I found a good deal on an RTX 2080 Ti and currently have a 550W power supply. The usual recommendation for this graphics card is 650W or more, though many estimates seem to be based on higher-power Intel CPUs. My planned system is a Ryzen 5 5500, RTX 2080 Ti, ASUS B450-F Gaming motherboard, 16GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200, two Gen 3 NVMe SSDs, and an AMD Wraith Prism cooler. The PSU is a Thermaltake Smart BX1 80+ Bronze. Would 550W be safe at stock settings, or should I upgrade first?
3 Answers
The raw wattage might look barely adequate: the 2080 Ti can use around 250W, the CPU roughly 65–90W, and the rest of the system may add another 50W or so. However, the BX1 is an entry-level unit, and a graphics card can briefly spike well above its rated consumption. I’d upgrade to a good-quality 650W unit at minimum, preferably 750W for extra headroom and long-term stability.
It may run under normal gaming loads, especially with the Ryzen 5 5500, but that doesn’t make it a good pairing. A 550W supply leaves little room for transient spikes, aging, or heavy CPU-and-GPU workloads. A reputable 650W or 750W PSU with the proper separate PCIe power cables would be the safer choice.
If you absolutely have to test it temporarily, leave everything at stock and consider undervolting the 2080 Ti. Stop if you see shutdowns, instability, or unusual power-cable heat. I wouldn’t buy the card expecting the Thermaltake Smart BX1 to be a comfortable long-term solution, though.
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload