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How much is enough???

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by Dna2k3, 2004/03/24.

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  1. 2004/03/24
    Dna2k3

    Dna2k3 Inactive Thread Starter

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    ok here goes nothing.......iam buying a new Video card the All-In-Wonder ATI 9800 PRO.....now i checked the ATI website and had the cards specifications. And under POWER REQUIREMENT it has 300 Watts...now my question is, is that what the card runs on alone? or are they talking about required supply in overall pc requirements???.....iam guessing they mean 300watts power supply... now what i need ur advice in is how many watts i need for my system after upgrade and what kind of power supply brand should i buy considering good quality yet still not expensive.




    PC SPECS:

    Dell dimension 8200

    P4 2.0 GHZ
    512 ram
    All-In-Wonder ATI 9800 PRO
    80 Gig hardrive
    CD-rom
    SoundBlaster Live 5.1
    ethernet card 10/100
    +the basics mb, floppy, fan, keyboard/mouse.



    thx in advance :)
     
  2. 2004/03/24
    Chiles4

    Chiles4 Inactive

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    The power requirement for the video card is misleading. You can be sure that your video card or probably any card in existence today will not require 300W of power for itself! :D So I guess what they're saying is basically a guideline saying that if you put this card in a PC with a PSU of less than 300W, you're most likely to have problems. But it's just a general warning.

    I never recommend anything less than 350W PSUs. Anything less and you're getting into the pennywise-poundfoolish scenario. Simplifying here but the larger the PSU, the more "headroom" you'll have to add power-sucking peripherals later. So purchasing a larger PSU that you can technically get away with can be considered an investment for the future.

    Of couse, quality plays into this issue as well. If you get a PSU of the Antec TruPower series, it will be a "good thing ".

    Gary
     

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  4. 2004/03/24
    noahdfear

    noahdfear Inactive

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    Here is a link Steve posted a while back to help you determine your PSU needs. Echoing Chiles4, think about what you might add later on and size up.
     
  5. 2004/03/24
    Dna2k3

    Dna2k3 Inactive Thread Starter

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    i just saw that my power supply now is only 170 Watts!!! lol.....ofcourse now its only running with a geforce 3 ti 200, but if i put that on the link u gave me i would get almost 300 watts, yet iam running on 170......excuse my computer illeteracy but can anything happen if there is more power in the pc than the power supply can offer? alsomy other question would be, iam looking to buy a 400 Watt PSU, how much of a difference will i get from one brand to another?
     
  6. 2004/03/24
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    The link Dave posted gives you the maximum power requirement for your system assuming everything is running at the same time - somewhat unlikely!

    Quote from the site " The total amount this calculator figures is for all devices running at peak utilization. It is important to bear in mind that this amount will never be reached under typical operation. "

    If the PC demands more power than the PSU has to offer either the PC performance will suffer if the PSU has a limiter or the PSU fuse may/will blow.

    Buy a 'known' brand of PSU - not a real cheapy - have a look at Tom's Hardware Guide - click the Search button...

    http://www17.tomshardware.com/search/search.html?category=all&words=Power+supply

    This one looks useful .....

    http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20040122/index.html
     
  7. 2004/03/24
    Dna2k3

    Dna2k3 Inactive Thread Starter

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    thank u all for replying, i will be buying a 430W POWER ATX P4 ANTEC TRUE430 GOLD.....cause iam power hungry for the near future lol....
     
  8. 2004/03/25
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    A good investment - a 'Rolls Royce' PSU!!
     
  9. 2004/03/25
    Chiles4

    Chiles4 Inactive

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    Wise choice, Dna! As long as don't get a clunker from the factory, you've probably eliminated having to worry about your power needs for a long, long time.

    I've found that if a PSU is not up to the reqts of a PC, the PC won't boot or won't cold-boot or won't boot after you've unplugged the PSU from the wall. Spontaneous reboots could also be a symptom of an underpowered PC.

    Antec makes excellent PSUs - especially their "True" series which caters to very demanding power situations. To answer your question about the quality of PSUs in the marketplace, YES!, the PSU marketplace is littered with untold numbers of cheapo PSUs. The most likely reason for this is that very few of us are electricians! We learn by reviews, testimonials, word-of-mouth and our own experiences.

    So many people buy cheapo power supplies and cheapo memory to save $10-$20 when, in reality, the quality of both of these components is probably more critical to successful computing than any others.

    Gary
     
    Last edited: 2004/03/25
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