a couple of months ago I built my own PC. This is my current set-up:
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K, 3.4GHz
GPU: MSI N660 Gaming 2GD5/OC
PSU: Corsair CX600M Modular Power Supply
MOBO: Gigabyte Z87x-D3H
Which is all wrapped nicely in a Corsair Carbide 500R ^^
I am considering upgrading to a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, namely the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G. I expect this card to blow my own card out of the water, as I read that performance could be as much as 70% better when compared to the 600 series (do you guys agree?).
So my real question is (more related to PSU then GPU):
- Should I upgrade my PSU if I am to get that specific card? I can't find the details on what wattage is recommended for the GTX 970 series. Only that it supposedly is very very efficient. Will 600W get the job done? Should I get like 660W?
My current PSU is 80 PLUS Bronze certified, but I was planning on getting a Gold certified PSU in the long run, as my PC heats up my room quite a bit (and I guess the PSU is partly to blame :3).
I am quite enthusiastic about building PC's, but I'm also quite the noob.
Why not just look at reviews yourself. Peak usage of non-oc system 300W proximately. Not best site, should check more, but point is made. Of-course there are many more things to think of, such as what you have on in the background.;
Also consider PSUs degrade overtime loosing sustained peak performance, the warranty probably gives an idea of how long it lasts before it tapers off, although who knows if they warranty it for 80% of the rated capacity or 100% or whatever at that time. Point is it should still indicate somewhat.
"70% better when compared to the 600 series (do you guys agree?)"
This is very misleading. 70% better compared to a GT610 or a GTX680?
Either way it will be a good upgrade. Worth looking around.though. in UK at least the 970 and 290 are the exact same price and in many cases the 290 wins.
Your PSU should be fine Maxwell cards use dramatically less power then the older Nvidia cards. If you wanted to go SLI, or are having issues with Vdroop you might be better off getting a more efficient, more powerful, better made PSU. As it stands unless you have some crazy overclocks with the new card your power draw is likely to be around 300 watts at full load.
on a related note; I have the same PSU as you on a AMD system pulling quite a bit more power at load and it's worked fine. the lower end Corsair PSUs do have some Vdroop and voltage fluctuation on the CPUs rail, but, mines been rock solid on PCI rail.
Nvidia spec a 500W minimum for this card so you should hopefully be fine running at stock but I would imagine they will draw more juice if you overclock it. If you can afford it I would snap up one of these cards, they are incredibly powerful for the money, energy efficient and overclock very well.
I am not as tech-savvy as your are I guess. I got this PSU based on the assumption that it would be able to take on my current set-up, as well as new additions (like a better GPU).
So a new PSU probably isnt needed? How do you notice a Vdrop (or is that a complete newb question?)?
On a side note: SLI? Considering this is state-of-the-art I would not expect any need for this card to run in SLI, unless you wish to use dual 4K monitors or whatever. Am I wrong?