giving my graphics card to buddy, dont know if his psu can support it

[CamMan12345]

im planning on upgrading my gpu, and giving my old one to my buddy. as of right now i dont know how big his psu is. im going to check this weekend for him. lets just pretend worse case scenario that his psu is 250 watts. do you think an athlon 630 (95 tdp) mobo and other stuff (75 tdp) and a gtx 650 (60 tdp) would work fine in his computer? if not do you think i could/should underclock the graphics card in order to fit his psu. i dont want to break his computer. btw what would the side affects be if the psu cant hold the rest of the components tdp?

 

[_zxzxzx_]

Well, the CPU and GPU would rely on the 12v rail mostly which we'll say the draw is 160w which means their PSU needs to supply at least 13A which is quite possible for a 250w PSU but I'd definitely check as I've had some which are 10A and others 15A.

 

[CamMan12345]

so what your saying is that the 13a would be the deciding factor? (sorry, im no expert when it comes to psu terminology, all i really know is the watts that a psu has and if it is 80+ certified, ive heard of 12v rails but as far as my understanding of them, its completely foreign to me) if its not to much to ask please explain

 

[toyftw]

so what your saying is that the 13a would be the deciding factor? (sorry, im no expert when it comes to psu terminology, all i really know is the watts that a psu has and if it is 80+ certified, ive heard of 12v rails but as far as my understanding of them, its completely foreign to me) if its not to much to ask please explain

Hi - The amps available on the +12v rail(s) is more important than total watts. As zxzx mentioned above your
most power hungry components, the GPU & CPU draw their current from the +12v rails. So, you need to check
the sticker affixed to the PSU and insure that the +12v rail(s) amps areat least 20, not 13 (for a sys with a gtx650).
Also, it is very unlikely his 250w PSU has a pcie connector (the gtx650 requires one), so you would need a molex
(peripheral) to pcie adapter to run the gtx650 assuming you have enough +12v amps.

 

[CamMan12345]

ok thanks for the explanation, i never understood what 12 v rail meant, that info is useful, and i am already prepared for the event that he doesnt have a pcie connector, i already got the molex adapter. also to my ther question, in the event that the psu isnt enough what would happen?

 

[toyftw]

ok thanks for the explanation, i never understood what 12 v rail meant, that info is useful, and i am already prepared for the event that he doesnt have a pcie connector, i already got the molex adapter. also to my ther question, in the event that the psu isnt enough what would happen?

Ah, would need to know more about the PSU, if it is well made & has sufficient protection features then
most likely it would just shut done once too much power is demanded from it. But, if it doesn't
have proper protection features, it could burn & take out other components with it.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

You need a new PSU.

 

[CamMan12345]

when i get the chance to look at it i will further discuss the psu's specifications

 

[CamMan12345]

@SR-71Blackbird yeah that was what i was thinking but im trying to save my buddy some money, as he he is currently earning money for a car. if need be i will get a new psu for him, but until i find out what type of psu he has, there is no reason to get a new one (remember im not sure how much watts his psu is) it could be 1000 watts or it could be 100 watts. im just estimating that he has a 200-400 watt psu. the only real reason i asked the question was to learn more about psus, considering my current knowledge of them is quite lackluster.