I've tried a 350 and a 450 and neither can power the board and the card at the same time.

Gumbi

damojag wrote: »

I've tried a 350 and a 450 and neither can power the board and the card at the same time.

Huh? You have a 350w PSU? What do you mean they can't power the board and card at the same time? Have you even been able to boot with them. Man, 350w (assuming good quality, I mean even bad quality 350w would last you a bit id say) is more than enough juice.

What model PSUs you have and how have you determined that they don't supply enough power?

damojag

I've got the Corsair VS350 - plugged into Mainboard alone it tells me that the Graphics card needs to be plugged in, I do that and then nothing happens only the power light on the card. I've also tried a cheapish 450w but that doesn't power anything!

Xenoronin

I can only assume Bloodbath made a mistake in picking that PSU and didn't notice, or the original gfx card he selected didn't need much power.
450W will run your PC just fine. You could future proof and go for 600W if you want, but as far as I've seen, there has been a push towards energy savings in making components recently so 500W would probably be a good inbetween. 600-700W is only really useful when you are running two graphics cards or doing something else that eats power.
One 6-pin connector, whatever PSU you go for, make sure it has one of those. Some PSUs will say this "2 x 8 pin PCI Express power with detachable 2 pin section" which is the same as saying it has a 6-pin connector.

80+ bronze. Also that, it basically means the PSU is at least 80% efficient with power which is always good.

After that just choose a well known supplier like Corsair and make sure to have a quick check of reviews.

Gumbi

Are you sure everything is plugged in correctly? Have you tried the card in another system to rule out that? I mean, 350w is enough for load man, let alone idle (you realise unless you're stressing the CPU AND graphics card simultaneously when, say, gaming, your system draws comparatively little power? Like, less than 100w?). I'm sure 350w is enough. And that's rated for bronze too AFAIK.

damojag

Don't have another system to check but everything was plugged in correctly. The 350W definitely does not work, as I said when it was plugged into the mainboard alone it powered up and the screen told me to power up the graphics card. When I plugged the card in via the PCI-E, there was power going to the card (power light) but nothing to the board.

I'm literally about to buy this one as I want to guarantee enough power: Corsair GS600

TerrorFirmer

Yeah, something else is up, firstly that 350w Corsair is fine, secondly, considering we're talking idle consumption, there is no reason even that cheap 450w wouldn't boot the system. You'd be talking less than 100w draw for boot up.

Xenoronin

Did a quick check here: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Gumbi is right, 350W should run the pc at idle. Have you tried running the PC without the gfx card plugged in? It should run off the internal graphics processor at the very least.

Gumbi

That PSU is total overkill, don't get it... A quality 450w unit will do fine for now and the future. But in any case, something is definitely up. The PSU is not than fine, your system won't be drawing much more than 300w under load.

damojag

Even though the card specs state that it needs a minimum of 400w?

indough

boot up should actually have a higher power consumption than at idle, but the psu should still be enough

Xenoronin

Lets run through this step by step maybe to get to the bottom of this?
1. Remove the graphics card and everything else that draws power such as cd drives and hard drives except the boot drive. And don't remove fan power connectors, they are kinda useful.
2. Ensure that the 24-pin main power connector and the 8-pin ATX12V connector are connected to the motherboard.
3. Connect the monitor to the motherboard VGA port.
4. Start the PC and report what happens.

Gumbi

indough wrote: »

boot up should actually have a higher power consumption than at idle, but the psu should still be enough

It won't be stressed any large amount. That's a technicality you're pointing out there, nit-picker :P (like CPUs not idling at idle/low voltages etc.).

Yes, damo, even though it says 400, 350 is enough.

damojag

Right lads, you must have the magic touch - I removed all power apart from the fans and mainboard. Then plugged the graphics card into a different slot and boom - boots into the motherboard install screen. Hopefully when I plug everything else back in it will be ok?

Xenoronin

Out of interest, is it now plugged into the dark blue slot?

damojag

I don't see any different coloured slots but I popped the graphics card back into the previous slot, connected everything and it's working as well - I feel like throwing the lot out the window!

You're all legends, lads. Cheers.