I'm looking to upgrade my setup, which currently consists of a Ryzen 5 3600 and an RX 6600. I recently bought a Cooler Master MWE V2 Bronze 500W PSU two years ago and would prefer not to replace it just yet. I'm planning to upgrade to a Ryzen 7 5700X, but I'm stuck between upgrading my GPU to either the RX 9060 XT 16GB for around $480 or the RX 9070 for about $750. With my new 2K monitor, I think the 9070 would offer a much better experience in the long run, but I'm concerned about the power requirements with my 500W PSU. My motherboard is a B450 Aorus Elite, and I have three fans and two 240GB SSDs, but no flashy RGB components. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
5 Answers
No way a 500W PSU will suffice. You’ll want something closer to 600-650W. Also, just a heads up, the B450 motherboard might bottleneck the RX 9070 since it's PCIe 3.0 while the GPU is PCIe 5.0.
It's a bit risky. AMD's minimum recommendation for the RX 9070 (non-XT) is actually 550W, but I'd say you should really have a minimum of 650W for safety. The power demands during gaming can spike, and it’s better to play it safe.
Does that mean I shouldn't even consider undervolting? Looks like the 9060 XT is my best option then!
Absolutely! It's not about just meeting the minimum requirements. You want to ensure stability during those power spikes.
Honestly, a 500W PSU is really cutting it close for the RX 9070. The general consensus is that you should have at least a 650W PSU for that card. If you're considering the RX 9070, I'd recommend going for at least a 750W to be safe. And hey, have you considered the 9070 XT? It offers better performance for just a bit more cash, but keep in mind it consumes more power.
I hear you, but I've already made some mistakes with my PSU choice in the past. I think I might just go with the 9060 XT to avoid the hassle. Thanks for the input!
A good quality 500W PSU could handle it under perfect conditions, but yours isn’t top-tier. The RX 9070 pulls about 250W, and with a Ryzen 5 and all your other components, you're looking at a max load that could exceed your PSU under heavy use. I'd really advise against it.
I just don’t get why people spend hundreds on a graphics card yet skimp on the PSU. It’s the backbone of your PC! I'd suggest an 850W PSU so you have plenty of headroom for future upgrades. It could save you a lot of headache later on.
I understand your point, but I don't want to throw away a relatively new PSU. I'd rather play safe with the 9060 XT for now and plan a full upgrade in a few years.
So it sounds like the 9060 XT is the way to go with my current setup. I might just have to wait for the prices on the 9800X3D and 9070 XT to drop in a couple of years.