[jasonharris]

I have this old broken computer:
http://www.newegg.co...82E16883227065R
It has a 400 watt power supply

It had this video card:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127382

The computer ran very well for a few years but has since died. My wife used it to play second life and got very good graphics performance. I think the motherboard died among other things.

I couldn't fix the old computer so I bought a new budget PC to replace it.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16883220059
It has a 250 watt power supply

I thought I would put the old 9600gt card into the new computer. The onboard video is useless for even simple games. I installed the 9600gt but could not find the little power cable. The power supply in the new PC is too small to technically run it anyway. It currently works as is, but occasionally gives me an "Invidia Insufficient Power Warning" and says that it will run the card at a slower safe speed.

Is it relatively safe to keep things as is and just deal with the gimped video performance or will something soon break?
I bought a little power connector http://cgi.ebay.com/...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT to replace the lost one that came with the video card, should I plug this in or just ignore it because the power supply can't handle it anyway?
Is the old power supply compatible with the new pc, so I could transfer it over? They both have 24-pin cables.

Edited by jasonharris, 09 April 2011 - 04:00 PM.

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As I was trying to get links for specs I realized that the tiny little cord I bought from ebay (The spdif hdmi nonsense) is actually about sound not power. Apparently the power supply is 4-pin molex to 6 pin video card type deal. I do have that cord. (It's still not plugged in. The 9600gt is just running off of PCIe power)

Edited by jasonharris, 09 April 2011 - 04:01 PM.

[jasonharris]

As I was trying to get links for specs I realized that the tiny little cord I bought from ebay (The spdif hdmi nonsense) is actually about sound not power. Apparently the power supply is 4-pin molex to 6 pin video card type deal. I do have that cord. (It's still not plugged in. The 9600gt is just running off of PCIe power)

Edited by jasonharris, 09 April 2011 - 04:01 PM.

[iammykyl]

Hi jasonharris,

Is it relatively safe to keep things as is and just deal with the gimped video performance

NO!!! REMOVE THE CARD MEDIATELY. The whole system will be under strain especially the PSU which is probably a cheapo one. When, not if, it fails it will probably fry the Mobo and maybe the video card and RAM.

Is the old power supply compatible with the new PC, so I could transfer it over

Providing they are both ATX and the 450w will fit in the newer PC, it should be OK.
If you are not too familiar with replacing parts, do the following.

PC off.
Disconnect the PSU power lead.
Open the case,
Take anti static measures by touching the bare chassis with a finger.
Unscrew the 250w PSU and place beside the PC without removing any cables.
Install the 450w PSU.
Remove one lead at a time from the 250w and connect a matching one from the 450w.
install the video card and connect eh PCIe power lead.
Tidy up the spaghetti and check that all the leads are connected including fans, drives, front panel, etc.
Start the PC and check that all the fans are working.
Close up the case.

[jasonharris]

Thanks, I looked at a few other forums and everybody seems to agree. So I took the PSU from the old gaming pc and switched it into the new Asus. Everything seems to work fine. I ran a couple different benchmark performance tests and everything matches what it should. I can now run SL at high to ultra settings and 45-60fps which is totally fine.

[iammykyl]

Well Done.

Thank''s for posting back the results. I wish other were as courteous and thorough as yourself.

Edited by iammykyl, 09 April 2011 - 09:32 PM.