PSU requirements for GTX280

[ridgway90]

Hey guys.
OK, so i bought a pretty cheap GTX280 in the hope i could get a bit of a gaming boost for the time being till i was in the situation to do a major upgrade. Got it home and realized it has not only a 6pin, but an 8pin too. I'm currently running an 8800GT 1GB and Core2Quad 6600 fine on a 400W PSU. Pretty sure I shouldn't keep my current PSU as is, but i also dug out an old 300W and was hoping to use the two somehow till i could afford a decent upgrade. But don't really know how i should go about this any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[arc@css]

I'm not certain about this, but not so long ago I saw on tomshardware, a graph showing a 280 + system load at around 315 watts. You might be running a bit near the knuckle with a 400, but it might be okay for a temporary measure. See what others say first.

 

[ridgway90]

i was thinking of using the 400 for the graphics and maybe a couple of fans and hard drives as that already has a 6pin i believe, and then having the 300 as a system one. If i can actually do this, then its only an extra £2 which im not too bothered about.
And btw i do know about making a PSU 'always on'

 

[walk on]

youll need a 40A 12v and a 550W PSU minimum for a gtx 280

http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/printer/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards

 

[ridgway90]

thats for the entire system though isnt it?

 

[NZB]

I like it, thinking outside the box. As long as both PSU's aren't cheap junk it should be fine as a temp solution. You can but try.

 

[ridgway90]

unfortunately they are cheapo ones :/ what problems would i face with a low ampage?

 

[Tonester0011]

Other than not working fullstop, the biggest problem with cheap junk is the ripple they give. The closer to max load the larger the ripple the higher chance of hardware going bye bye.

 

[ridgway90]

hmmmm, just had a look at my 400W but its been running fine for years