RTX 3050: What is the peak power requirement?
RTX 3050: What is the peak power requirement?
Good Morning, All
I'm preparing to install an RTX 3050 as an external GPU for a minicomputer. This means I'll need a dedicated 12V DC power supply for the RTX 350. I need to determine the appropriate size of that external supply.
While the RTX 3050 is rated at 130 Watts, the RTX 30xx series are known for their high transient demands. For instance, the RTX 3070 has been reported to draw transients up to 200% of the board's total design power.
Question 1: Even though the RTX 3050 is considered a low-power GPU, it belongs to the 30xx lineup. Does it also face similar transient power challenges? (I haven't found any specific details about the RTX 3050 that I could clearly interpret.)
Question 2: I plan to push the GPU quite hard. What wattage would a suitable 12V DC PSU be?
TIA
Larry
Well, their worst scenario seems to be just over 180W, with 143W for the card being a reasonable average. Therefore, a decent 250W unit would suffice to power just the card. Outside of Flex ATX, I have no idea where you'd typically find such a PSU. You should steer clear of group-regulated units because they assume a substantial 5V and 3.3V load. A bit bigger than the usual laptop power brick, though you can often spot these in top-tier gaming laptops.
Which RTX 3050 model are we examining here?
This could be a valuable article;
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB Review: Palit RTX 3050 Dual OC in Full-HD and WQHD with DLSS doping | Page 11 | igor´sLAB
With the GeForce RTX 3050, NVIDIA not only challenges AMD’s less favorable Radeon RX 6500XT but also enhances its own lineup even more. The performance figures were carefully selected…
www.igorslab.de
Well, their lowest expected wattage seems to be just over 180W, with 143W for the card being a reasonable average. Therefore, a decent 250W unit would suffice to power just the card. Outside of Flex ATX, I have no idea where you'd typically find such a PSU. You should steer clear of group-regulated units because they assume a substantial 5V and 3.3V load. A bit bigger than the usual laptop power brick, though you can often spot these in top-tier gaming laptops.
Thank you for your feedback. I was expecting to find 200 Watt units and thought that would be enough; I'll continue searching.
Now:
It's unclear whether a GPU power deficit during a temporary outage will impact the system because the PSUs aren't connected together, meaning no power is drawn from the main system PSU. Is this accurate? Will a sudden spike still bring down the system? And if not, could a GPU transient cause damage to the GPU?
Larry
Hey! I discovered a 240 Watt model, though I'll need to adjust the 2.1mm barrel connector.
Larry
In general these systems operate independently. Ideally you would connect the grounds together for safety purposes. The PSU connecting to the GPU might still stop functioning, although your computer could handle that. Any application relying on the GPU might behave differently. It's like disconnecting an eGPU—there should already be a solution in place, though the exact result is uncertain. A GPU temporary issue stems from the GPU needing sudden power, not lack of it, and this shouldn't harm the device. However, overloading its circuits could lead to problems for the maker. If it fails early, the warranty would likely cover it. You can always opt for a tighter power restriction on the GPU to stay safe.
Eximo,
Thanks for your thoughts—I was mostly thinking that way. Your confirmation means a lot to me.
Also, thank you for this; I hadn’t thought about linking everything together, but I’ll do it now!
Larry