XT 6650 OC with a 550w PSU?

[AusWolf]

"As budget as possible" is the wrong attitude by the way, this is the component your entire system relies on.

This.

OP: If your budget doesn't allow a quality unit within the wattage range that you need, then don't buy anything until it does. That is, step #1: calculate how many watts you need for your system. I generally go with a "CPU+GPU+100W" formula. Step #2: Buy the highest quality unit within that wattage range.

As for your opening question, 550 W may or may not be enough for a 6650 XT within your current system, depending on the exact PSU model you've got (I don't see your system specs). But if your 12 V dropped while gaming with your old card, then I wouldn't risk it.

 

[Beginner Macro Device]

I generally go with a "CPU+GPU+100W" formula. Step #2: Buy the highest quality unit within that wattage range.

My formula differs. I just buy the best PSU amongst those of 4xGPU TDP. Why GPU? My CPUs rarely hit 75 W mark, not to mention three figure numbers, whereas GPUs tend to be massively draining power. So, for a 200 W GPU I'd go for a 800 W PSU of a max possible quality in my budget.

This strategy never failed.

(I'm currently with a 650 W PSU despite having a 200 W GPU but this is offset by undervolting to ~150 W)

 

[dirtyferret]

lof of misinformation being posted by people who clearly don't understand the first thing about PSU by their posts

corsair VS - basically office system replacements, mostly sold over seas from NA. Better than the Shenzhen special
corsair VX- excellent units back in the day, made by CWT & Seasonic but put to bed a long time ago (over a decade ago) because their manufacturing cost was too high (good for the consumer)
Corsair CX-these units are also being phased out due to cost but offered very good performance for the price with their resonant LLC platform and consistently well reviewed and best units under 600w picks by Aris (you know th eguy who offers the best reviews on PSU unless of courase he says something nice about a unit from a brand people don't like or vice versa)
corsair CV - slight improvement to the VS line

hey also degrade over time reducing their output.

while they do degrade the time span is usually ten years to start seeing even a little

, 550 watts are 550 watts regardless of what it's intended for. Sure it might be loud and warm, but that's ok.

that's not how it works, it's the ability to reliably and continuously deliver that power while being in ATX spec under hot PC case conditions

not sure what line you have, some have mentioned the VS series which really is not ideal for gaming. It should be fine safety wise and your parts are hardly demanding, probably not even breaking 350w while gaming. I would start saving for a replacement sooner rather than later if it is the VS line

 

[dgianstefani]

lof of misinformation being posted by people who clearly don't understand the first thing about PSU by their posts

corsair VS - basically office system replacements, mostly sold over seas from NA. Better than the Shenzhen special
corsair VX- excellent units back in the day, made by CWT & Seasonic but put to bed a long time ago (over a decade ago) because their manufacturing cost was too high (good for the consumer)
Corsair CX-these units are also being phased out due to cost but offered very good performance for the price with their resonant LLC platform and consistently were Aris (you know th eguy who offers the best reviews on PSU unless of courase he says something nice about a unit from a brand people don't like or vice versa) pick as the best under 600w units
corsair CX-M - cheaper platform than the CX line (lacks resonant LLC) but offers semi-modular instead
corsair CV - slight improvement to the VS line


while they do degrade the time span is usually ten years to start seeing even a little

Would you say a "550 W" VS office PSU that has a 350 mV voltage droop under light load (350 W isn't a heavy load) is appropriate to keep when upgrading to a higher wattage GPU?

 

[dirtyferret]

Would you say a "550 W" VS office PSU that has a 350 mV voltage droop under light load (450 W isn't a heavy load) is appropriate to keep when upgrading to a higher wattage GPU?

I don't know the OP specs, I can't find them but in that theoretical set up my exact words were

not sure what line you have, some have mentioned the VS series which really is not ideal for gaming.....I would start saving for a replacement sooner rather than later if it is the VS line

 

[thebluebumblebee]

I'm a little unsure whether i can install a XT 6650 OC from ASUS, in my system when i got a 550w Corsair PSU, without destroying my system.
ASUS recommends a 650w.

I've tried calculating the wattage at several sites, sometimes using the XT 6700 because they don't have 6650 in the database.
It comes out at like close to 500w minimum requirement.

My system otherwise has a standard I5 - 11600K, 2x 8gb ddr4 ram.

Should i listen to ASUS recommendation, or can i just go with what i've been able to gather from calculating it?

Do you have a GPU currently, or are you using the iGPU?

 

[AusWolf]

My formula differs. I just buy the best PSU amongst those of 4xGPU TDP. Why GPU? My CPUs rarely hit 75 W mark, not to mention three figure numbers, whereas GPUs tend to be massively draining power. So, for a 200 W GPU I'd go for a 800 W PSU of a max possible quality in my budget.

This strategy never failed.

(I'm currently with a 650 W PSU despite having a 200 W GPU but this is offset by undervolting to ~150 W)

I think that formula overestimates your PSU needs, but it's better to go over than under, I guess.

I use my formula to make sure my PSU can sustain a 100% load on both CPU and GPU. I know I don't need it, but I might in the future. There might also be some sporadic spikes on system usage (when Windows update fires up during a game, for example).

 

[Beginner Macro Device]

overestimates your PSU needs

Not by much actually. I despise the very idea of losing my PC due to PSU underperformance so let my slight paranoia be the leader here. The PSU is capable of 3x of what I'm doing? Great, sign me up, that's zactly what the doctor ordered.

 

[Sithaer]

I think that formula overestimates your PSU needs, but it's better to go over than under, I guess.

I use my formula to make sure my PSU can sustain a 100% load on both CPU and GPU. I know I don't need it, but I might in the future. There might also be some sporadic spikes on system usage (when Windows update fires up during a game, for example).

I almost never go overkill with my PSUs and so far its been a non issue since 2008 'thats when I got/built my first own PC'.
Its just that I know my budget range I'm usually going for so its not like I'm suddenly in a need of a better PSU cause of a high end GPU or something like that. 'I'm not comfortable with 200-220+W cards anyway so its unlikely that I will go higher'

I've had a 650W Cooler Master MWE Gold PSU for like 2 years in my R5 1600X/RX 570 system and it was a total overkill on paper and it was hardly stressed, the damn thing died on me in barely 2+ years during the covid lockdowns. I've sent it back to the e/retailer I've bought it from and they gave me back my money/offered me to pick a new PSU since the warranty process was really slow at the time like everything else.
My options were really limited with hardly any decent PSUs in stock around the same price range so I've ended up with my current 500W Seasonic Core GM, at first I was kinda pissed cause yeah what a great downgrade for the same ammount of money right.

Turns out I never needed the 650W to begin with, its been working perfectly well since I got it and its also quiet under load/has no coil whine unlike my CM one.
My current system draws around 300W from the wall under heavy gaming load like in Cyberpunk and its completely stable.
I was a bit concerned to put a 3060 Ti in this system so just to be sure I went for a model with only 1x 8pin connector + undervolted it. 'stable at 1905 MHz core so not really losing performance either'
I guess I will keep using this PSU as long as I can and if its still alive when I do decide to upgrade then I will just upgrade to another mid-ish range GPU like I always do and that should be fine. 'on the CPU side of things I'm only interested in a locked i5 maybe so thats also fine'

 

[AusWolf]

I almost never go overkill with my PSUs and so far its been a non issue since 2008 'thats when I got/built my first own PC'.
Its just that I know my budget range I'm usually going for so its not like I'm suddenly in a need of a better PSU cause of a high end GPU or something like that. 'I'm not comfortable with 200-220+W cards anyway so its unlikely that I will go higher'

I've had a 650W Cooler Master MWE Gold PSU for like 2 years in my R5 1600X/RX 570 system and it was a total overkill on paper and it was hardly stressed, the damn thing died on me in barely 2+ years during the covid lockdowns. I've sent it back to the e/retailer I've bought it from and they gave me back my money/offered me to pick a new PSU since the warranty process was really slow at the time like everything else.
My options were really limited with hardly any decent PSUs in stock around the same price range so I've ended up with my current 500W Seasonic Core GM, at first I was kinda pissed cause yeah what a great downgrade for the same ammount of money right.

Turns out I never needed the 650W to begin with, its been working perfectly well since I got it and its also quiet under load/has no coil whine unlike my CM one.
My current system draws around 300W from the wall under heavy gaming load like in Cyberpunk and its completely stable.
I was a bit concerned to put a 3060 Ti in this system so just to be sure I went for a model with only 1x 8pin connector + undervolted it. 'stable at 1905 MHz core so not really losing performance either'
I guess I will keep using this PSU as long as I can and if its still alive when I do decide to upgrade then I will just upgrade to another mid-ish range GPU like I always do and that should be fine. 'on the CPU side of things I'm only interested in a locked i5 maybe so thats also fine'

"Locked i5" can also draw enormous amounts of power, especially with multi-core enhancements and other power limit unlocking features these days, so be careful.

With that said, I'd much rather build a mid-range PC around a quality 500 W PSU than a dodgy 650 W myself.