PSU confusion, do I have enough power?

tjl30 · Post by **tjl30** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:13 pm

So a few days ago I bought the following

Case: Antec P180B
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
HD: WD 7200rpm SATA HD
Video Card: e-GeForce 8800GTS 320MB Superclocked
and last but not least the PSU Antec True Power Trio 650 Watt

So the GeForce 8800GTS needs some pretty high amps and I am wondering if the PCI-E cable from my PSU will be enough to properly power it. The manuals I got were about 1 page each, in a thick book with about 20 languages in it. This is my first computer I have ever built, and I choose the TurePower Trio because of its pretty good efficiency, the large fan which I thought would make it more quiet, 650 Watts to boot, as well as SATA power cables so I would not have to buy adapters.

Any help would be appreciated because I am very new to this type of thing.

VanWaGuy · Post by **VanWaGuy** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:34 pm

You might be in the neighborhood of 300 watts worst case while your drives are spinning up, so yes, you have plenty of power supply. If you google a little for 8800 gts power usage, there are sites that show sytems similar to yours using 270-290, and other sites show just the graphics card using between 100-130 under peak 3D load. I would have guessed the rest of your system at under 100 watts.

angelkiller · Post by **angelkiller** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:52 pm

650W is plenty. You will have a lot of headroom there. A Quad-Core 8800GTX SLI system only draws 450W. (Scroll down) You won't even use half of your PSU's capicity.

tjl30 · Post by **tjl30** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:51 pm

My concern was not with wattage but with amperes, I was wondering if the PCI-E connector on my PSU has enough amps for my graphics card.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 3:06 pm

PCI-E bus supplies 75W,8800GTS uses 130W max, 55W needed/12=4.6A, you have 19A on 12V3. 4.6<19.

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 3:25 pm

For a similar price, you could get the Corsair 520HX which is a much better choice and is still way more than you'll need.

Edit: Sorry, I just noticed you already bought it, but 650 watts is overkill. There is more than enough current in that PSU for your system.

jonmcc33 · Post by **jonmcc33** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:43 pm

ck8-04 wrote:For a similar price, you could get the Corsair 520HX which is a much better choice and is still way more than you'll need.

Edit: Sorry, I just noticed you already bought it, but 650 watts is overkill. There is more than enough current in that PSU for your system.

I agree on that. Unfortunately with video card manufacturers shoving out false PSU requirements and the general lack of understanding of a PSU that's what you get. Then there's the crazy 1kW PSUs out there. I have no idea why they even exist right now.

Heck, I know people that think that once you turn a PC on it's using max power all of the time even if it's idle.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 5:27 am

ATTN: PLEASE keep this thread on topic. All the "tire mounting" posts have been moved to the Off Topic Forum.

Thanks!

tjl30 · Post by **tjl30** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:27 am

jaganath wrote:PCI-E bus supplies 75W,8800GTS uses 130W max, 55W needed/12=4.6A, you have 19A on 12V3. 4.6<19.

So I have bought my computer and I am using the PCI-E plug and I played a few games to see if it would work. The graphics card seems to be working fine.

If the PCI-E only gives the video card 75W then will that reduce the performance of the GPU? Also are you saying that I have enough Amperes with the PCI-E connector or are you saying I would have 4.6 and I need 19?

I apologize this this questions seem a little dumb but this is my first computer and I am still learning.

peteamer · Post by **peteamer** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 9:28 am

4.6<19 means 4.9 is less than 19.

You need an additional 4.9 and your supply is capable of 19.

tjl30 wrote:I apologize this this questions seem a little dumb but this is my first computer and I am still learning.

Questions aren't dumb, answers can be. (I'm not refering to any in this thread!)

Ask away.

Pete

VanWaGuy · Post by **VanWaGuy** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:15 pm

Anyone who thinks there is no such think as a stupid question has not met me!