[philbert2501]

So the graphics card that came with my prebuilt machine crapped out on me, and I need to get a replacement. I'm looking at the EVGA GeForce GT 730 2GB which should be plenty for my needs (not much gaming, some Photoshop/Lightroom use). The problem is that I'm not sure if the power supply can handle it. The card says it requires a minimum 300 watts and a "minimum of 20 Amp on the +12 volt rail". I have no idea what this means. I googled this spec and found a lot of explanations, which I only kind of understand. One thing I found said that to find the number of amps, I would divide the number of watts actually supplied to the 12 volt rail by 12. It appears that this one has 360 watts going to the rail, which would give me 30 amps, right? If that's really all there is to it, it appears that there should have no problem. But how do I know if my power supply can handle this card with my other components? I don't have anything crazy, just a couple of hard drives and an optical drive. I'll attach a picture of the label on my power supply, if anyone can help me figure this out I would greatly appreciate it.

 

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Their website says you need a minimum of 300W PSU.  Yours is 460W so I don't see a problem.  One of the reviews on Amazon says they have it working with a 260 W PSU.

[RKinner]

Their website says you need a minimum of 300W PSU.  Yours is 460W so I don't see a problem.  One of the reviews on Amazon says they have it working with a 260 W PSU.

[phillpower2]

philbert2501

 

Did you forget that you started a thread here regarding repairing or replacing your present video card as you have yet to acknowledge either reply.

[terry1966]

looks like that psu has 3 x 12v rails, 15amp, 18amp, 10amp, so i'd suggest sharing the load from more than a single 12v cable from the psu to the graphics card and then you should be fine.

 

[philbert2501]

philbert2501

 

Did you forget that you started a thread here regarding repairing or replacing your present video card as you have yet to acknowledge either reply.

 

Sorry, apparently I did. I've been ill the last few days and I've been sort of in and out, and I was trying to get something done while I'm home sick. I remember starting to write that post but I don't remember finishing or submitting it. My apologies for that. 

[philbert2501]

looks like that psu has 3 x 12v rails, 15amp, 18amp, 10amp, so i'd suggest sharing the load from more than a single 12v cable from the psu to the graphics card and then you should be fine.

 

 

Does it not draw power through the PCI slot? 

[terry1966]

no idea i didn't check, but because you said

 

The card says it requires a minimum 300 watts and a "minimum of 20 Amp on the +12 volt rail".

i assumed the card needed a dedicated 12v connection like most cards besides the pci-e power, but after a quick search it looks like your correct and it only draws power from the pci-e connection, so even though the max rail is only 18Amp on your psu you may still be able to run it anyway because they usually over state a cards power requirements just to cover themselves but there is no guarantee.

 

[phillpower2]

Best Answer

 

philbert2501

 

Did you forget that you started a thread here regarding repairing or replacing your present video card as you have yet to acknowledge either reply.

 

Sorry, apparently I did. I've been ill the last few days and I've been sort of in and out, and I was trying to get something done while I'm home sick. I remember starting to write that post but I don't remember finishing or submitting it. My apologies for that. 

 

 

No need for any apology as it was what I suspected may have happened 

 

Some info for you regarding amps on the +12V rails and how to calculate them etc;

 

To calculate the amps that a PSU should be able to supply you need to check what the maximum claimed power output of the PSU is** and then divide that figure by 12, using your PSUs claimed output of 460W as an example it should be capable of supplying a minimum of 38 amps on the +12V rail.

 

It is the total capacity of the 12V source that matters and how the rails are laid out does not matter.

 

** Not all PSUs are actually capable of producing the maximum claimed output and that is why efficiency rated PSUs are advisable.