8800GT & Dell GX280 PSU Check

[dashbarron]

Hiya. My friend has a Dell OptiPlex GX280, and he's looking at getting a new 8800GT. Would his crappy PSU be enough to power it all do you think, or would have to upgrade the PSU too? It's one of those business models and I'm sure they put the PSU right at the limit.

Here are his system specs:

PROCESSOR, 80547, PENTIUM 4 PRESCOTT DT, Pentium 4 Prescott DT, 3.2GHZ, 1 MEGB, 800FSB, SOCKET T, E0,
DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE, 512, 533M, 64X64, 8, 240, 1RX8
+ 2x1GB PC5300 DDR2
+ DVD Drive + 160G SATA HD

PSU: 250W... I don't see a 12V Amp rating.

Information cropped, thanks

 

[aadamszc]

If you don't see a 12V amp rating, that is generally a bad.

I would strongly suggest getting a new PSU. On that same note, are you even sure that that mobo has a PCI-E x16 slot?

 

[delluser1]

It's only got a 16 amp rating on the +12v rail, the 8800 GT has a minimum reccomendation of 22 amps.

 

[dashbarron]

It does have a PCI-E x16, miraculously.

And DellUser1, thanks. When he said he wanted a new graphics card, I told him that could be a problem with that Dell, let alone business.

 

[delluser1]

You're welcome.
The thought of an 8800 GT mated with a P4 is a little off to me,but here's a couple of power upgrades for that machine, they are fairly low quality units but will drop in and be more than enough power wise.
http://www.centrix-intl.com/details.asp?productid=1259
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707049

 

[dashbarron]

It's a...blah blah dual-core core, so a tad better. He has the original X300 card in it, and it needs a boost and he wont purchase a new system for awhile yet. If I can con him into letting me build his next one, at least he'll have a good starter card.

 

[Anoobis]

A 7600GT would be a much better card considering the circumstances.

 

[delluser1]

It's a...blah blah dual-core core, so a tad better. He has the original X300 card in it, and it needs a boost and he wont purchase a new system for awhile yet. If I can con him into letting me build his next one, at least he'll have a good starter card.

A P4 Prescott DT is a single core processor with Hyper Threading technology.

 

[dashbarron]

Is it? I always assumed it was a preliminary Pentium D with 2....

And Anoobis, I was wondering if he might not go for something a bit more limited.

Damn... he has an old socket 478...?

 

[delluser1]

Damn... he has an old socket 478...?

No, it's socket 775 with an Intel 915G chipset
http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/915g/index.htm

 

[dashbarron]

I assumed it was a Pentium D with a socket 775, my bad.

 

[Anoobis]

Is it? I always assumed it was a preliminary Pentium D with 2....

And Anoobis, I was wondering if he might not go for something a bit more limited.

Damn... he has an old socket 478...?

Unfortunately you limit yourself anytime you deal with a brand like Dell or HP, etc....

That 250W PSU is a huge limiting factor. The 7600GT is a very efficient card, inexpensive these days, and is light years ahead of the X300 currently in the machine. If it is a small form factor OptiPlex then a new PSU is simply not cost-effective for what's available. If it is a regular tower-style Optiplex then you should be able to find a quality PSU able to run a 8800GT, but the CPU is going to bottleneck a card like that. A X1950Pro would be a better choice if you can upgrade the PSU.

The best option to upgrade without a GPU would be a 7600GT or possibly an X1650XT but the X1650XT might strain the PSU too. The 7600GT is a better all around choice.

 

[dashbarron]

I was looking into other possibilities, such as a slower card. Your hat goes in for a 7600GT? I'll check it out.

Also, what sort of power connector are on the 8800GT? I'm new to the PCI-E cards. Are they just one 6-pin? I see the term 8-pin thrown around a lot too.

Thanks again

 

[Anoobis]

Most 8800GTs I've seen are 6-Pin.

 

[Guest]

hi..me to have a gx280 and i want to know if it is possible to put
a 8800 gts video card on it...i know i have a problem with power but
i think i can resolve it...what i don`t know is if my motherboard
will suport 8800 gts...the card have a 2.0 psi expres interface and i
want to know if will be suported by motherboard...almost forgot it
is a tower edition

thanks

 

[Narr]

Consider a PSU upgrade if your planning on using the GX280.

 

[suny14u]

Consider a PSU upgrade if your planning on using the GX280.

has anyone tried using a p/n Dell H2370 psu on a gx280 small desktop?
it is very close to the original psu shape and may work with some minor alterations. I ran into one at ebay and I am looking into it.
I would like to hear if any one has seen one. its for the Dell Precision 470 and has a max Power Output of 550w .

 

[mchc715]

I have GX280 SFF (clamshell version) with a 220 W PSU. I just ripped the mobo out of the case and threw the PSU in the trash. I currently have the GX280 attached to a ATX case (metalic clips and duct tape) hooked up with a generic 500W PSU.

The PSU powers a EVGA Geforce GTX260 216 SSC Edition. The SATA port available powers a WD 150GB Raptor-X 10K RPM Hard Drive.

Why waste money buying weird non-reusable parts?

has anyone tried using a p/n Dell H2370 psu on a gx280 small desktop?
it is very close to the original psu shape and may work with some minor alterations. I ran into one at ebay and I am looking into it.
I would like to hear if any one has seen one. its for the Dell Precision 470 and has a max Power Output of 550w .

 

[dj810]

Is this on a Precision 470?
I've just got one too. I've also got a HIS Radeon 4850 512Mb I was hoping to install but the power seems woefully inadequate - artifacts galore after a couple of mins of being within Windows.

The Dell specs say that it will support up to a 150W card, but I can't find out if that's due to a limitation on the motherboard, or the PSU can't handle more than that with the Dual Xeons.
I was considering one of those Thermaltake Power Express additional PSUs, but if the mobo's the limiting factor, I can't see this helping. Anyone happen to know?

 

[delluser1]

I've also got a HIS Radeon 4850 512Mb I was hoping to install but the power seems woefully inadequate - artifacts galore after a couple of mins of being within Windows.

550 watts with 42 amps of 12v power across triple 16 amp rails shouldn't be inadequate, did you happen to monitor the card temps ?

 

[dj810]

Hi. Cheers for responding.
The ATI tool said it was running at 52, so nothing at all really, fan speed never got above 20%