I've had my PC for about two years, and I'm starting to think that my power supply might be too weak for my setup. I want to know if upgrading it would really improve my performance. Here are my specs:
- **CPU:** AMD Ryzen 9 5950x 16-core
- **Motherboard:** MAX X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI
- **GPU:** NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 TI
- **Power Supply:** ROG Strix 1000W
I've noticed that when I play heavy graphics games like ARK or Minecraft (especially with a ton of mods), my fans ramp up quickly after just a few seconds in the game. This happens even with MSI Afterburner controlling the fans—sometimes it causes my FPS to drop. Also, demanding games like CK3 cause my PC to freeze after a while, forcing me to restart. I've attempted overclocking using Afterburner, but the system freezes as soon as I try to use the new settings. For reference, my 3DMark scores 68.9%, and the Steel Nomad test gives me 3600 where the average is 5700. Is this all a sign that I need a new power supply?
2 Answers
You probably don't need a new PSU. It sounds more like you're facing thermal throttling issues rather than power supply problems. Have you checked your CPU and GPU temperatures while gaming? That could be what's causing your fans to ramp up and your games to freeze.
It definitely seems like thermal throttling is your problem here. Your GPU might be getting too hot, triggering the fans to spin up. You should look into your cooling setup and maybe try cleaning out any dust that could be blocking airflow.
You're right! I did some quick research and I'm starting to understand the thermal throttling issue better. Thanks for the heads up!