How can I determine my power supply?

[spitcodfry]

I'm going to be buying a Radeon 9800 pro 128 on E Bay for Half-Life 2 between next Monday to Wednesday, and I read that it requires at least a 300 w power supply. How can I determine what my power supply is? I got a custom computer about two years ago, and got an Athlon XP 1700 with an ASUS A7V266 motherboard. Some tell me that the Athlon card requires at least a 300 w power supply, but how do I tell for sure? All the stuff I looked up on the AMD site showed nothing about power requirements for cards. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

 

[mekilla]

Well open up your computer. Follow the fat 3 prong wire that plugs into the wall then into the back of your computer. Look inside what it connects into. There should be some writing on that somewhere, saying 300 watts, 400 watts, whatever. There may be an easier way though, but I am not sure.

 

[FISKER_Q]

There's a sticker on your psu. It's normally on the back or on the side of the psu.

There it will list its capabillities.

If you got the right 300W you should be able to use it. Else you should get an Antec 350 or 400W

 

[spitcodfry]

Originally posted by FISKER_Q
There's a sticker on your psu. It's normally on the back or on the side of the psu.

There it will list its capabillities.

If you got the right 300W you should be able to use it. Else you should get an Antec 350 or 400W

Thx Fisker. I checked it and it does say 300w thankfully.

 

[dawdler]

Sigh... Once again, ignore all comments above. Wattage has NOTHING to do with the fact if it can handle the 9800. It all depends on the amounts of parts you have in your computer. Each part comes with its demands... The PSU need to be able to sustain a certain amount of amps on the powerlines in question, this is VERY important, it is NOT the wattage that is important!!!!!!!!!! If your PSU cant sustain enough, whether its 300 or 400W, it cant power the computer. It all depends on the make. A Generic 400W can be lousy compared to a high quality 300W. I cant ever remember the line for the grapphics card though... If its the +3.3v... At any rate, you'll want high on this, in the 20 amps range.

My experience:
Was planning to buy a 340W PSU (Sirtec). Looking closer, it was NOT enough for my computer!!!! (12 amps on the important rail)
However, the 360W (also Sirtec) could handly it easily... (18 amps on the important rail)

See the tiny difference?

 

[spitcodfry]

Originally posted by dawdler
Sigh... Once again, ignore all comments above. Wattage has NOTHING to do with the fact if it can handle the 9800. It all depends on the amounts of parts you have in your computer. Each part comes with its demands... The PSU need to be able to sustain a certain amount of amps on the powerlines in question, this is VERY important, it is NOT the wattage that is important!!!!!!!!!! If your PSU cant sustain enough, whether its 300 or 400W, it cant power the computer. It all depends on the make. A Generic 400W can be lousy compared to a high quality 300W. I cant ever remember the line for the grapphics card though... If its the +3.3v... At any rate, you'll want high on this, in the 20 amps range.

My experience:
Was planning to buy a 340W PSU (Sirtec). Looking closer, it was NOT enough for my computer!!!! (12 amps on the important rail)
However, the 360W (also Sirtec) could handly it easily... (18 amps on the important rail)

See the tiny difference?

So, in other words, if I don't have enough amps, I could potentially fry my new Radeon. Is that what you're saying?

 

[EVIL]

Or in other w0rds. This topic belongs in the hardware forum, not the general hl2 forum. Dont let it happen again oki?

 

[dawdler]

Originally posted by spitcodfry
So, in other words, if I don't have enough amps, I could potentially fry my new Radeon. Is that what you're saying?

No, but it might malfunction. 80% of all the so acclaimed by Nvidiots troubles with the 9700 was PSU related. It simply wasnt stable enough supplied by the mobo, or the PSU was to weak. Can cause anything you think of, mostly just crashes though.

 

[Gashtar]

Originally posted by EVIL
Or in other w0rds. This topic belongs in the hardware forum, not the general hl2 forum. Dont let it happen again oki?

Since when are you a moderator?

 

[Majestic XII]

Originally posted by Gashtar
Since when are you a moderator?

You can still say it as a normal member, look:

This topic belongs in the hardware forum, not the general hl2 forum. Dont let it happen again oki?

No ***, it works great!

 

[King Buzzo]

If it is 300w or more, and made by Antec, Enermaz, Allied, or Powerstar it will probably be good enough for your 9800pro.

I am running my 9800pro on a 400w Antec psu.

 

[Maxi]

yeah, a 300w generic will not run the 9800 pro, i had a 300w generic (9700 pro, 1hdd, 1 dvd) and my sys crashed often due to power fluctuations, i then bought a 400w antec, everything is fine noew

 

[FISKER_Q]

Originally posted by dawdler
Sigh... Once again, ignore all comments above. Wattage has NOTHING to do with the fact if it can handle the 9800. It all depends on the amounts of parts you have in your computer. Each part comes with its demands... The PSU need to be able to sustain a certain amount of amps on the powerlines in question, this is VERY important, it is NOT the wattage that is important!!!!!!!!!! If your PSU cant sustain enough, whether its 300 or 400W, it cant power the computer. It all depends on the make. A Generic 400W can be lousy compared to a high quality 300W. I cant ever remember the line for the grapphics card though... If its the +3.3v... At any rate, you'll want high on this, in the 20 amps range.

My experience:
Was planning to buy a 340W PSU (Sirtec). Looking closer, it was NOT enough for my computer!!!! (12 amps on the important rail)
However, the 360W (also Sirtec) could handly it easily... (18 amps on the important rail)

See the tiny difference?

Which is why i said it might work with the RIGHT 300W psu. And that was why i then suggested an Antec, since i know they can deal with it.

I could've elaborated a bit more though.

Another good tip could be to buy a better powersupply, if you are planning on putting in more devices, and etc, if the money allows, then you will be able to use your PSU for a couple of years probably.

 

[Marauder]

I run a 9700 Pro on a 250w power supply Works perfectly but it still isn't smart.

 

[dawdler]

Originally posted by Marauder
I run a 9700 Pro on a 250w power supply Works perfectly but it still isn't smart.

Yes its possible to do that, if one is lucky
Seen more running it on 250W. Most people arent that lucky though, hehe...

 

[tewmten]

hm, I run a Athlon XP 1700+, a GeForce3, three harddrives, tco cd-rom's, a couple of fans, a ccfl light, my soundcard and a rack for the soundcard.. all that on my 250watt psu, works like a charm..

Edit: Uh yeah, I forgot my Matrox GFX card also, great for multi-head in Slackware :-D

 

[Doobz]

i use a little known PSU, an Allied 400w, but it works like a charm powering my 9800 Pro and stuff, very good quality PSU, and only 30 bucks :cheers:

 

[Ridic]

i just orderd an Antec 430W along with my 9800pro and other parts.

 

[trantjd]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
i just orderd an Antec 430W along with my 9800pro and other parts.

I've got the same one...I've had it for about 9 months and it works like a charm! I've got 3hds, XP1800+, 2 optical drives, and the 9700pro.