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Graphics cards and power supplies

  • Thread starter Thread starter blackbeltninja
  • Start date Start date
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blackbeltninja

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Hey guys

Hoping someone can give me some advice here. Got an old machine at work running some custom software and it would be a real bitch to have to reinstall and reconfigure. It's onboard vga is failing and I need to replace it.

I'm looking at some cheap pci-e gfx cards; hassle factor is, the most entry level one I can find recommends a 350 watt power supply minmum and the machine only has a 300 watt one. I presume that's how much power it might require under load and running 3D games/apps etc along with the rest of the system.

Essentially, I'm trying to avoid having to buy a new PSU to go with the gfx card. My question is, if it's only going to be used to run Windows and one other low-fi application (which ordinarily runs off the standard onboard vga with 32Mb shared memory anyway), does it matter that the PSU is under-spec? Or will it just not turn on (or keep cutting out) since the PSU is a little low for it?

Basically, the gfx card will never be used for anything even close to what it's designed for in this particular system.

Any ideas or opinions?

thanks
-d-
 
If the card won't be sucking the power, I don't see where there'd be a problem.
 
I would get a new power supply at about 500 - 600 watts.
They are easy to install if you check the model pc and fit with the manufcatures.
The powersupply is so overlooked and all pcs come with cheap crap 300 watt power supplies. A better power supply will offer a lot of versatility, but most importantly with a good power supply things run cooler, less problems and electronic circuitry last a lot longer. For a new machine its a no brainer no matter what the stock power supply is replace it. Not very exciting but you will gain years and speed up the pc. There will be less crashes.
Taxing a pc with a modern graphics cards even on a old machine makes sense if you really want to extend the life.
The card require 350 watts itself or was that the minimum for the entire system? If it was 350 watts for the entire system and your power supply is 300 watts you fail,.... it isn't enough and you could be sorry very quickly if you install and the new graphics card burns out or the stress on the power supply to your system blows the hard drive or mother board.
Go to New Egg or some site like that and check out the power supply reviews and see what connections you need.

Sometimes your machine has sudden jumps in power for peaks that last just a second and I tell you the power supply counts. What is enough power even under normal loads could peak for a split second and burn out more then just your new low end graphics card.
 
I suggest you look harder (and check eBay used) for a video card that better suits your needs. It's ridiculous how much power these cards need and the heat they produce today. And most people won't ever push them.
 
Thanks for the replies so far.

The wholesaler's price list recommends a 350 watt psu for the entire system and I know it only has a 300w one on board. It is a running a cheap Celeron cpu, on a cheap MSI G43 board with Intel's onboard gpu in that chipset; only 1 hdd and 1 optical disk, so I doubt we're drawing anywhere near the 300w on offer, but I suppose you just never know.

I'm trying to do a quick fix and just get a card without worrying about upgrading the psu as well. The machine is oldish and barely used and my boss doesn't want to spend much money getting it to work when we could buy something new. I, on the other hand, am trying to avoid having to reinstall and reconfigure and everything to get the data we need off the machine - proprietary software; has to be running linked to another piece of lab hardware in order for the application to run so we can even see the data to export it. It would take a week of pretty much continuous work to reinstall and reconfigure the very finicky system, so you see why I'm hoping for a quick fix here!

-d-
 
You should be just fine with 300 watts. Manufacturers always over spec the power supply and it seems you will be nowhere near maxing it out anyway. PSUs are overload protected any way. I Built a Core i7 machine with a big graphics card with a friend and 450watt supply was specified. On actually measuring the power drawn we couldn't get it above 300 watts in the midst of 3d gaming. So I really don't think yo will have a problem.
 
^I thought as much.

As it is, we bought the gfx card and installed it and it has done the trick thus far. Holding thumbs it doesn't explode burn the building down one night.

-d-
 
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