rdn98
asked on
Should I update my power supply?
Currently, I have a 250w ATX power supply. I'm thinking about adding a geforce4 ti4200 to the system and ditch my current video card setup, but will my current power supply be enough to handle it?
My specs are:
256 SDRAM
900mhz AMD Thunderbird
Gigabyte GA-7IXE4 motherboard
250w ATX power supply
1 cd-rom drive
1 NIC
1 Modem
1 sound card
4 mb S3virge & 8mb voodoo2
40 gig hard drive
2 gig hard drive
Let's say I did not change the power supply and added the new video card. What could happen, if anything?
My specs are:
256 SDRAM
900mhz AMD Thunderbird
Gigabyte GA-7IXE4 motherboard
250w ATX power supply
1 cd-rom drive
1 NIC
1 Modem
1 sound card
4 mb S3virge & 8mb voodoo2
40 gig hard drive
2 gig hard drive
Let's say I did not change the power supply and added the new video card. What could happen, if anything?
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Wakeup
as Jhance says 250w is usually more than enough. If you do add the new card, it should work fine, ifffff, it does not you will probably get some BSOD's or non functionality of the system via hdd access is either way too slow or no access at all....or writing/reading data is impossible...etc.
Most docs for the Athlon processors recommend a 300w or better PS. The Athlon's suck a lot of juice.
I agree that most of the newer processors recommend the 300Watt or better. Most of the AMD/Intel rated power supplies will run you around $35 on up for 300 watt or better.
A good brand and a good price but out of stock at Newegg.com is the Sparkle 350 Watt ATX UL AMD Athlon/Intel P4 ready. Cost is 42.00 shipping $6.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=58&manufactory=1389&DEPA=1
Enlight Power supply:
300W P4/AMD Recommended: $29.00 + $6.00 Ship
340w P4/AMD Recommended: $37.00 + $6.00 Ship
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=58&manufactory=1231&DEPA=1
Enermax:
350 W $49. + ship
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=58&manufactory=1400&DEPA=1
try those out if you need an upgrade! Enlight is the cheapest....However Sparkle and Enermax are known good brands and have a good name in the Powersupply industry.
I have an old Enlight case with a 300watt powersupply that has been working great. I have had it for 4 years now. And have upgraded the motherboard to Athlon XP 1800, running 8 IDE devices (6 hard drives and DVD ROm and CDRW) as well as two SCSI HDD's. And have had no probs! And running my ATI Radeon 8500....etc etc....It's had no probs.
A good brand and a good price but out of stock at Newegg.com is the Sparkle 350 Watt ATX UL AMD Athlon/Intel P4 ready. Cost is 42.00 shipping $6.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=58&manufactory=1389&DEPA=1
Enlight Power supply:
300W P4/AMD Recommended: $29.00 + $6.00 Ship
340w P4/AMD Recommended: $37.00 + $6.00 Ship
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=58&manufactory=1231&DEPA=1
Enermax:
350 W $49. + ship
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=58&manufactory=1400&DEPA=1
try those out if you need an upgrade! Enlight is the cheapest....However Sparkle and Enermax are known good brands and have a good name in the Powersupply industry.
I have an old Enlight case with a 300watt powersupply that has been working great. I have had it for 4 years now. And have upgraded the motherboard to Athlon XP 1800, running 8 IDE devices (6 hard drives and DVD ROm and CDRW) as well as two SCSI HDD's. And have had no probs! And running my ATI Radeon 8500....etc etc....It's had no probs.
Oh yah...and the enlight powersupply in that case was not rated for AMD Athlon/P4. Because those processors were not out at the time, also not to mention before they started making "RATED" powersupplies....
I would highly recommend the Enermax EG365P-VE US$48:
www.directron.com
350w of clean, dependable power, of course AMD ok...just to leave room for future expansion or possibly a new mainboard like the FIC AD11XP available at:
www.pcprogress.com
for a mere US$65. Also, any case fans that you may add always require more power, but as an engineer, I tend to overbuild(I use an Enermax 431w). The 350w will meet your requirements now and in the future. T
www.directron.com
350w of clean, dependable power, of course AMD ok...just to leave room for future expansion or possibly a new mainboard like the FIC AD11XP available at:
www.pcprogress.com
for a mere US$65. Also, any case fans that you may add always require more power, but as an engineer, I tend to overbuild(I use an Enermax 431w). The 350w will meet your requirements now and in the future. T