Recommended PSU wattage for Gigabyte GTX770

[Major Rawne]

Ok, so I've run into some problem with the PSU (it smells and it makes weird crackling noises). Someone looked at it for me and told me it was broken (luckily, it's still under warranty) but I'd need to buy a better PSU. He told me my GTX770 was too demanding for my 650 and it caused it to break down after only 4 months. My Corsair TX650 did meet the minimum requirements for the GTX770 but it couldn't handle the pressure apparently.

So what wattage PSU should I buy to be safe? I'm terrified I might accidentally fry my expensive GPU with a bad PSU. Someone recommended me a PSU between 800-1000 watts. Is that about right?

Also will there be room in my Corsair 300r carbide tower for a large PSU?

And (as a bonus question ) -- could this be because I made a mistake connecting my PSU to my GPU with those cables from the PSU? Maybe it is my fault after all? :s

 

[PP Mguire]

Actually no, the TX650 can handle quite a bit more than a 770 and is perfectly suitable for ALL single GPU setups. It's one of the #1 PSUs I recommend here along with the Seasonic 620.

I would be willing to bet you were either unlucky and received a faulty unit or you indeed messed it up.

 

[Major Rawne]

But why did it work well for four months (no complaints at all) and then suddenly start to falter? I can still boot up my PC but I don't because I'm afraid the faltering PSU might sent too much power through the other parts and break them too.

As far as my handiwork goes - I connected the PSU to the motherboard with the largest pin-plug it had (it's not that hard to count pins). Then I used the remaining cables to connect my PSU to my GPU. I used two cables that came with my GPU and that ended in molex plugs and then I connected them to the only molex plugs my PSU has. So I'm not quite sure how I could've messed up there. Surely, if I misdid the wiring my PC should have not worked much sooner?

EDIT: In case you're wondering what my PSU is doing: it's making a weird, crackling noise. At first I thought it was some kind of sparks or some electrical discharge from dust in the PSU. It smelled a bit weird though. Not exactly like burnt plastic or wires but it smelled quite strongly like something burnt. Or maybe electricity (if that has a smell). No smoke though.

 

[PP Mguire]

Yea, the TX650 comes with two 6pin PCI-E cables made specifically for GPUs. You shouldn't be using those molex adapters at all. I'm not 100% certain exactly what you're doing here, but I can tell you from that description it's wrong, and that is the issue. It takes a long time for a quality PSU to start to cook, and from the sounds of it something has been getting real hot. Most likely the molex rail because it wasn't made for that kind of load.

 

[Major Rawne]

I think I've figured out what went wrong. The GTX770 came with a convertor cable (PCI-E to molex) and I thought you had to use those (since the TX650 also has molex pin plugs). I used those to connect my GPU and PSU and that must have overheated the PSU. Tough luck. I kind of knew I was going to make a small mistake like this, I'm not really tech savvy.

The TX650 also has 6 pin PCI-E plugs but I didn't use those because one of the sockets on the GTX770 has eight holes. But both PCI-E plugs have two extra "pins" on a small wire connect to the main ones that can be used to increase the plug to 8 pins. I feel incredibly stupid for not realizing that.

I can count myself lucky my machine didn't catch fire or anything like that.

One more question: what are the odds that my mistake afflicted some of the other parts? Did I screw up so bad I have damaged everything?

 

[Spartan109]

One more question: what are the odds that my mistake afflicted some of the other parts? Did I screw up so bad I have damaged everything?

Chances are probably not, Like PP said, it was probably just way too much load for the molex rail. and cooekd the psu, but the only way to find out for sure is to send it back in for warranty

 

[PP Mguire]

The 770 should only have a single 8pin and single 6pin. Just use one of the 6pins from the PSU and use a single adapter for the 8pin.

I don't think anything else would be damaged or you would have issues while gaming. I would just RMA the PSU to make sure you have a fresh unit.

 

[Major Rawne]

Luckily, I got a pretty good warranty from the store so I probably won't have to send it to some distant country. I'd like to get my PC running ASAP!

Also why should I use one adapter if one of the PCI-E cables has an extra two pins (not in the same block, but they can be pushed together to form an 8 pin block). Is there a special reason for that?

 

[PP Mguire]

Because I'm going retarded and forgot it has a 6+2

Just use the ones from the PSU

 

[Major Rawne]

Thanks!

I'm relieved I know what has happened and I hope I'll get to use my warranty. Hopefully the store will just give me a new one and then take care of the rest. That'd be great and it would mean my PC is up and running again for when my copy of the Witcher II arrives next week.