Will i need a bigger power supply?

GtScotty · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:04

i am thinking of purchasing a powercolour hd 4850,
i only have a 370W power supply but it does have a 6 pin pci-e adapter,

looking at this graph i think it may just be alright. any 1 else have any thoughts.. (p.s this is a PEAK power graph, avg. power consumption is 192W.

this is taken from techpowerup.

james.miller · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:06

it depends on what power supply it is. most of the systems load will be on the 12v rail so the psu need sto have a strong 12v rail. what psu is it?

GtScotty · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:09

its a trust psu, it has a 15amp 12v rail guidelines suggest 180W max load off the rail would 20W over be bad news?

Garyj881 · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:20

Better safe than sorry.

I bet that 15amp on the 12v rail is peak out put, also that psu will be under full load all the time.

Don't be tight, i would upgrade to a decent psu before buying a new gfx card.

semi-pro waster · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:22

15A is pretty low for a 12v rail nowadays, I think an upgrade is definitely in order. It might be alright but Trust isn't exactly known for its PSUs.

james.miller · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:22

GtScotty said:
its a trust psu, it has a 15amp 12v rail guidelines suggest 180W max load off the rail would 20W over be bad news?

nowhere near enough. you need that 12v line to power the psu, hard drives and optical drives as well. it would barely power the card alone. you are going to need a new psu whatever card you get.

GtScotty · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:33

more money then, ah well thanks for your advice guys

Bonjour · 21 Jun 2008 at 12:10

GtScotty said:
its a trust psu, it has a 15amp 12v rail guidelines suggest 180W max load off the rail would 20W over be bad news?

Not at all worth the risk.

Get a PSU from a dependable source, such as Seasonic, PCP&C or Corsair.

neon.uk · 21 Jun 2008 at 13:06

Yeah, i have an Antec Earthwatts 380W which has 34A on the 12V rail

IAmATeaf · 21 Jun 2008 at 19:15

neon.uk said:
Yeah, i have an Antec Earthwatts 380W which has 34A on the 12V rail

That's bloody impressive, my HX520 only has 40a max.

PhillyDee · 22 Jun 2008 at 08:00

Those Earthwatts are bloody good little PSU's. Ive used 3. One is powering my server, the other 2 I built into 2 overclocked systems before christmas.

hp7909 · 22 Jun 2008 at 08:12

Corsair VX 450W is a nice upgrade choice, i.e. fairly inexpensive & more than capable. Or squeeze & get the TX 650W & not have to worry about upgrading again