Is 240W enough?

[ChrisLudwig]

Do any of you have a formula for calculating how much power a PC needs?

I’m stuck with a proprietary 240W TFX power supply on my HTPC case.
I’ve got an “Everything on-board” Gigabyte motherboard, and Athlon 64 3200+, 512MB RAM, SATA hard drive, two case fans, and DVD-R.

I was looking to add an ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO.
Any opinion as to if this will push me over the limit?

 

[mozzartusm]

Your already over the limit. Use Google.

To save us both time, assume I know EVERYTHING :tongue:

 

[tweebel]

At least a good brand 350W psu for you to be sure.

 

[Crashman]

I have a 300W TFX power supply here...

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[DCB_AU]

Since you have to buy a higher wattage PSU, don't go any lower than 400W.

You can buy good 400W PSU's for the same price as a 350W.

<font color=red>DCB</font color=red><font color=white>_</font color=white><font color=blue>AU</font color=blue>

 

[ChrisLudwig]

This is the case I'm using:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-lc11.htm

I don't think a PS upgrade is possible.

How do I determine now much power I’m drawing?
I’ve always just used huge power supplies, and never worried about his before. This is the first time I’m stuck with a small one, so I guess I’m kinda ignorant to how much power modern devices use.

 

[ChrisLudwig]

Where did you get that from?
Do you think 60 extra watts would even make a difference?

 

[Crashman]

I got a Micro ATX tower from some company for a review, it had a TFX, rather than SFX power supply. I'm not sure if the extra 60W would do the trick.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>