XFX GeForce 9600 GSO
Hello, I was thinking of buying the XFX GeForce 9600 GSO Video Card soon,
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4128445&Sku=P450-9616
and I noticed that it said that i needed a 400 watt power supply minimum to run this card. I have a 300 watt power supply, but i don't think that a graphic card would need 400 watts to run. Could you guys please tell me if I will be able to run this card on my computer if I bought it. Thanks
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4128445&Sku=P450-9616
and I noticed that it said that i needed a 400 watt power supply minimum to run this card. I have a 300 watt power supply, but i don't think that a graphic card would need 400 watts to run. Could you guys please tell me if I will be able to run this card on my computer if I bought it. Thanks
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Comments
I doubt seriously your power supply will have the necessary amperage to power a 9600 GSO. But so that we can give you a better informed advice, please provide us the following concerning your power supply:
brand
model
Now, there should be a label on the side of the power supply that lists power ratings, such as +12v, -12v, +5v, and so forth. It will also list the amperage for each of those. Those specifications are critical.
We also need to know what's in your computer:
brand (if any)
model "
processor
current video
hard drive(s)
CD/DVD drive(s)
231 watts under load would kill your 300w PSU
why? I never got why people always tell you to get huge PSU's compared to your PC's actual usage. a 1000 watt PSU on a 200 watt system would be overkill, and make the 1000 watt run with horrid efficiency. Around 80% usage of the PSU is what you want to use, so I would think 231 watts should be fine. I bought a 550 watt Gigabyte Odin GT a couple weeks ago, love every aspect of it. Turns out my PC has only EVER used 231 watts, peak. usually hovers around 150 under load. The 8800GT peaks at 7.6A too
Athlon X2 5000+
3GB PC2-5300 DDR2 RAM (2x 1GB, 2x 512MB)
160GB SATA HDD
GeForce 8800GT
SATA DVD Burner
PCI Capture card and 802.11g wireless card
Media card reader with built in bluetooth
Of course, I dont know what the original poster runs, but I think he should be fine with the 9600 GSO... HOWEVER that does not mean dont upgrade your PSU! I make a point to run bare minimum a 400 watt PSU with any kind of dedicated graphics card.
So, I suppose yes, you should upgrade the PSU, go for a 400 watt, maybe even a high efficiency one.
I have a 550W Corsair, just one example, running a 9800GT and 8800GT at full load. The computer also has a quad core Q6600 full load, overclocked from 2.4 to 3.5GHz. I still would like a little more power, though. At that power draw, approximately 460Watts, the 550's fan kicks in to higher RPM and is a little annoying.
So do you think that without upgrading for now, that I should be able to run the video card? I listed my computer specifications below.
PSU Company: Bestec
Model #: ATX- 300- 12Z
Processor: Athlon 64 X2 (W) 5000+ 2.6 GHz
Current Video Card: GeForce 6150 LE (built into motherboard)
Hard drive: one 400 GB Sata hard drive
memory: 2 GB memory installed (1 GB x2)
CD/DVD drive: 16X DVD(+/-)R/RW 12X RAM (+/-)R DL LightScribe SATA drive
For more information, you could search for my computer. The brand and model number are listed below.
Computer Brand: HP
Model: m7750n
Thanks for all your help.
5000+ under load 65watts
that leaves 4 watts on his 300watt PSU mew905 to run the rest of his system.
I never said get a 1000 watt PSU
A good quality Antec 500w will suit him fine.
well. I didnt mean you suggested a 1000 watt, I was using it as an example. And are you totally sure that power benchmark is accurate for JUSt the video card? I would think the 9600GSO uses less power than the 8800GT, and the 8800 maxes out (on my system) at 7.6A, which is 91.2 watts. It's said to use a peak of 9A, havent seen it hit that yet but you know, better to be safe than sorry. I think that benchmark is likely the entire system using midrange specs (of course thats a very wide range of parts). Maybe I'll download a stress-tester (is ATI tool good?) to determine the maximum load from the 8800, but I honestly doubt the 9600GSO runs more power than the 8800. And yes, I will agree, a 500 watt should be more than adequate
so 189w - 231w ?
Could you guys please tell me if something bad will happen to my computer if my computer requires more power than the PSU could provide. I think that it just won't turn on, in which case i'll buy a new PSU. But please tell me if you guys think my hard drive will crash or something. Thanks for all your help.
If a cheap PSU goes out under load, it can take other components with it, to include processor, motherboard, memory, and video card.
To add to this, cheapo PSU manufacturers typically rate a unit as 300W when it can achieve a peak of 300W (or 400W, 500W, etc) while manufacturers of quality units will only rate a unit as 300W when it can sustain that load 24/7. This is why fatcat stated earlier that a regular load of 231W would eat right through your 300W unit. I don't think you need anything more than a 500W PSU, maybe just a high quality ~400W. However, If you plan to keep the PSU for 3+ years it is usually a good idea to overshoot a bit to compensate for capacitor aging. Yet another factor which I believe was touched on above is that running a PSU at or near it's W rating is a pretty noisy way to go through life.
http://www.factorydirect.ca/catalog/product_spec.php?pcode=PO0500
It is cheap and it should power up my system still. (I'm getting the 3 year warranty to make sure that it continues working). Thanks for all your help.
Come on guys, let's look at Newegg Canada and NCIX and see what we can find Bob.
EDIT: I just looked more closely at the image in the link. No wonder they won't show details. That PSU is a POWMAX. Bob, that is bottom of the barrel. Hang on, we'll help you find something.
In it's class, I don't think you can find a better PSU for the money. Most everything else I found in that price range at Newegg Canada is crap, or only for low powered, office drone machines that never do anything more intense than open an email.
Coincidentally, the PSU is the one component that can destroy every other piece of your computer if it goes south in a hurry. Maybe rethink that position
The PSU is the most important component of a PC. Dont skimp on quality.
yes, there is actually a list around that lists all the companies that usually make quality PSU's. Never go with a cheap quality one, honestly, as it was stated, it can easily destroy everything in your PC if it dies. random shutdowns and fans always on full-speed are usually a warning however some dont even do that, they just simply start smoking or even catch fire (some apevia PSU's do that!) Corsair, OCZ, Cooler Master, Gigabyte (the odin series *drool*) are all good companies in other areas, however I dont know how good their PSU's are. If someone can find a list, try to use companies on that list. a 400 watt PSU will likely do you fine but I'd say future-proof a little bit and go with a 500.