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View Full Version : My power supply is 350 watts could I upgrade to a better vid card than the GTS 240?



resinmage
05-04-2010, 04:25 PM
I hear maybe an HD 5770? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150464


thing is I dont want to waste my money and have the dang card not fit or run or work....

I think with my pc i can only install 1 gb vid cards whatever that means and also they have to be like 2x 16 pci whatever that means.


I want the best vid card I can get for my pc. Dell studio 540 quad core q9400 500 gb 4 gb ram

RickyTick
05-04-2010, 04:55 PM
The 5770 is a little over 8 inches long and requires a minimum 450 watt power supply. It's an excellent video card.

resinmage
05-05-2010, 12:56 AM
so im out of luck with my Dell 350 Watt then :(

RickyTick
05-05-2010, 05:23 AM
so im out of luck with my Dell 350 Watt then :(
Yes.

resinmage
05-05-2010, 12:38 PM
others tell me different sir, whats the real deal?


"Your PSU should be fine for the 5770, as stated, it uses less power than your current card with is running fine. You have enough amps to run a 5770.:"

Here is the label for the Dell Lite-On 350w

It claims to have two 18 amp +12v rails. It does say not to exceed 336w combined but that's still 28 amps "

"jyjjy wrote :


People who think the manufactures suggested power requirements for video cards have anything to do with reality:

Should not be giving advice on this board."

"Dell rates their PSUs for continuous usage rather than peak. It is NOT a typical 350w PSU. They are a HUGE manufacturer and they would certainly not be selling systems with a PSU too weak to handle the card in it. The HD5770 uses less power, case closed, there is nothing to argue about really"

"So it is a LIte-on PSU which is not the same as most DELL high quality PSU's (ie. those made by PCP&C) and not one I would try to run at near full capacity !! (even if he has been doing so in the past and even the spec for the 240 that you linked specify "Minimum Recommended System Power (W) 450 W" so I personally would never RECOMMEND or advise someone to try running it on a 350W LITE-On PSU !!! "

resinmage
05-05-2010, 12:41 PM
, whats the real deal?

RickyTick
05-05-2010, 04:39 PM
, whats the real deal?

Here's the deal.

Yes, Dell under-rates their power supplies.
Yes, video card manufacturers overstate the minimum wattage needed.

With that said, there's still NO WAY I'm going to recommend someone use a video card that clearly states it requires more wattage that what their current psu puts out. How stupid would I look if you came back here with a toasted computer because I gave you bad advice.

"People who think the manufactures suggested power requirements for video cards have anything to do with reality:
Should not be giving advice on this board."
I bet this guy has a psu in his computer that exceeds his video card specs. What do you want to bet?

Plus, you can buy a decent psu for less than $50 that will work just fine. You would rather gamble frying your pc or spend 50 bucks to be sure.
This is $40 after rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

I'm just trying to give helpful (and free) advice based on my experience, and what I would do if it were my pc.

Sean
05-05-2010, 07:32 PM
to add onto what what ricky tick said, the PSU doesn't Just power the graphics card, it supplies power to EVERYTHING in the computer, ram, mother board, CPU, graphics card, lights, disk drive, hard drive.


so, if a manufacturers recommended minimum wattage for your graphics card is more than your power supply, and you think " ahh itll be fine "... you are straight out wrong.

resinmage
05-05-2010, 07:55 PM
Well my PSU is running the GTS 240 oem and the specs say

Thermal and Power Specs:
Maximum GPU Temperature (in C) 105 C
Maximum Graphics Card Power (W) 120 W
Minimum Recommended System Power (W) 450 W
Supplementary Power Connectors 6-pin



so if its true that im running a card already that uses less power , How would that be a problem?

Sean
05-05-2010, 08:34 PM
do what you want, we are here to give you advice, its up to you what you do with it

The Wise Monkey
05-06-2010, 03:15 AM
OK, everyone chill out. :)

Because you bought your PC from Dell, they use proprietary components for almost everything. As such, they use the components that draw the least power and so can get away with a less powerful PSU. With this in mind, you could probably go ahead and put a 5770 into this machine and it will work. It will probably stretch the PSU to the limit, which is less environmentally friendly than using a more powerful, more efficient one.

I would advise against this, however. Almost every single graphics card on the market nowadays, except the most high-end ones, has a minimum requirement of 450 watts - this is kind of an unspoken industry standard because it has to cover every possible component in a machine. For example, your CPU will use less power than, say, one of the new i7s. Your motherboard will use less power than an ASUS Rampage III. But graphics card manufacturers have to cover all the bases, so they recommend a minimum that is more than what is actually required.

Saying that, what happens if you keep your current PSU but decide to upgrade any components further down the line? Suddenly you might be overloading your PSU, which could cause damage to other components, and that could mean time without a PC and more expense.

So my advice would be the same as Sean and Ricky's. Manufacturers recommendations, whilst not 100% accurate, do have solid reasoning behind them. I know it is a wrench having to pay out more for this PC when you spent $1000 on it a few months ago, but this is one of the reasons we choose to build our own PCs - we can choose exactly what goes in there and get it right the first time around. :)

Sean
05-11-2010, 04:52 AM
my name is in that post eeeehehehheeh :cool:

The Wise Monkey
05-11-2010, 07:21 AM
Haha, fair enough. You gave some good advice. :)