cheezhead

I just bought the new ati x800xt platinum video card. It says i need 350 watts of power, i only have 250. Will this card run on 250 or do i need to change it? Whats in involved in changing the power? What do i need to get? Thanks alot.

Lasereth

I'd definitely get a 350w power supply, even if it's a cheapy (they mean 350w cheapy when they say 350w, anyway). My old GeForce FX 5900 Ultra required 350w PSU and it ran fine on my shitcan POWMAX PSU 350w.

Just order a standard ATX PSU from an Internet site (I suggest www.newegg.com , www.directron.com , www.xoxide.com ). Xoxide actually has 350w PSU's on sale sometimes for $8.

Expect to pay about $30 for a 350w cheapy at a computer store.

If you want to get a really nice PSU (they'll handle way more components, are more reliable, and MUCH quieter) then I suggest Enernax, Sparkle, Antec, or SilenX. Expect to pay about $50 for a 350w for the aformentioned at a website, and closer to $70 in a computer store, perhaps even $100.

The bottom line is: if you have 1-2 hard drives, 1-2 CD-ROMs, and the x800 XT Platinum Edition, a POWMAX or RAIDMAX cheap PSU should do fine. I personally believe buying an expensive, quality PSU is worth it, but the videocard should work on a cheap PSU.

Changing out the PSU in your computer is really, really simple. Just remember where everything is plugged in, unplug it, unscrew the screws on the back of your case for the PSU, take it out, install the new one, and plug it back up like you had it before.

-Lasereth

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Wyodiver33

It kind of depends on what else you have in your computer being powered by your power supply. But I would think 250 Watts is too low. Get a good power supply by Antec, Enermax, Thermaltake, or some other name brand. I would get at least 430 Watt. This is what I just bought: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...153-007&depa=1

(Thermaltake W0014 Silent Purepower 480W )

I like it a lot. As far as changing your PS, it's not hard. It's just 4 screws and a lot of cables. Good luck!

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steveincolumbus

depending on the setup in th ecomputer he may not ned the 350, if its a good 250 and only on hdd and one cd-rom, and a p3 800 or something it will do, but if you have a fast pc, a ton of drives and shitty PSU yeah you need a new one....

cheezhead

Man, you guys are great, will keep on reading the posts, thank you! Looks like from the posts i will be buying a new power supply.

Dragonlich

My two cents: do NOT buy a cheap-arse power supply. If you have the cash to buy an x800xt, you can probably spend some money on a good *stable* power supply that will not fry your computer.

Cheap power supplies are cheap for one reason: they're simply not that good. And when you're dealing with a 400 or 500-dollar videocard, "not that good" is not an option.

And what does "not that good" mean? Well, if you're lucky, you'll end up with a reasonably quiet, stable PSU. More likely, you'll end up with a noisy, not-so-stable PSU that'll just be good enough (perhaps with the occasional spontaneous reboot). But if you're unlucky, you'll end up with a PSU that'll fry your components, bursts into flames, or even explodes...

If you must buy a new PSU, I suggest you spend some money on it - expect to pay 60+ dollars for a good-quality 350W PSU. Hell, if you're going to pay that much, a little more money will get you a good-quality 400W or more PSU, which is just a bit more juice for future expansions. Some new Enermax models are able to supply twice the power at 12 volts, which might be a nice idea (seperate power for your x800!).

mikec

a cheap power supply recently F'd my computer up big time, including killing a HD that had data I would have like to have kept.

buy a good power supply, your computer will thank you for it

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jvwgtr

Most definitely buy a beefier power supply...your machine may not even boot otherwise. I'd say go above what you need, just because you get a PSU rated at 300W, it doesn't mean you'll get 300W out of it (unless it's a really good brand).

I had to upgrade mine when I got a new mobo and 9800 pro, and went with this Aspire: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...148-005&depa=1
It's not a brand name everybody instantly recognizes as one of the biggest & best, but the reviews were great, the price is cheap, and it looks & runs fantastic.

Dragonlich

I wouldn't buy a PSU if the information is as limited as on the newegg site. I want to know details like how many amps it gives me on 12 volt. (>15 for a good modern PSU, >25-ish for top-of-the-art new PSUs)

theburner

I have a Sparkle 550 w/ no complaints. Just don't buy the Compusa brand. Built a print server w/ spare parts and made that mistake. The 350 w didn't weigh more than 1 lb. NO JOKE!

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Wyodiver33

The newegg site does list the amps on the +12V rail. You just have to look at the product pics.

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cheezhead

I'm still having a hard time with this power issue. I have a 305 watt supply, after i opened up the computer and looked, not 250 watt. Ati says i must have at least 350 watt to run the new x800xt.My computer is a Dell 8300 Dimension, 3.0, 160gb, 1mb of ram. I call Dell and they tell me i can't upgrade the power and that my system was designed to run on 305 watts and i risk doing damage to my motherboard! Damn! I really don't believe him, but
not sure what to do.Also i've read in magazines that the new x800xt will run on 250 watts but Ati says NO WAY! I'm so close at 305 watts, but do not want to damage my motherboard with more power. I would really hate to send back my new x800xt card. What should i do?

Redjake

Damage your motherboard with more power? I call complete bullshit. Buy a nice Enermax and slap the baby in there. A nice 400-500 watt bitch.

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Dragonlich

I just read this at <a href="http://www.quietpc.com/uk/psu.php">a quiet PC webstore</a>... kinda makes you wonder.

cheezhead

Nice find Dragonlich! What i gather from that is that i may not be able to upgrade the power. Shit! Thanks.

nine

I juts bought one of these

http://www.jeantech.com/Products/Pow...400W/400w.html

And I have to say that everything is so much more stable. I never realised what difference a good PSU makes. Previously I had all these little crashes and stranges going ons (eg, drive not recognised or my bluetooth widget not working). So I think a decent power supply is a must.

Bamrak

On the subject, you may or may not know that for the majority of power supplies, you can tell their quality by their weight, the heavier they are, the better they are.

Dragonlich

What it also tells you is that there's a "Dell conversion cable" that would allow you to use any PSU. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find this cable.

(Tssk, I'm too good for this world: <a href="http://www.quietpcusa.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=8&Product_ID=33&CATID=4">said converter</a>)

Redjake

no words are truer when it comes to power supplies

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Dilbert1234567

absolutly not it will not run properly, if it boots it will not be good for the card, get at least a 450 if you have more then one HD and 1 Optical.

i personaly would not put it in my system with out a 550, but i have 5 HD and 2 Opt.

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cheezhead

Dragonlich, i really appreciate your help! So nice that you found the power converter. I'm still wondering if i need that converter.

Quote from quiet pc...The Dell 8300 and 4600 use standard ATX power supplies, therefore you can use any of our power supplies in those Dell machines.

I have a 8300 computer. Thank you

Dragonlich

cheezhead, you could (theoretically) open up your PC case, and take a look. As you can see from the picture of that converter, the connectors to the motherboard are quite different.

All you need is some comparison material.

<img src="http://www.3dxtreme.net/images/reviews/Aerocool%20AeroPower%20II+/pic8.jpg">

That's a standard ATX connector. On the left, there's an AUX connector, which is usually not needed. In the middle is the bog-standard ATX motherboard connector (which you need to check!), and on the right, we have the extra connector for Pentium 4 motherboards.

grumpyolddude

On the subject of upgrading your PSU.... Just bumped mine from 300w to 350w....system and processor fan are running 10% higher RPM and the processor is staying 5-7 degrees cooler....(case is a lot cooler too!).... video glitches common in some games (Tiger Woods 2004)are gone.... a hard drive that was occasionally freezing and becoming non-responsive hasn't hiccuped since the switch. (Athlon XP system--Win XP)

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Dragonlich

I updated my PSU the other day. Went from a rock-solid (but loud-ish) Chieftec 360 watts to a Q-technology 460 watts PSU with 12 cm Papst fan.

The result: less noise. even less than I already had.

(Oh, and the 460 watt is total over-kill, but I had that option, or a 400 watt Aopen PSU for the same price, with half the amps on 12v...)

cheezhead

Dragon, i've picked out the new power i want. Will post it when i get to it, i want your opinion, thank you

HGClown

Hey Cheezhead, you might wana check out these guys.
http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/pro...lies/selector/
They make some nice powersupplys ( personal experiance ) and even have models for the old dells that used proprietary psu's.

--HGClown