What if my graphics card requires a bigger power supply?

[agirln4guys]

Hello,
I have an HP a6242n with a 250 watt psu. I was looking to upgrade my graphics card to a 1gb when I dicovered the card I have currently installed requires a 400 watt minimum psu. I never even checked the psu requirements when I installed the card almost 2 years ago. My current card is a PNY 9400GT DDR2 512MB PCI-E. and I think seems to be running fine. I wanted to upgrade because graphics still jump or freeze a little on some games. But now I'm wondering if have have just been on borrowed time with my small power supply. Is the a 400 watt available for my model cpu? Should I upgrade the power supply even if i keep the same card?

 

[Herr_Koos]

250W is not powerful enough to run a modern system with new components. My guess is that you've been getting away with it because your system is older and doesn't draw much power. What card are you planning to install? Maybe also list the rest of your system specs.

 

[Guest]

Yes irrelevant of any of your other specs, i would upgrade the PSU at the same time as getting another GPU.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c01154825

Looking at the specs, you will be fine with a 400w PSU, simple to replace really, just remember to ground yourself before carrying out work.

HD5670 will be a good match for your CPU, but you could go HD5750 if you want, more than that I think would require larger PSU and CPU will become restrictive.

 

[LePhuronn]

I'm running a 5770 perfectly fine on a Corsair CX400W, but the CPU is a Phenom II X2 550 BE so thee's plenty of grunt to keep the Radeon fed with data.

Please post your current spec and we'll be able to advise better.

 

[agirln4guys]

Why do people think a PC is called a cpu??? A cpu is a piece of silicon slightly larger than a postage stamp.

The amount of memory on a card (1GB) does not signify the power of the card. There are complete crap cards out there with 1GB of DDR2 which are useless and there are very powerful cards out there with 512MB of DDR5.

More memory means nothing of the card is complete junk. Please specify which card your planning to get and we can recommend a power supply.

Also is your HP standard ATX power supply?

I would like to get a NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 1GB DDR2 PCI Express graphics card.
I have a 32 bit AMD 64x2 dual core processor 4800+
3.5GB ram
2 hard drives
1 video card
4 dimm slots with 1gb in each.
Pretty sure my power supply is standard, it came with the PC, and I read online it's where HP saved money.

 

[Herr_Koos]

I would like to get a NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 1GB DDR2 PCI Express graphics card.
I have a 32 bit AMD 64x2 dual core processor 4800+
3.5GB ram
2 hard drives
1 video card
4 dimm slots with 1gb in each.
Pretty sure my power supply is standard, it came with the PC, and I read online it's where HP saved money.

A quick google search for "Power supply calculator" got me here:

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

which, based on your list, recommends a minimum of 282W at peak usage. Even so, I would go for 400W minimum, possibly more, since it allows you freedom to upgrade your CPU or GPU again at a later stage.

 

[jsc]

LePhuronn has, in my oh, so humble opinion , one of the best under 500 watt PSU's around:
Corsair 400CX (30 amp 12 volt rail)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

That's what I would regard as the bare minimum.

 

[AsAnAtheist]

LePhuronn has, in my oh, so humble opinion , one of the best under 500 watt PSU's around:
Corsair 400CX (30 amp 12 volt rail)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

That's what I would regard as the bare minimum.

Indeed I second LePhuronn's advice. Except for the feeding the GPU data thingy, im sure he meant power.

 

[LePhuronn]

No, I did mean data from the CPU - for the foreseeable future the Phenom II X4 955 won't bottleneck the graphics system.

 

[AsAnAtheist]

No, I did mean data from the CPU - for the foreseeable future the Phenom II X4 955 won't bottleneck the graphics system.

Uhmm okay. Makes more sense. Btw have you unlocked your 550?

 

[LePhuronn]

no not yet - been too busy and don't have any spare cash to get a decent cooler on it.

Plus with the housemate's laptop refusing to install XP Home now that the W7 RC has expired I don't want to mess with the only computer she has working!

Gonna grab a Hyper 212+ I think next month and give it a whirl - core unlock AND overclock? I'm asking for trouble!

 

[AsAnAtheist]

no not yet - been too busy and don't have any spare cash to get a decent cooler on it.

Plus with the housemate's laptop refusing to install XP Home now that the W7 RC has expired I don't want to mess with the only computer she has working!

Gonna grab a Hyper 212+ I think next month and give it a whirl - core unlock AND overclock? I'm asking for trouble!

Hyper 212 will be able to handle it. Just make sure the power supply can.

 

[tsd16]

Before we get carried away and have him buy a PSU. Does that HP box support ATX form factor for the PSU or is it proprietary? Ive only owned one "store bought" computer(gateway) I saved up for and bought when I was 17 in 1999. The PSU, was NOT atx and the case couldnt fit an ATX PSU. As the PSU had to be replaced a year later and I was not the PC component savvy person I am today. It wasnt any type of Slim design or anything either, looked just like any other generic ATX case except the slot for the psu could not fit ATX PSU's.

Companies do this to you so when your box is out of warranty they want you to buy replacement parts from them.

 

[mcg75]

I had the a6242n and upgraded it with a Corsair VX-550 and an 8800gt video card.

The ATX psu fit just fine.