Hi,

Been slowly upgrading my system so now I'm not sure if I need a PSU upgrade or not. My current PSU is an Aerocool KCAS 500W. Need your advice. My setup:

i5 4460
Gigabyte z87-d3hp mobo
Asus Strix GTX 970
HyperX Savage 8gb 1600 RAM
Kingston V300 120GB SSD
3x 140mm pwm fans
1x 120mm pwm fan

Can I still use a 500W PSU? If I need to upgrade, what would be the recommended wattage?

Just to be safe, get a 600w psu

What would be a good recommendation for a 600w/650w PSU with a budget of RM300..

Seasonic S12II 620W about RM320 from lyn sellers, 5 yr warranty.

or FSP RAIDER 650W = RM249 (lyn) but better to get Seasonic.

This post has been edited by bluemind: Sep 16 2015, 07:01 PM

Up a bit, RM380 for a 600W Seasonic..

How about trensonic PSU? I seldom heard ppl use, but it is on market.

besides seasonic what else would be good? just so I have options...

Corsair

Suddenly some people know better than nVidia

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gp.../specifications

Minimum System Power Requirement (W) : 500w

I think that says enough.

In fact the power draw is so low than even a good 300w PSU could get away with it.

Need not upgrade.

Your PSU will work fine.

If you got spare money, better upgrade to quality PSUs like seasonic, cooler master v series etc.

Your parts not exactly cheap, you sure want to rely on cheap Aerocool PSU?

ur PSU is good

but is not a best choice to get upgrade to a better PSU
like wat i did when i upgrade to 580 i get a good PSU but now im 980 my PSU still good for this card
and bare in mind that new technology will always required lower wattages from time to time

It's not recommended to run a high-end card with an entry-level PSU.

Seasonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze RM299 or the M12II Evo Fully Modular at RM379.

Back to TS's question - does he need to upgrade? The answer is NO.

Should TS upgrade? There's no definite answer, if he has the budget then a better power supply is always the way to go BUT it is not a NEED.

Aerocool KCAS is pretty decent actually.

I've personally tested it on load far higher than what TS' rig can handle for hours, no issues.

Last time it's easy to say "high end card vs entry level PSU"

That's because 2 - 3 generations ago high-end card is like 220W - 250W and they're really killers.

Nowadays high-end cards are some 145 - to 170w. while low / mid end graphic card like say those from AMD drain more!

Case in point, an R9 380 is mid-range but draws some 200w!!!

A GTX 970 for example is considered towards high-end side and draws only 145, GTX 980 only 165w.

So end up now the best way to guide is not so much on high-end or low-end but rather what's the power draw like.

It is not only about what load it can handle, you need to look at protection circuitry it offers.

Not to mention some cheap PSU when burnt out it'll take out some mobos and GPUs.

PSU also doesn't stay constant when aging. After sometime (months or years) the part will degrade and won't be able to supply the needed power and current within ATX specifications.

Did you test the Aerocool PSU on different loads for it's jitter, voltage deviation etc?

Which means,if the card is in high-end range but doesn't eat a lot of power,it'll be fine to run with PSUs like Aerocool KCAS and FSP Hexa+ series? Alright.

I still think it's a good idea to go for a better PSU if there's budget for it.

This post has been edited by Minecrafter: Sep 17 2015, 04:06 PM

Stating GTX970 only uses 145 watts and GTX 980 only 165 watts is in the realm of dreams.

Come on you are a reviewer, you should've known Nvidia's TDP is grossly understated.

Well thanks for all your answers. I came here with similar sets of ideas/concepts in my head and you guys have confirmed it. It seems like this PSU thing can be quite a personal thing.

As long as I am powering a 500w PSU I should be good. But then again, whether I am comfortable running my rig at a minimum PSU requirement, I have to make that call myself.

I personally would like to have some headroom for anything and everything. Just so that I don't keep my stuff running at full load all the time (similar thinking as u guys who suggested me to upgrade to 600+W to be on the safe side).

Considering all your points, and based on goldfries' claim, I think I may keep this 500w for a little while longer I will upgrade, but maybe it is not the most critical thing right now.

Feel free to keep the discussion going though

Oh many more comments while I was writing that. Lol.