Will it slow the video card down?

[manisare]

If you have a video card that requires 450+ watt and you have a 300 watt+ will it slow the card down?

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by manisare

If you have a video card that requires 450+ watt and you have a 300 watt+ will it slow the card down?

There isn't any video cards out that would require 450+ watts of power to run!!!!

They tell you that you need a 450 or above power supply due to the nature of the rest of the system and the video card.

[manisare]

okay then so it wont slow the video card down if u only have a 300 watt.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by manisare

okay then so it wont slow the video card down if u onyl ahve a 300 watt.

Depends on what kind of system you are running. The whole of the system is what is going to determine what kind of power supply you need. In most cases, (at least with nVidia videocards) if your videocard is not receiving enough power, nVidia Sentinel will cut back your videocards performance in an effort to prevent potential damage from occurring to the card itself.

The best way for us to help you, is for you to post the spec's of your computer system, or at the very least, what kind of videocard you have. Then we can determine whether or not your videocard will encounter problems or not. But, with a 300w power supply and assuming a fairly uncomplicated system configuration on your part, I would imagine that you are not going to be putting no nVidia 8800 in your system anytime soon.

With that said, I would hazard a guess and say that with a 300w PSU, you shouldn't be running anything larger than a nVidia Ti series videocard in your system.

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by manisare

okay then so it wont slow the video card down if u onyl ahve a 300 watt.

From the looks of your system specs, I would not recommend running only a 300 watt psu!!!
Even top of the line psu's would struggle with that, but I could be wrong.
Depending on the power supply, you might just be able to get away with it for awhile.

But no, it will not slow the video card down.
Also depending on the video card and the power supply, you may need to purchase an adapter to plug power into the video card!

[Lead Head]

Originally Posted by stinger608

From the looks of your system specs, I would not recommend running only a 300 watt psu!!!
Even top of the line psu's would struggle with that, but I could be wrong.
Depending on the power supply, you might just be able to get away with it for awhile.

But no, it will not slow the video card down.
Also depending on the video card and the power supply, you may need to purchase an adapter to plug power into the video card!

Well in a thread I made thats long buried now, my computer only used about 220 Watts max load from the wall, and a 7900GS uses less power then my x1800. So he should be ok with a 300 Watt PSU, unless its 12v rail is really really low, But if you do have a 300, its recommended you get at least a 450

[gvblake22]

Could you post some of the specifications of the 300W power supply? That is a pretty low wattage unit to be running a higher end video card like the 7900GS. Even though you measured the system power consumption at only 220W, that doesn't mean that the 12v rail of that small wattage PSU isn't being sucked dry and starving your system of 12v power. The majority of power useage in a modern computer is from the 12v rail, so if the 12v rail on any PSU (regardless of the claimed wattage) isn't up to snuff, your system will likely not function correctly (probably in the form of random shutdowns, reboots, and BSOD's). Or worse, the power supply could fail and take down other computer components with it (like motherboard, CPU, video card, etc).

In short, a quality, reliable power supply in a modern computer system running intense applications like 3D games is a must. You don't have to go out and buy some 700W monster power supply for a single 7900GS, but a solid 400 - 500W unit from a reliable manufacturer is the way to go.

[manisare]

Owww man that means i have to spend money on more computer parts.... dangs i kind of promise my parents not to get any parts until later.

[simple_inhibition]

when i was home on leave i picked up THIS powersupply for my dads computer. its a really good psu for the price and should give you enough power for your system without being too expensive.

[manisare]

Not bad, but i think it is an american store right? I live in canada.