Is this power supply enough for an HD 3850 AGP?

CaxusCaxus
edited April 2008 in Hardware
My friend just got a Powercolor HD 3850 AGP. He had a 400w psu with 18a on the 12v rail. I knew that wouldn't be enough so he upgraded to a 500w psu with two 12v rails each with 18 amps. But we're still getting some vpu recover errors after about an hour of playing. I checked the temps and they're fine. Are there enough amps in there or is the fact that they are split across two 12v rails causing problems? Would he do better with a single 12v rail with at least 36a? Thanks.

Comments

  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited April 2008
    It depends on what brand psu it is. If it's a quality psu such as a Corsair then it would be plenty. If it's some crap brand such as Deer or Powmax, then he's asking for trouble and possible loss of his whole machine when it blows.

    EDIT: BTW, why are you asking a question on a psu in the graphics forum? You know we do have a forum that is tailor made for such questions, right?
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited April 2008
    It's an FSP.

    Sorry, I was thinking of the graphics card as the topic. :)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2008
    FSP is Fortron Source, which is generally good quality. Have a link?
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited April 2008
    I'm not positive that the psu is the problem either. FSP is a decent brand, not great but also not going to fry the box with fire and smoke either. I don't think the separate 12 v rails are giving you the problem, but it would be a good idea to check the 12 v rails with a multimeter while doing some graphics and processor intensive operations and see if you have any funny readings coming off either 12v rail. Check the rail feeding the vid card and also the one feeding the ATX connector and look for sags or spikes while the system is loaded. You can get a decent multimeter at Walmart for less than $20.
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