I'm building my first PC in a decade, and while I'm on a tight budget, I managed to squeeze in a 5070 GPU and a 9600x CPU. According to PCPartPicker, my total TDP is around 400W. I picked up a 500W PSU, the SX500-G with an 80+ Gold rating. I know this isn't the ideal situation, and I'm curious about how much I can actually overclock without running into issues. Can I push it by another 50 to 70 watts, or is that too risky? Thanks for any insights!
3 Answers
Overclocking doesn't really yield the performance boost it used to, and it generates additional heat which isn’t worth it in most cases. A good rule of thumb is to add 200W to what PCPartPicker suggests to stay safe. If possible, just focus on maximizing cooling instead!
Man, the general advice is to have at least a 650W PSU for setups like yours. I get that you're trying to save money, but the PSU is not where you want to skimp. It's kind of like buying a cheap car that breaks down right after you drive it. Better to save a bit longer for a solid power supply!
I thought 650W was overkill since my CPU only has a TDP of 65W. Isn't 500W enough to cover the GPU and CPU under load?
Honestly, pushing your PSU this far is risky. You're already near its limit, and overclocking typically increases power draw and heat, which can lead to instability or system crashes. I'd recommend holding off on overclocking until you can upgrade to a higher wattage PSU. By the way, how much did you buy that PSU for?
So you're saying that instead of overclocking, I should just look into undervolting or optimizing airflow?