How to upgrade but maintain <100 watts for both CPU and GPU?

Posted by Gakuta@reddit | hardware | View on Reddit | 15 comments

I have 4th gen Intel and a GT 1030. The CPU uses a max of 50 watts and GPU is unable to go above 33 watts. So that's around 90 watts under load.

For CPUs it isn't too much of a problem as any 35 watt Ryzen CPU or 10th gen and above i3 will deliver enough performance and remain under 50 watts under load. I'm going to try and get a board that allows undervolting to reduce the power consumption. Most CPUs should just get -50mV right off the bat.

The problem is with GPUs. Pascal seems to have been the only power efficient generation. I can buy a GTX 1080 Ti but under load it's going to draw too much.

Is there something I could do, like buying a 1080 Ti and then downclocking and undervolting it so that it draws around 40 watts? How much performance will be lost? I can't find guides about performance at specific wattages for GPUs. Can an RTX 4090 beat a GT 1060 running at 10 watts? Or can the chip not run that low?

I was thinking about an iGPU too. The new CPUs releasing have great onboard graphics but they are out of my budget. Are there CPUs from previous gens that are any good for what I want?

[-]

Gakuta@reddit (OP)

This is great. RX6600 is Navi2 so does it have slightly better idle power draw compared to Navi1? RX6600 is out of my budget.

RX 6400 looks good though.

(this was supposed to be sent yesterday buy forgot to hit send)

[-]

Gakuta@reddit (OP)

Those laptops start at like $1000. I don't have that kind of money hence why I'm going for older gen hardware.

[-]

Gakuta@reddit (OP)

If I said electricity costs everyone would say it's cheap in America. But I don't live in America.

[-]

Gakuta@reddit (OP)

Electricity is expensive. I can also ask for a 50 watt solution but I doubt modern technology has advanced that much. They're busy innovating by adding a 2nd 12VHPWR slot into a 5090 and not concerned about power usage at all.

[-]

Gakuta@reddit (OP)

No, electricity is expensive here. Americans always say it's dirt cheap and you should just get an older CPU. Electricity here is 3x more expensive compared to America.

Warm-Cartographer@reddit

I3 12100 and Rx6600 should be doable,

https://www.reddit.com/r/overclocking/comments/172zztk/rx_6600_undervolted_at_50w_gtx_1080_180w/

INITMalcanis@reddit

Go with an APU if you need to stay under 100W total.

https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/laptop/ryzen/ai-300-series/amd-ryzen-ai-max-390.html

"Default TDP 55W AMD Configurable TDP (cTDP) 45-120W"

TheJohnnyFlash@reddit

So, why do you need 100 watts?

SomeoneBritish@reddit

Yeah, it seems unfair to ask something so hyper specific without giving the reason for the need in the first place

narwhal_breeder@reddit

Asks something pretty vague, answers no questions, leaves.

Why do I look at /r/new man

What is your budget? APU will be the move if thats all of the wattage you're working with.

Hero_The_Zero@reddit

Most modern GPUs idle at more than what the GT 1030 uses under full load lol (also, my OC'd core +600 and memory +700 GT 1030 pulled 50 watts, but I had the overbuilt MSI Aero GT 1030 GDDR5)

You are going to need to go APU to do that in a modern system, even the lowest end current gen RTX 5050 RX 9060 pull around 130W. Last gen's RX 6500 XT pulls about 100W. You'd have to go RX 6400 (55W) or GTX 1650 (75W) to go below that, and you'd get more performance out of a modern APU than anything but the first two. But I have no idea why you want under 100W for a desktop.

Not an edit: Looks like the fastest socketed APU, the Ryzen 7 8700G, is a tad slower than the GTX 1650. You'd probably have to go for something like the Framework Desktop with the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 or Max+ 395 for something with good performance and as close to 100W as you could get.