A system administrator is upgrading a render workstation by installing a secondary PCIe x1… — CompTIA A+ (Core 1 & Core 2)

A system administrator is upgrading a render workstation by installing a secondary PCIe x16 graphics processing unit (GPU) with a peak thermal design power (TDP) of $320\text{ W}$ . The system currently houses a CPU ( $125\text{ W}$ peak), motherboard and system components ( $75\text{ W}$ total), an existing primary GPU ( $250\text{ W}$ peak), and a single high-performance PCIe x8 storage expansion card. The system is currently equipped with an $850\text{ W}$ modular power supply unit (PSU). Which TWO of the following requirements must the administrator fulfill to ensure system stability and prevent power-related failures under full load?

Upgrade the power supply unit to a minimum rating of $1000\text{ W}$ to handle total peak system draw plus an appropriate safety margin.Answer
Connect dedicated 8-pin (6+2 pin) PCIe power cables directly from the PSU to the secondary expansion card auxiliary connectors.Answer
C
Use available 8-pin (4+4 pin) EPS12V CPU cables to supply the supplementary power to the secondary GPU.
D
Retain the existing $850\text{ W}$ power supply unit because 80 PLUS Gold efficiency rating allows the PSU to deliver $20\%$ beyond its continuous wattage rating.

Answer

The administrator must upgrade the power supply unit to at least

1000\text{ W}

to accommodate total peak power draw with safety overhead, and connect dedicated 8-pin (6+2 pin) PCIe power cables directly to the auxiliary card connectors.

The total system peak load reaches

770\text{ W}

. Applying a standard recommended

20\%

power overhead requires at least

924\text{ W}

of supply capacity, making a PSU upgrade to

1000\text{ W}

necessary. Additionally, high-power expansion GPUs require dedicated 8-pin (6+2 pin) PCIe auxiliary power cables straight from the power supply.

Step-by-Step Solution

Calculate total peak power consumption for all system components.

\text{CPU } (125\text{ W}) + \text{System } (75\text{ W}) + \text{GPU 1 } (250\text{ W}) + \text{GPU 2 } (320\text{ W}) = 770\text{ W}

total peak draw.

Accurate power supply sizing requires summing all maximum component draws rather than baseline or idle figures.

Apply a standard 20% system overhead safety buffer.

770\text{ W} \times 1.20 = 924\text{ W}

required minimum capacity.

Maintaining a continuous operating margin prevents PSU thermal shutdown during transient voltage spikes.

Determine PSU replacement requirements and cable connections.

Replace the existing

850\text{ W}

PSU with a unit rated for at least

1000\text{ W}

and attach dedicated 8-pin (6+2 pin) PCIe power cables to the secondary card.

Ensures sufficient power delivery without overloading individual rails or using incorrect connector pinouts.

Key Concept

Calculating continuous power supply wattage requirements with safety headroom and applying correct auxiliary PCIe power cabling standards for expansion cards.

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