[Sking0]

My daughter bought a Graphics card yesterday.
I have looked at the minimum specs in the manual (before doing anything else) and it says..
intel pentium 4/core 2 or AMD Athlon processor.
The processor in her PC is a Pentium dual core 3.20 GHz.
Will this processor not be able to run the graphics card properly?

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Ok. I have been reading up and this card needs a 400 watt psu so the card has to go back anyway.
I am thinking that getting a 1 gig card to run on a 300 watt psu is not going to be easy/cheap so i am looking
to upgrade her psu to 400watts. Are psu connection leads generally universal? I mean are the leads that come on the psu of a standard type that i can just plug into the necessary bits on her pc?
I have seen 1 gig cards that will run on 300 watts but they are more expensive than buying a new PSU and half decent graphics card.

[Sking0]

Ok. I have been reading up and this card needs a 400 watt psu so the card has to go back anyway.
I am thinking that getting a 1 gig card to run on a 300 watt psu is not going to be easy/cheap so i am looking
to upgrade her psu to 400watts. Are psu connection leads generally universal? I mean are the leads that come on the psu of a standard type that i can just plug into the necessary bits on her pc?
I have seen 1 gig cards that will run on 300 watts but they are more expensive than buying a new PSU and half decent graphics card.

[Digerati]

If you are getting a new PSU, why send the card back?

Yes, a new PSU should have all the necessary connections - though you may need to break apart the main motherboard connector (they typically are designed to do this).

Sadly, many users make the mistake of trying to go cheap with the PSU. A cheap PSU is like throwing cheap, watery and dirty gas into your new Porsche. Not good. High speed digital electronics need clean stable power to run smoothly. Dirty, unstable power causes unexpected system freezes, shutdowns, and reboots and those can lead to hard drive corruption and data loss.

So get a good PSU from a good maker (I like Corsair and Antec) that is 80-Plus certified. And note the computer will draw from the PSU only what it needs, not what the PSU is capable of delivering. If a computer needs 400 watts it will draw 400 watts regardless if the PSU is a 500W, 650W, or 1000W PSU. In turn, the PSU, regardless its size, will draw from the wall only what it needs to support the computer. In this example, it will draw 400 watts, plus another 80 or so watts, depending on the PSU’s inefficiency.

I would recommend a 500 - 600 watt supply. This gives enough head room for future expansion without busting the budget. This 500w Corsair currently has a $10 rebate.

[Sking0]

Hi. Thanks for the response. I am not sending the card back now. I misread the manual and the processor she has is adequate enough to run it.
With regard to the PSU here is a link to the one she has bought.....

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item45ff960f45

We had the dimensions to take into account and the fact that it needed to be silent. No doubt there would be a queue of people that could rubbish this PSU but i find that with near enough anything you can buy. I have read good things about it but none bad as of yet. Her pc is pretty basic and so i went for 500watts just to make sure as the minimum spec for the graphics card was 400watts.

[phillpower2]

If I may pitch in while Digerati is offline!
There is possibly only one thing more dangerous than knowingly using a suspect PSU and that is using one that you have never heard of, have a look at the links I have provided they will hopefully bare out what I am saying;

http://forum.pcmech....ide-inside.html
http://www.10stripe....d/psu/brand.php
http://www.realhardt...vos/Page541.htm

And what happens to cheap and nasty PSUs;



For the record if you need to know about PSUs you ask Digerati

[Digerati]

If I may pitch in while Digerati is offline!

Always welcome! Whether on or off-line.

If she already bought that PSU, then you may be stuck with it, and frankly, it may work just fine. I hope so. The fact it is not 80-Plus certified would be a concern for me. No power supply has a linear efficiency rating (equally efficient across all expected loads). Typically, their peak efficiency occurs at just one or two points across their expected load range. That is, for a typical budget PSU, it may have a 70% efficiency at 60% load, then drop significantly on either side of that load (for example, when idling or when pushed to fully loaded).

70% efficiency means for every 100 watts the PSU draws from the wall, 30 watts are wasted (in form of heat). In order for a PSU to be 80-Plus certified, it must have a [near] linear and high (80% or higher) efficiency across its entire expected load (20%, 50% and 100% of rated load is the testing standard). In order for a PSU to obtain these high and linear efficiency ratings, the PSU must be well designed AND use quality (tighter tolerances) parts. And better design with quality parts typically means a PSU that provides clean stable power.

So while an 80-Plus PSU may cost more initially, the savings in electricity costs are typically easily recouped (and more) over the life of the PSU.

Her pc is pretty basic and so i went for 500watts just to make sure as the minimum spec for the graphics card was 400watts.

And that's fine, but please understand that quantity has nothing to do with quality. I would much rather have a 500W 80-Plus certified Corsair than a 600W off-brand that is not 80-Plus certified.

[happyrock]

just to throw in my 2 cents worth...
a cheap PSU is asking for trouble...if your lucky when it dies it doesn't take out any other components with it...it has the potential to kill the mobo CPU ram and the video card when it gives up...
go with a 80 + psu