I'm putting together a system with an Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and a PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT. Since the Red Devil is factory-overclocked and the processor can draw quite a bit of power, would my existing ASRock Phantom Gaming PG-750G be sufficient?
I'm also considering upgrading for peace of mind, with the MSI MPG A1000GS PCIE5 II and ASRock Steel Legend SL-1000G 1000W as possible replacements. The MSI unit appears to list three PCIe power cables but no separate CPU cable, which makes me wonder whether using all three GPU cables would leave me without the cable needed for the processor. Is that actually a concern, and would upgrading be worthwhile?
2 Answers
A quality 750W Gold PSU should handle the combination under normal use. Using separate PCIe cables is ideal when the PSU provides them, but the lack of three independent cables is not automatically a deal-breaker for this card, particularly if the system is running at stock settings.
The CPU and GPU are unlikely to remain at maximum power simultaneously for extended periods. If the PSU is older, damaged, or of questionable quality, replacing it with a good 1000W model would provide extra headroom, but it isn’t necessary just because the graphics card has three power sockets.
The 750W unit should be enough for this setup, especially if you aren’t planning to overclock. Even with the CPU and GPU drawing heavily at the same time, the combined load should generally remain below the PSU’s capacity, leaving some room for the motherboard and other components.
The Red Devil’s power limit is around 330W, so even with a modest increase it shouldn’t create an unreasonable load. Check that your existing PSU is in good condition and use the available PCIe connectors appropriately. There’s no need to replace it solely for future-proofing; it usually makes more sense to buy a new PSU later when you actually need one.
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I’ll stick with the existing 750W PSU since I don’t plan to overclock either the CPU or GPU.
Unfortunately, my ASRock PSU doesn’t have three separate PCIe cables, but it sounds like that shouldn’t be a major issue for this build.