I've got a Pavilion 7970 which i believe has a 200W power supply! I've added a new sound card, tv tunner card, usb port card, second hard drive and a dvd writer, now i looking to upgrade the graphics card.
Several reviews say the cards draw loads of power e.g GeForce 7600 , Radeon 9600.
Can any one advise me on a suitable graphics card for gaming with my existing power supply or if i can simply upgrade my power supply, i.e. is it iterchangable with other off the shelf models.
2006-12-03 02:44:00 · 3 answers · asked by jbenny1 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
Power supplies are pretty similar. There are a few things to look at depending on how 'hardcore' you wanna go. 1st off is the pin connector that connects the power supply to your motherboard. See what it is on your HP. Nowadays most power supplies use 24 pin. Older systems were 20 pin. There are some that are 20+4 pin (ie. will work with either motherboard configuration). Next is whether or not the cables that the power supply has meet your needs. SATA connectors, PCIe connectors, and so on. Alot of people feel that dual 12v rails make it more stable for a gaming rig, but that is a matter for you to research. Also to consider is active PFC. (Basically it smooths out your house current to make it flow into the computer all the same without any surges or bumps.)
Wattage :) Here is the beef of the question. I have a 540 watt supply running my system. AMD Athelon 4000, 2 250 gb SATA2 drives, 2 DVD burners, a few fans, and a geForce 7600. Never had problems with the supply. eVGA recommends 350 watts for the card I have. More if you want to SLI (run 2 cards together if your motherboard is capable of it.)
So I can't recommend using that supply for any gaming card today, but its not too pricy to upgrade to a stronger power supply unit.
2006-12-03 02:51:13 · answer #1 · answered by brmwk 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Without looking into the details of what you described my gut reaction is that I'm surprised that the system is still working with a 200 watt power supply! I would upgrade the power supply right away 450 or 500 watts. It is the cheepest upgrade you will have done and will insure the stability and preservation of all the other things you've done.
2006-12-03 02:51:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the best solution is to check on the manufacturer`s web site for compatibilities ,as you mentioned you have installed or added many cards to your pc so you have to upgrade the power supply
2006-12-03 03:01:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋