What video card will a 250 Watt power supply get me? (preferably Nvidia)?

Question

I would also want to what power supply to buy. And can there be a power supply add-on? Or do I have to replace my current one because I have know idea how to do it.

I have a crappy V2Premier computer, so hoe do I even check my power supply? I think it's a 250 watt though.

My current card is a Nvidia Gefore FX5500

Answer 1

I wouldn't even attempt to install any thing more powerful that what you already have with that dinky power supply. Without knowing the specs of your system it's not possible to make a hard and fast recommendation. Generally you'd need a 500 watt or larger power supply to support a high-end video card, but that also depends on what CPU you have, number of hard drives and optical drives, sound card, etc.

You can't add a power supply, you need to replace the one that you already have. Normally replacing the power supply is pretty straightforward. Disconnect the old one, remove the mounting hardware and pull it out. Installation of the new one is the reverse of that procedure. You need to make sure that you get a power supply that will work with your motherboard and has enough peripheral connectors.

Based on your additional information posted, you're probably maxed out as it is.

Trying to add up the power consumption of everything in your computer can be a pain. Many items can be very hard to determine what their power requirements are; they're not always well marked.

Answer 2

Sounds like you're going to have to open up your computer case. The power supply is the metal boxy thing with a fan, and almost always has its power rating printed on a sticker somewhere on it.

To figure out whether you can support a new device, you need to add up the power consumption of all the devices you already have along with the new device's power consumption and make sure it's less than or equal to your power supply's output rating. Most devices also have their power consumption printed on them somewhere.

Adding another power supply usually isn't a very good idea unless your computer case has a specific place to mount one. You should probably just replace it if you need to, rather than try to keep your old one while adding a new one.

Answer 3

In additional to the information provided to you already, you may simplify the calculations, with the Power Supply calculator - http://journeysystems.com/power_supply_calculator.php

Answer 4

you may not be able to change your power supply. there are proprietary power supplies that will only work with your case and system. gateway is a good one for that as is hp/compaq