Ordered build with 500w psu and 2080 graphics card. Is psu large enough? It was largest offered.

[Hawgfin]

I completed a build of a 875-003QD Omen Obelisk computer. During the build, I chose the largest power supply available, which was a 500w bronze, along with a 2080 graphics card. I added it to my cart and purchased it to be built. 

Feeling pretty good about things, I started looking thru some of the forums and discovered that the minimum psu I should be using is a 650w gold or better. Someone said that NVIDIA recommends that size as a minimum.

The next morning I called to cancel the order, but it appears that is unlikely. I'm a bit peeved that the build system allows for such a combination, if it is not viable. The HP representative assured me that the engineers have tested that card with 500w, and even with the default 350w power supply!

  So, I'm hoping that someone out there who is a bit more savvy about the new cards  or familiar with the chosen model of build can help me with a few questions: (1) Can a 500w supply suffice for this card and an 8700 processor and 16gb RAM? (2) Is there enough physical space in this box to upgrade the power supply, if needed? There has to be a reason that a larger supply isn't offered with this build (other builds offer larger options).

  I need to decide if I should send this one backwhen it comes and start again with a different box. Or, should I trust the "engineers" who put up the build scheme to allow this kind of thing.  I certainly don't want something to screw up later because it wasn't built right in the first place. Thanks!

[The_Nair_Boy]

Hi @Hawgfin, Thank you for posting at HP Forums!

I had a quick check about the specs mentioned in your post, and here are the power requirements for the components you mentioned:

GEFORCE RTX 2080-215W
Intel® Core™ i7-8700K Processor-95 W
DDR3 RAM can take around 2W to 3W in most cases.

So clearly the highest power consumption would be for the Graphics card itself!

Now if you are planning to use just the RTX 2080, then the 500W PSU should be sufficient enough. In cases where you are using SLI to connect multiple GPU's, only then will a higher PSU be needed.

Here are the detailed specs for the GPU and Processor:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/rtx-2080/
https://ark.intel.com/products/126684/Intel-Core-i7-8700K-Processor-12M-Cache-up-to-4-70-GHz-

I would suggest you wait for the machine and see how it goes.

Do let me know if this helps!

[DGroves]

HP is not wrong using a 500 watt supply since they are the maker of the system, they know exactly what each part used will draw power wise. this also includes filling all of the pci-e slots/ram/drive bays .   knowing the power draw so acurately they can match the pwr supply with the systems actual power draw very closely

nvidia on the other hand can only "guess" what parts will be installed in the custom systems that their card will be used in, as such they have to givea  much greater leeway on minimum power recomendations, and therefor their published recomendations on power supplies reflect this by being on the high side to account for the various combinations of parts a user may select for his custom pc build

do you now understand why the HP system with a 500 watt supply is fine with the 2080 card instad of the nvidia recomended 650 watt spec?

[Hawgfin]

All I know is I contacted NVIDIA and got a response by a technician basically stating that a minimum of 650w is necessary and that a 500w power supply will damage the card. Not even "might" or "may reduce efficiency."

[Hawgfin]

First of all, thank you so much for providing such detailed assistance and explanation. You guys really took some time and I appreciate it. 

 My assumption was that,  because the 2080 cards just came out, it is possible that they were simply added to the model without a consideration of the other features offered. An error that would be corrected at some point. My hunch was supported by the fact that the standard power supply offered was 350w. I had to upgrade just to get the 500w. After I ordered and became concerned, I looked at another build and found that a 750w platinum was offered as an upgrade. So, I was hoping to cancel and rebuild using the same components in the other unit offered, but it was too late.

From my research, I found the 250w TDP spec in one of the forums on the 2080s. Now, I'm no expert and I only keep up with CPs when I need to buy one, but I read that this is not the same as the total wattage demanded of the card. This spec should only be used to dictate the amount of cooling required as it is more about heat dissapation.

[The_Nair_Boy]

Hi @Hawgfin , Thank you for your reply!

I believe depending on the site you checked and the benchmark used by them there may be a slight difference from the actual TDP value for the card.

Nvidia's website gives a value of 215 W as the GPU Power requirement, but they also give a disclaimer for the PSU requirement stating ' Recommendation is made based on PC configured with an Intel Core i7 3.2 GHz processor. Pre-built system may require less power depending on system configuration.'

Initially you mentioned a 500W bronze PSU was selected for the unit, which should ideally give you 82% efficiency when load is 100%. But then again you might not always have such high load. I would recommend that you use the unit to test the power requirement, end of the day the power requirement depends on how you use the unit and what you use it for. 

If you would want to know a bit of detail about PSU certification in general, this link may help:
https://www.corsair.com/ww/en/blog/80-plus-platinum-what-does-it-mean-and-what-is-the-benefit-to-me

Hope this helps!