PSU wattage...

[Bad^Hat]

Okay, I'm desperately trying to find out my PSU's wattage as I've just ordered a new 9800 pro, but it's proving to be a little elusive. I've been told to check for a sticker on the PSU itself, but I can't find anything directly indicating the wattage. The closest thing is a sticker with a chart as follows -



|A.P.|
| 00 | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6|
| 01 | 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|


The "00" and the "3" are crossed out. Does this mean my PSU is 300W? Seems like a longshot...

 

[Asus]

Could the sticker possibly be on the top of the unit, between the case and itself.
Those charts seem very familiar and I bet it is a 300Watt. See if you can find another sticker and see if it reports the AMPs on the 12+V Rail. It should list the 3.3+V, 5+V, 12+V, 3.3-V, 5-V, and 12-V.

The 12+ Volt rail is become the important one to watch as many things run off of it, like the Molex connection on the end of the Graphics card.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Okay... that was complete gibberesh to me :E But I'll check on top and all around for another label.

I'd counted on it being a 300W but it is around 5-6 years old :|

 

[SidewinderX]

if you havea digicam, take a photo of the side of it.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Okay, I found another chart on the side and this is most definitely it. I wrote the whole thing out by hand but the important part is: OUTPUT: 235W. I'm pretty sure this is gonna hold up once the Radeon is in, this site gives me about 245W with everything (I think), but that's only if they're all at maximum use.

Should I type up the chart/post all my system specs?

Edit - Side, don't have a digicam handy. LOL @ your sig :E

 

[Asus]

Well, I wouldn't count on it. You can try it but it might not be stable.

There is more to a PSU than just the Watts rating. First there is the average output and then some manufactures use a max output rating (which is only good to rate temp. bursts). Also there are rails that make up that total watts and if your system or card depends on one of those rails more than it supports then it can be unstable.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Okay... still gibberish :E Thanks for staying with me, though.

Here's a type out of the chart -

 

[Asus]

8 Amps on the 12+Volt rail. GL

 

[Bad^Hat]

Huh? So, time to upgrade?

 

[oD1Nz]

Huh? So, time to upgrade?

Definitely. What's the rest of your system like?

Good to see another New Zealander .

 

[Bad^Hat]

Aoteroa represent! :E

/me kills self

What the hell... just realised the link I put in that other post doesn't work.

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

Some system specs -

AMD Athlon XP 2200+
512DDR SDRam (one stick)

I'm trying to find that documentation that came with my new mobo, when I got it a couple years ago it was pretty top of the line (but I left that up to the guy ordering in the parts).

 

[Bad^Hat]

Okay... found the manual. It's a Gigabyte GA-7VA

 

[[Matt]]

thats the motherboard...

 

[Bad^Hat]

thats the motherboard...

Yes.

What's the rest of your system like?

Keep up

 

[Bad^Hat]

Okay, I've had a look around and I figure I can get a good PSU for no more than $100 (NZ), which isn't bad. I'll still have just enough over for HL2 next week :thumbs:

Anyone wanna recommend me a nice one? I'm not talking top of the line, just something to run my current system (+9800) and some future proofing wouldn't hurt neither (as one site put it, you can never have too much PSU).

Thanks for the help so far guys

 

[oD1Nz]

Couldn't get better than this: http://www.stylespc.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=1253&cat=&page=1 for under $100.

Price includes GST/freight, and the shop is run by a fellow OCNZ'er.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Awesome, I'll order it next week :thumbs: Thanks again.

 

[Bad^Hat]

*ressurects*

Okay, getting the cash for a PSU tomorrow. Is that one oD1Nz recommended a little extravagant for my specs (see above)? I'm looking for a good PSU, but I don't wanna go top of the line, just enough to run it all well with the 9800 pro and future proof some aswell. I just can't help thinking (mostly going on reviews I've read) that it's a little too much. Of course that's never a bad thing, except on my pocket. Anyway, If you guys could help me out with this one last thing then I'd be eternally grateful and would give you my first born daughter once she comes of age, I'll even gut her first.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Okay, that problem solved itself, but I need one last thing (promise!).

Until I get my hands on the new PSU, is there any way to run the 9800 pro on my current PSU without damaging anything?