DrEvil

Seeing as some have commented on power supply requirements of graphics cards... Where are you getting all the info from?

I had to open up my PC just to find out the wattage of my PSU, nothing on the website for it.

But, surely a graphics card will not drain more than a second harddisk?
Assuming that statement is true, I *should* be ok with the new card in?

My Presario 1080UK has a 250W PSU in it, plus the following units:

- 1GB RAM (2x 512Mb modules)
- 250Gb hard drive
- DVD drive
- DVD-RW drive
- 3.5" drive
- Wireless LAN card
- Modem card
- 9in1 card reader

I've upgrade the graphics card from a GF FX500(256) to a GB ATi 9800 pro (256) and used the power output for the second hard disk.

Should I be worried?

Any pointers appreciated, Alex

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

The power output of the PSU should be on a s*dding great sticker on the side of it. However, some OEMs mount them in odd ways that hide the stickers.

In general the power requirements of hardware are increasing, and gfx cards are amongst the worst offenders. Remember that top-of-the-range gfx card has similar calulating power to the CPU. If you don't beleive me, put your finger in the PCB directly under the GPU after you've been running 3DMark for an hour.

You are correct that much of the posting about certain cards having certain power requirements is probably based on little more than guesses from various websites, but the issue is real. I beleive there ARE official figures for the latest cards though - and they are HIGH. But given you can get agood quality 550W PSU for £35 I can't see the point not to upgrade the power.


M

(Antec True Blue 480W, plus two Antec 400Ws and a Sparkle 400W)

IWatkins

Alex,

I have just recently bought the exact same machine (nice innit ? ). I've pulled out the FX5500 and replaced it with my Sapphire ATi Radeon 9700 Pro (128mb) using the remaining free molex power connector. No problems here over the past few weeks.

This graphics card doesn't have a fan (Atlantis Heatpipe spec.), just some hugh heat sinks, but I can't think the card you have will draw that much more power than the 9700 Pro.

Basically, if you get any start up problems or get any screen corruption after running for a while, simply replace the power supply. I've checked it and it appears to be a bog standard ATX power supply that you should be able to easily swap out and replace with a more powerful unit if needs be.

Cheers

Ian

DrEvil

M - thanks for you comments, its not the money, I just wanted to avoid replacing to much in the unit seeing as its only 2 months old.

Ian - very nice bit of kit, not bad for the money either. bar trying to run Far Cry on the FX5500! So, the power supply should be easy upgradable, I think I am seeing some corruption after a while, best described as 'jagged updates' to the 3D images in FC and Call of Duty.

Any recommendations on ATX style PSUs?

Cheers, Alex

DrEvil

Ian - I'm hopefully going to get a replacement tomorrow from, and I apologises in advance for this, from *cough* PC World.

I'll aim for a 350W minimum, as I'm not going to do anything else to the PC.

I'll let you know how I get on, cheers, Alex

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

PC Pants tend to use "no-name" PSUs which should be avoided like the plague they are. You'd be better off buying on-line (overclockers.co.uk do some good ones) or taking yourself to a computer fair where you can pick up the Q-Tec 550W for about £30. But avoid the 450W version.

But if you insist, make sure the combined 3.3+5V rail is 190W or more. If you really fancy a laugh, try asking the spotty clueless drone what the holdup time is....


M

mark.coleman

Alex, interesting post, I have a compaq workstation 300 with a 265W, I've removed the Adaptec SCSI controller in favour of the onboard IDE, running 1GB RIMM, 120GB seagate, DVDRW & DVDROM, NIC and a USB 10 port hub. Apparently the Compaq workstations had higher end PSUs over their normal workstation counterparts and I get conflicting iformation as to whether the Sapphire Radeon 9800 will run or not, I also have a 4xAGP, not 8, again this provides me with conflicting info.

Does I, don't I, will it, wont it, yes it will, no it wont.

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

Basic answer is: the only way to find out is try it. In theory the PSU you have isn't actually powerful enough to run the existing rig, which just shows how useful theory is.

Generally, if you add hardware and it won't POST, you probably need a new PSU. If you add hardware and the rig keeps rebooting, but there are no BSODs, you probably need a new PSU.


M

Daz34

Look here to get a good idea of power requirements

Darren

HHxx

Hehe, I better throw in the not so normal setup then

Got a 250w psu running a p4-3Ghz and a 9700Pro

H
ps. its a Shuttle SFF

IWatkins

H,

KNow what you mean, My Compaq has a 250w PSU and i'm running a 3.2GHz P4 and a 9700 pro. No problems.

According to that site I should need a 402w PSU.

Cheers

Ian

DrEvil

Oh crud... Well, just installed a 450W PSU, and M you will be pleased to know the +3.3V & 5V rail is 250W. And all this from PC World, we will see how long it lasts...

Looks like it might be limitations of the card or the games I'm playing, and it doesn't look like the graphic glitches I was seeing are time related, they are just a feature of Call of Duty. Ah well, I'll get my mate from work round to check out Far Cry, he is running the same game and GFX card, so will tell me if it is performing as expected.

Sooo... looks like, in theory what I've done is good, in practice who knows whether or not it was needed....

Thanks for all the help though, I'm used to just plugging things in and them working off the existing power units (Sun systems).

Cheers, Alex

PS. the card is defo running 8x AGP, and I had identified that the Intel chipset in the system supports 8x AGP.

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

Graphical glitches are usually (but not always) caused by the gfx card overheating. Try turning the settings down a notch or two.


M

DrEvil

So, either I've cooked the card already.. or it just can't keep cool enough in the case I have...

Hmm... I'm only running 1280x1024(32bit) and MAX settings - I thought the 9800pro was s'posed to handle this?

I'll try on the lower resolution settings and see if that improves it.. and also lower detail.

Thanks again.

ChrisB

As a somewhat non-scientific test, whip the side of the case off and point a big desk fan over the insides. Play for a while and see if the extra cooling helps.

DrEvil

cheers Chris - I'll have a go tonight hopefully...

might send the 9800 back for replacement...

Is this an issue with all GFX cards? ie. do Nvidia suffer the same issues??

DrEvil

PPS. if I were to buy a new case, what make should i go for? Thermotech? Aopen??

Cheers, ALex

DrEvil

How about...

Thermaltake Butterfly 480w PSU Silver
Thermaltake VM2000A LanFire Silver No PSU

Daz34

Radeon 9800's don't get that hot & don't require too much extra power AFAIK.
I have a 9800Pro & have never had a problem with it.
Try running the ATI Natural Light Demo looped & see how long it lasts. This is pretty taxing on the card & should show up any issues.

Darren

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

As with all things related to computers: it depends. Running Quake3 at those settings wouldn't strain a GeForce4, but running Halo at them would seriously heat it. Far Cry is a MASSIVE gfx hog - I can't run at those settings with a 9800pro 128 and an overclocked 3200+ running at 2500MHz, so it doesn't come as any surprise that it is causing you problems. Try 1028x768, and make sure FSAA is no higher than x2, and Anisotropic Filtering is no higher than x4. Set everything else at anotch below top. If that works, I was right, but if you still have problems then you need to look elsewhere.


M

DrEvil

Thanks guys.

M - thanks for the tip re resolutions. Far Cry runs ok at 1024x768(32), Call of Duty is ok too, but still has that issue, which I do believe now to be the game.

I'm going to leave my system be for a while - I think I'll stick to Unix!



Alex