I want to upgrade my computer but I need advice

[prideslayer]

Where did you find those facts?

It's the definition of TDP. I do hobbiest hardware development with MCPs and such, and have been building my own PCs since the 386 was considered fast. A quick google search is all that's required to verify.

I used that calculator.

Well here's hoping you didn't go too small. An undersized PSU can cause a lot of strange problems that are difficult to diagnose.

[...0...]

Hey thanks for the suggestions and the help guys, I really I appreciate.

 

I think I'm might get a GTX 780 card 3Go, saw one for ~380€ on a french website. Seems like a good deal.

 

I read this on Reddit :

 

" Maev 8 months ago

 

I use an i5-4670k, non overclocked atm because I'm not good at pcs

I also have a 120 SSD, and a gtx 770 4gb, 8 gigs of ddr3 ram.

I get 55-60 fps inside, and 40-55 fps outdoors. I use project enb, skyrim hd 2k lite version, lush trees and grass, flora overhaul, and some others that I'm probably forgetting.

I get pretty good fps if I do say so myself. cheers :>"

 

I suppose with a GTX780 (even with 3Go) I should be able to get the same results. What do you think?

 

However, how do you guys know how much Watts does a graphic card need? I a bit confused I can't see anything on their description.

 

Thanks again for your help guys !

[Rayblue]

I didn't scrimp nor underestimated, as the PSU was the first consideration before everything else. Two years ago I picked a very stable FSP Hexa 500w PSU (still 100x better than a cheap tin box) which matched well with my modest setup (I say modest because it then took me a month to match the budget against what I wanted to buy):

• Athlon II X2 260 3.2Ghz
  
• Gigabyte MA770T-UDP3
  
• PC Radeon HD7750 1gb DDR3
  
• 3 hard drives (500gb + 250gb Seagate Cuda, 500gb WD Blue Cav)
  
• 3 120mm DC LED cooling fans
  
• 1 DeepCool Mini FS heatsink
  

Still, anything lower than 500 isn't acceptable anymore, and if a monster setup is to be made (say, just enough to handle Kyo's mad screenarchery recipe), of course, very high-watt and better certified PSUs are to be obtained. Better to have more than nothing at all.

 

Can you name me another calculator that does better? Because sometimes not everyone is an expert system assembler with 20+ years under the belt.

[prideslayer]

Still, anything lower than 500 isn't acceptable anymore

[Bloodfang]

Hello again,

Yup I did order a GTX 970 instead of 780, turns out I found it on a website slightly cheaper and bought a PSU of 600W just to be sure.

I checked everything with my dad the other day ( he knows way more than me about how to build a computer) and everything should be alright, he even have a Dvi-D cable for my screen to go with the GTX, if I'm not mistaken it's working as VGA atm.

[Nergui]

I'm starting to worry I didn't buy a big enough PSU. According to that calculator (both TDP and system load at 100%), my current system needs 565w (future upgrade will bump that to 595w). My currrent PSU is 760w (although it is a high quality one - corsair AX760i)

 

The reason I bought that PSU was not one of the reviews I read could find anything bad about it apart from the price.

[Rayblue]

 

 

The calculator you linked to is even "ok" just do not believe it when it says to base the size on 85% of the TDP -- you need to base it on 150% of TDP. So set that dropdown to 100%, and enter a value that's 1.5x higher than the real value.

[dany2306]

your psu is enouth when you want to run a 970 trust me! i have a rig with a 780 oc and i dont need more than 400w!

[prideslayer]

The calculator you linked to is even "ok" just do not believe it when it says to base the size on 85% of the TDP -- you need to base it on 150% of TDP. So set that dropdown to 100%, and enter a value that's 1.5x higher than the real value.

 

I'll keep that in mind. Also, after Googling, there seems to be other alternatives; not sure about them, however.

It's really not that hard to just do it yourself with a notepad. Budget a fair amount for the motherboard itself and fans. A safe bet is about 50W for the board, and 10-15w per 120mm fan. The fans will all be labeled as to their draw, it's usually in the 0.5A - 1.5A range (6 - 18W).

The CPU and GPU likely do not list it, but many review sites do. If you can't find it, use TDP * 1.5 for each.

All HDDs/SDDs that I'm aware of publish the information.

All of that is on the 12v rail.

From here you can start getting the details for all your other stuff (optical drives, PCI cards) and "do it right", or just toss out a reasonable guess. A bluray/dvd burner is good for 30W or so, etc.

I've never used (or even looked for) some kind of web based calculator to do this stuff.

BTW, much of the systems I assembled and maintained were stock/non-OC'd APU-based workstations intended for browsing and moderate gaming (at low-to-medium graphics quality) for my clients operating Internet rent shops; TBH, compared to stock workstations, it's pretty much nerve-racking to plan, budget and build a gaming PC that would run more demanding programs because the wrong purchase of a component could affect overall performance and possibly system reliability on the long run.

Yeah I agree. Office PCs are dreadfully easy to get right.