I'm running an Intel i7-13700K, RTX 3070 Ti, 32GB of DDR5 memory, and an NZXT C650 power supply. When I play demanding games while streaming, I sometimes experience lag. I'm considering upgrading to an RTX 5070, but I'm unsure whether my 650W PSU will handle gaming and streaming reliably. Could the power supply be causing the issue, or should I look at settings such as the encoder, VRAM usage, or system performance first?
4 Answers
Before replacing the PSU, monitor GPU power, CPU usage, VRAM usage, temperatures, and frametimes while streaming. You may be running out of VRAM or CPU headroom in demanding games, which can cause stutter without indicating a power problem.
Test the current setup first rather than upgrading the power supply immediately. A properly functioning 650W PSU should be adequate for this combination, but make sure the GPU power cables are connected correctly and that your streaming settings are using hardware encoding.
A 650W unit should generally be enough, especially since the RTX 5070 typically uses less power than a 3070 Ti. If the PSU were overloaded, you’d more likely see crashes, sudden shutdowns, or restarts rather than ordinary in-game streaming lag. Check whether your streaming software is using the GPU’s NVENC encoder instead of putting the workload on the CPU.
Try undervolting the GPU or limiting its power and clock speed slightly, then test the same games while streaming. That can provide extra power headroom and lower temperatures without a major performance loss.
You can also cap the GPU’s power limit or frame rate. If the lag remains after those changes, the PSU is very unlikely to be the cause.