[ep3w]

I just ordered a EVGA 6600GT PCI-E. On the site i ordered from under system requirements it mentioned nothing about the powersupply so i ordered it. Then I went on EVGA's website and looked at it and it says a 350w power supply is required. I have a 300w power supply. Will this be a problem that I should cancel my order? I am running an AMD64 3500+ and 1 Gig of RAM if that has anything to do with it. Thanks!

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Hi. This link will get you all kinds of information about power supplies. See the sticky posts at the top of the forum. They even have calculators to help you figure out what wattage power supply you need and or should have for your existing or planned system. See http://www.hardforum...isplay.php?f=93
If the PSU you have is not adequate with this added equipment, either cancel the order or buy a better power supply.

[austin_o]

Hi. This link will get you all kinds of information about power supplies. See the sticky posts at the top of the forum. They even have calculators to help you figure out what wattage power supply you need and or should have for your existing or planned system. See http://www.hardforum...isplay.php?f=93
If the PSU you have is not adequate with this added equipment, either cancel the order or buy a better power supply.

[ep3w]

I am using this calculator. http://www.jscustomp...tor.php?cmd=AMD
My AMD64 3500+ is not on there but EVEREST Home Edition said the max power was 67 Watts so I used one of the 68 watt ones as a substitute. I am guessing this is ok? The only problem I have is the 6600GT is not on the list of cards. I looked around and can't find out how many watts it actually needs to power it. Its the EVGA 6600GT with 128mb. Any guesses would be appreciated. I am very close to 300W being enough, it just depends on how many watts the graphics card needs. Also is there any other considerations I need to look at? Everything else with this machine is OEM. Its an Emachines T6524 and from what I hear emachines have weak power supplys...Its a Hipro 300w supply in it now. Any info on where I can find out how much power the card needs would be very appreciated. Thanks for all the help so far


EDIT: It looks like the PCI-E version uses 75 watts. On the power supply calculator this puts me at 320 watts or 295 watts with just one hard drive which I can easily do since the 2nd one was from an old machine and I dont use it any more. Will my machine be stable enough with the card w/ a 300w power supply and the calculator says I need 295 watts?

Edited by ep3w, 01 January 2006 - 05:09 PM.

[austin_o]

Go to the link I gave and read the sticky posts. Pay particular attention to this one http://www.hardforum...ad.php?t=792566
Most power supply manufacturers over state the output of their products in how they define the parameters used to achieve their results (they call 'em ideal conditions). Thus, it is a good idea in most cases to deduct 30 percent from their stated claims of wattage and amperage. Thus your 300 watt power supply is more likely capable of only 210 watts in real applications. Read that sticky carefully. I had a random reboot problem in my system which by process of elimination of common causes, I figured out it was the power supply. The 420 watt Raidmax power supply that came with my system was in reality only capable of 294 watts, and my system needed (based on a calulator like you used) 320 watts. I got a quality Fortron 520 watt power supply from Newegg.com and my problem was solved.

[ep3w]

http://www.jscustomp...tor.php?cmd=AMD - On that it says it recommends a 295 Watt powersupply. That probably does not include the normal 30% decrease (probably more for mine since it is a cheap one) in the number does it? It also mentions the numbers are at peak utilization of the components which will never be reached under typical operation. So basically I just wanted to double check that my power supply is not capable of running the card while gaming before I cancel my order. I can't afford to upgrade the power supply right now. Thanks.

[austin_o]

Sad but true fact is many people completely overlook the power supply until it is too late. Better you consider it now than after you toast your system and/or your new graphics card because your power supply did a number on them. Gaming put a heavy demand on the power supply. I bet yours is on the list of undesirebles (that last link I gave you) just like my Raidmax was.