i want to buy a 7900 gs graphics card but i only have a 300 watt powerpack in my pc. The pc is pci express does it really matter
2006-12-14 05:54:07 · 9 answers · asked by Davinho 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
this is a very good question,and the answer is "yes",todays graphic cards are eating more and more juice as they get better and better
the 7900 is a good example and i would recommend you upgrade your psu to at least 500watt to be on the safe side,you dont want to see your new card go up in flames the minute you boot up
there is actually a seperate power supply you can buy to run your pci-e based graphic card,i saw it in a p.c mag but its around £100 so its a bit o.t.t. just to run a single card
you can pick up 500 and 600watt psu,s for less than £70 these days ,take a look at http://www.misco.co.uk/categories/~722~/500W%20and%20above.htm,these are the cheapest i have found on the web and i recommend the antec range for best quality
good luck
2006-12-14 09:17:46 · answer #1 · answered by brianthesnail123 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it may must be a extensive snap shots card if it mandatory 4 hundred watts. Even my 50 inch plasma television is barely 480 watts entire. If the cardboard desires 4 hundred watts from the capacity furnish for itself plus each and every thing else, then it nonetheless won't artwork with a three hundred watt psu.
2016-10-14 22:52:10 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it does matter I would upgrade to something better at least 500 watts. Search around I know there is a site that tells you how much power you need. Like if you are running several hard drives and more than one dvd or cd rom. Also web cams and other usb devices take up power.
2006-12-14 05:57:07 · answer #3 · answered by micaso1971 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
But being a cut-down version of the latter, the product may have very low power consumption, which may allow manufacturers of appropriate graphics boards to equip it with very low-speed low-noise fans or even stick to passive cooling solution.
2006-12-14 08:11:59 · answer #4 · answered by Slim Shady 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember, it doesn't run 300 watts continuously, just at peak. Running a video card with a power rail is going to hose both your power supply and the card.
Try http://www.newegg.com or http://www.pricewatch.com for good deals.
2006-12-14 06:09:21 · answer #5 · answered by Prakash V 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It only matters depending how many peripherals you have. You need to total up the wattage of your drives, usb devices, input devices, mb, chip ram, and any other add-on cards.
If it's over 300, you need a higher wattage PS.
2006-12-14 08:24:57 · answer #6 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am running a radeon 9200 128mb grafix card and 2 dvd-rw and 80gb hdd with a 300w psu and I dont have any problems, saying that I dont play games on it
2006-12-14 06:29:32 · answer #7 · answered by D McC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes it matters, if you want your graphics card to work properly. Especially on demanding games, it will start throwing artifacts and crashing programs.
2006-12-14 06:05:45 · answer #8 · answered by peter c 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://tomshardware.co.uk/
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/
2006-12-14 06:29:36 · answer #9 · answered by george r. n. 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋