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Monitor power requirements

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by fairwind, 2005/03/03.

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  1. 2005/03/03
    fairwind

    fairwind Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hello all you experts and others,

    I have a new PC with a Radeon 9600se graphics card. I believe this card can handle two monitors given the correct adapters. The power supply is 300 watts and I run an LCD 17" with it.

    My question is, can I run a second 17" LCD monitor on this PC without overloading the power supply?

    I only use my PC for online trading ( Chart graphics ) and a bit of word processing and emails and occasional browsing for trading stuff. No online games !!

    Other PC specifications are:
    P4, 2.8Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 2 x 80Gb HDD, CD R/W and Floppy drives.
    Loaded with WindowsXP and Office 2000.
     
    fairwind,
    #1
  2. 2005/03/03
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    fairwind

    I was surprised to read that your current monitor is drawing it's power from the PSU - i.e. the monitor is not plugged into the mains? Can you confirm that, pl.

    If that is the case the answer is - No, not from the PSU in the computer which will be sized for the components supplied with a little leeway. You will need a monitor with an independent power supply. If it is drawing power from the PSU is there another outlet for a second monitor anyway?

    Researching a bit this morning (I use twin CRT's) I see that LCD's need 50 - 80 watts. Your 300 watt PSU is clearly OK for the system you have, but is unlikely to be man enough for any more load.

    You can check out the approx power requirements of your PC here, but note that the end result assumes that every component is running simultaneously, which is unlikely.

    If your monitor is plugged independently into the mains then there is no problem powerwise with a second monitor.
     
    PeteC,
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  4. 2005/03/03
    fairwind

    fairwind Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi Pete,

    Thanks for your prompt reply, most welcome.

    Well ( !! ), I did put this PC together and totally forgot that the monitor is in its own power socket !! My mistake, sorry.

    I had it in the back of my mind that I mustn't over load the power supply and then ignored the the above fact.
    Now I can go out and get that extra monitor.

    I had been using an older P2, 350Mhz, PC and that was very quiet compared this new beast. I put in a new CPU fan which is a little quieter but any sort of heavy d/load and the fan speeds up noticeably then slows down again after the d/load. However, this is different matter. I guess the newer PC's are being worked harder than the old ones.

    Thanks again PeteC...........
     
    fairwind,
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  5. 2005/03/03
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    You're welcome :)
    Too true - you only have to look at the size of the OS's - Win 98 ~500Mb if memory serves, XP 2 - 4Gb.
     
    PeteC,
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