power supply

rgray · 01-31-2005, 08:20 AM

is it true you need a 350 watt power supply to use a geforce6600 gt video card. so if you don't have that much you have to replace your power supply also

i'm getting the geforce6600gt video card. now i realize i don't have enough wattage in my power supply. is there much difference in the various power supply units? this is turning into a never ending quest. i started out just getting more ram. also whats the deal about plugging an extra cable into the video card?

**Sarkast** · 01-31-2005, 08:22 AM

Yes it is true - and 350W is the bare minimum (if you have more than one harddrive and any other cards, drives or too many fans even 350W isnt enough). It also means 350W from a brand name PSU - not 350W no name brand. The important thing is the output on the +12V rail. The minimum is 18Amps - better 22-25 or more.
If your PSU doesnt have that you will have instability issues or your PC wont work at all.

alanruncie · 02-02-2005, 08:55 AM

I'd agree with above. Don't just take it for granted that even getting a 450W PSU is enough. The current supplied on the 12V+ rail is crucial. See my other thread at 6600GT...Is my PSU screaming help?.

I've changed my Jeantech 450W PSU which supplied 18amps on the 12V+ to a TAGAN 480W that supplies a whopping 28amps on the 12v as my Jeantech just didnt have enough juice to power my 6600GT AGP. The minute anything graphically intensive was running I either got the BSOD and or the "infinite loop error" aor XP reporting crash caused by a device error.

I was having to unhook my DVD RW so that the PSU didn't cop out.

DOOM III seems to be playing so far without any problems (fingers crossed) with only an occasional lockup although this seemed to happen when I was getting too optimistic and set the game options to (dont be silly you dont have 2 6800GT's in SLI mode)

**MD_Willington** · 02-02-2005, 02:10 PM

Don't go by the wattage rating it's just a marketing ploy..

more power, more power...Tool time mentality.

You want a PSU that has decent AMPERAGE on each critical line.

I descibed this in alanruncie's post he cited.

MD

01-31-2005, 08:20 AM	#1 (permalink)
rgray Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 50 OS: winxp,win98	power supply is it true you need a 350 watt power supply to use a geforce6600 gt video card. so if you don't have that much you have to replace your power supply also i'm getting the geforce6600gt video card. now i realize i don't have enough wattage in my power supply. is there much difference in the various power supply units? this is turning into a never ending quest. i started out just getting more ram. also whats the deal about plugging an extra cable into the video card?

01-31-2005, 08:22 AM	#2 (permalink)
Sarkast TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NY Posts: 2,715 OS: WinXP	Yes it is true - and 350W is the bare minimum (if you have more than one harddrive and any other cards, drives or too many fans even 350W isnt enough). It also means 350W from a brand name PSU - not 350W no name brand. The important thing is the output on the +12V rail. The minimum is 18Amps - better 22-25 or more. If your PSU doesnt have that you will have instability issues or your PC wont work at all. __________________ P4 2.4@2.9 / XP-90 / Albatron PX865PE Pro V2.0 / Kingston Hyper-X 512MB Dual Channel CL2-2-2-5 / Geforce4 MX440x8 64MB / WD80GB 7200RPM 8MB / Thermaltake 420W PSU --> SEE IT ALL GLOW <-- MBM5 - SpeedFan - PSU Calculator - MemTest86 - ThrottleWatch

02-02-2005, 08:55 AM	#3 (permalink)
alanruncie Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 21 OS: XP	Even 450 doesn't always produce enough juice look at the amps . I'd agree with above. Don't just take it for granted that even getting a 450W PSU is enough. The current supplied on the 12V+ rail is crucial. See my other thread at 6600GT...Is my PSU screaming help?. I've changed my Jeantech 450W PSU which supplied 18amps on the 12V+ to a TAGAN 480W that supplies a whopping 28amps on the 12v as my Jeantech just didnt have enough juice to power my 6600GT AGP. The minute anything graphically intensive was running I either got the BSOD and or the "infinite loop error" aor XP reporting crash caused by a device error. I was having to unhook my DVD RW so that the PSU didn't cop out. DOOM III seems to be playing so far without any problems (fingers crossed) with only an occasional lockup although this seemed to happen when I was getting too optimistic and set the game options to (dont be silly you dont have 2 6800GT's in SLI mode) __________________ Asus K8v SE Deluxe, Athlon 64 3400, 1GB Crucial Mem, Sparkle 6600GT AGP, , 1 W-Digital 200GB SATA, 1 DVD ROM, 1 NEC 3500 DVD Writer, 1 Floppy Drive TAGAN 480 Watt PSU

02-02-2005, 02:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
MD_Willington Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: WA State & BC Posts: 587 OS: XP	Don't go by the wattage rating it's just a marketing ploy.. more power, more power...Tool time mentality. You want a PSU that has decent AMPERAGE on each critical line. I descibed this in alanruncie's post he cited. MD __________________ Mainboard: PCC M848ALU / ECS L7S7A2 / ECS 748-A, HDD: Western Digital 40Gb, RAM: 2-256Mb DDR266 by Micron 4x AGP Card: 3DForce4-MX440, CDRW: Liteon 52x32x52, PSU: Antec True430, CPU: XP2200+ (AXDA2200DUV3C) *It's OK to be ignorant; it's not OK to play stupid.* *Never assume you are entitled to an answer. You are not.*