Pretty confident that you can run a 280x on that power supply. Even with the addition of several HDDs. The best 270x will cost as much as the next best card. I would consider the GTX760 in your circumstance.
The cheapest 280X I can afford is the Sapphire Dual-X and the manufacturer's website under the system requirements tab says it requires a 750W PSU.
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1227&pid=2022&psn=&lid=1&leg=0#
Just to be clear about the power requirements, this is my system:
-Phenom II 975 @ 3.6GHz (stock)
-GA-880GM-D2H (mid-tier MoBo)
-8Gb 1.6V RAM (stock)
-3x 7200RPM SATA hard drives
-1 DVD-RW drive
-4x 12V LED performance fans
-1 fan/LED controller
-Antec Neo ECO 520W 80+ Bronze (one 12V rail)
-Club3D Radeon HD 5850 (to be replaced)
I intend to OC both the CPU and the GPU, although I need a better board at some point because the VRM on the 880GM is 4+2 and sucks, so I included a 990FX-UD3 in my calculations, as that's my next planned upgrade.
I may be wrong but none of the calculations I have done show me being able to run a 280X.
That is a massive over estimate. Manufacturer's recommendation doesn't mean it needs 750W. They give you an overestimate to ensure you have ample supply of power to accommodate other things. 750W would easily run two 280x cards in crossfire, almost three.
Berserker (and Mistery, I think he/she said it too. EDIT: Mistery is a she, my bad) is absolutely right. A 520W power supply will handle the 280X.
Danke
While I would like to run a 280X I'm 99% certain I don't have the power.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Dansrage/saved/3Lms
PCpartpicker shows 544W
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
PSU Calculator shows 542W
I clicked edit on PC part picker and began removing different components to determine the wattage of individual parts. I wanted to see how accurate the calculation PCpartpicker has provided.
Each 2TB HDD was estimated at 20W. This is not the estimate that I would give. Many HDD reviews only show 10W for 2TB HDDs, and less when they idle. Other wattage calculations seem to be pretty accurate, accounting for overclocking.
I'm quietly confident that you could run a 280x, but you would probably be cutting it close.
Yeah, if I was building for someone else I wouldn't be comfortable with even 550W, I'd tell them to get a 600W, I like a 20% overhead for general safety purposes anyway, you don't want to interrupt the power supply during heavy gaming.
Well thanks for helping me figure that out, I'll stick with a 270X then.
No problem. There's a whole list of reasons to have a good bit of headroom. I'm sure you will want to add additional components.
520W is more then enough for a 280X. like i said a complete system with overclocks, and a 280X would barly use 380W of total power.
Your antec psu delivers 40A current on the single 12V rail, this means a effectly power of 480W, this means you have 100W headroom.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/R9_280X_OC/24.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7400/the-radeon-r9-280x-review-feat-asus-xfx/20
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/10/09/msi-radeon-r9-280x-ge-oc-review/8
I've used several different methods to calculate the wattage required though and they all result in around 540-550W. What method are you using to get a result of 380W?
Look at the power consumption numbers on those benchmarks sites. even a X79 with i7-3930K wuth 280X sits arround 350W on full load.
But offcourse a 270X toxic is a great choice. ☺
Wattage calculators are not totally accurate. They over estimate so that people do not make mistakes. The HDDs and additional fans are not going to account for nearly 100W, not in my experience. However, I would rather you were confident and happy with what you want.
544 watts is the number with the hdd's and fans having much more watts then they use. In gaming, only certain parts of the system actually are at load. 340, is actually a very good range for gaming. The fans and hdd's have double the wattage in the voltage calculators then they actually use. And in gaming, you will not be putting 40 watts into two different hard drives at once with the fans all max out. Unless for some reason you know every part of your system will be fully maxed out with all the fans running at max, I wouldn't worry about it. Like you had a burn test going on every component at once, and even then the voltage will be under 520 because all the wattage estimates are more then they actually use.
If you want to still use a 270x, go for it. But if you do, I'd also get a 750 watt power supply at the same time so next time you upgrade the graphics card, you can be happy with TONS of room to spare :)
Yeah I'm pretty confused at this point honestly.
Calculating it on websites is giving me 540W, you guys are giving me around 380W, on Google people are reporting that their 500W can't run one, the manufacturer's websites are saying you need 750W, which I know isn't correct but is no less confusing.
I'm just going around in circles, I'm not sure I can even run the Sapphire TOXIC 270X now because one review recommended 550W, lol.
You will comfortably run a 270x. That is for certain. I have seen high-end GPUs run on a good, efficient 350W supply - it really depends on the rest of the given components.
For the platform and the GPU, at normal gaming loads, the power requirement is probably in the region of 380-400. But you're other components add additional power requirements. It's just that the given components are HDDs and fans, which are not particularly power-hungry.
Bottom line is, if you wanted 100W of headroom, you're not gonna get it with the 280x. Good chance you could run it. I have seen people run a 280x on 450W. And 550W would be the typical recommendation.
Manufacturers with always give some high ass number as they are account that they are selling this to people that may have tons of extras. This give them a reason why they shouldn't be sued in the event someone's card dies or system doesn't work due to low power output. PSU calculators add a good 10% at minimum as head room, maybe 20~30% if they are smart about things. If your want to have that extra headroom with you PSU, then get the 270x, otherwise 280x isn't a bad choice.
Asus Radeon R9 290X OC DirectCU II, here are some tests :
EAH5850 DCU2 : http://doomlord-quiz.no-ip.biz/b.html
ASUS R9 290X DCU2 OC : http://doomlord-quiz.no-ip.biz/b1.html
It is much quieter and looks better imo. You will get the same oc with it. In my location its cheaper, too.
I'm also curious about this power consumption confusion. What would happen if a power supply is being pushed 80-90%? As long as I have the right amount of connectors on my power supply, I'm good, right?
Thanks