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X1800XT Power Needs

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Associate
Joined
13 Mar 2006
Posts
39
Having got some good recommendations for an X1800XT here earlier I've read a bit more and it seems these beasties need a lot of power. Will my current 430W supply be enough? Also does it need a special connector or will it be like my 9800 4pin molex?
Thanks ppl.
 
Well these are power hungry beasts. :D
But at least you get some nice frames out of it.
I have got an Emermax 600W, and i cant see why your 430W PSU wont keep it going. But i admit there not exactly an ideal pair!
Also you haven't posted your Rigs specifications, or your make and model of PSU.
We, cant make good recommendations without this information.
But happy to help.

VIPeR.
 
My 430 antec trupower ran my x1900xtx fine with a 2.7 opteron, 2 hard drives 3 fans and a dvd rom. They take a pci express connector so you'll probably need one of these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Akasa_6to4pinadapter.jpg

Akasa PCI Express 6 Pin to 4 Pin Power cable adaptor for PCI-E Graphics Cards (CB-018-AK)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Other_Cables.html

Though saying that my powercolour x1900 came with one so an x1800xt MAY come with one, i dunno. What make is your psu?
 
What make of PSU do you own? If its a Q-Tec 430W I wouldn't like to try it... But if it was a Seasonic or Enermax it would probably work:)
 
Good point, sorry. Rig is as follows
Mobo: ASRock (939DUAL-SATA2)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700 CPU Skt 939 San Diego
Gfx: Radeon 9800
RAM: 2 * 512MB (Mircon PC3200) in dual channel mode
HD: 160GB IDE Samsung Spinpoint, 45GB IDE backup drive
DVD: 1 DVD writer
now for the power supply: I can't get at it without taking the PC apart as for some reason on this Lian-Li case the top doesn't come off. I got it in my mind that its a 430W PSU but the only receipt I can find is for a Enermax EG365P-VE 350w PSU which I bought in 2001. So I guess I'll need to take the PSU out to find out. Sounds like a job for tomorrow.
 
If it's the 365W you might just struggle, even with an Enermax. 17A (from specs on net) on the +12V rail = 204W. +12V rail has to handle cpu and video card, which would be something like 180-200W combined.

The answer though is to try it and find out. Once it's setup leave 3dmark running in a loop for an hour and see if the PC resets or switches off.
 
Thunder said:
Good point, sorry. Rig is as follows
Mobo: ASRock (939DUAL-SATA2)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700 CPU Skt 939 San Diego
Gfx: Radeon 9800
RAM: 2 * 512MB (Mircon PC3200) in dual channel mode
HD: 160GB IDE Samsung Spinpoint, 45GB IDE backup drive
DVD: 1 DVD writer
now for the power supply: I can't get at it without taking the PC apart as for some reason on this Lian-Li case the top doesn't come off. I got it in my mind that its a 430W PSU but the only receipt I can find is for a Enermax EG365P-VE 350w PSU which I bought in 2001. So I guess I'll need to take the PSU out to find out. Sounds like a job for tomorrow.
Click to expand...

bah, you wont even touch 400 watts at peak even when you plumb in the X1800XT.

mine:

X1800XT 512mb (they all come with a converter to convert an ordinary 4 pin molex to the 6 pin for the graphics card)
opty 146 @ 2.65Ghz
2 X 1gig Corsair XMS @ 2.9V 3500
2 X opticle drives
Water cooling pump
lights
6 usb devices one of which is a hard drive
power supply = Akasa 400 watt
peak draw = 392 watts.
 
when i bought my x1800xt my dad says the electricity bill has doubled used to be bout a hundred now is over 200, i have no ide because i bought a 32 inch hd lcd tv as well tho
 
locutus12 said:
bah, you wont even touch 400 watts at peak even when you plumb in the X1800XT.

mine:

X1800XT 512mb (they all come with a converter to convert an ordinary 4 pin molex to the 6 pin for the graphics card)
Click to expand...

Have you plugged in TWO molex cables into that adapter or does it only require 1?
 
Psycho Sonny said:
when i bought my x1800xt my dad says the electricity bill has doubled used to be bout a hundred now is over 200, i have no ide because i bought a 32 inch hd lcd tv as well tho
Click to expand...

X1800 XT uses 103 W -

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gpu-consumption2006_5.html

Your previous video card used anything from 40 to 80 W depending on the model. So your PC is using 20-60W extra, less than one regular light bulb. That's not going to double your electric bill.

More likely electric prices have gone up (which they have), and you're using the PC a lot more, and using your new LCD TV a lot more than the old one, and other people in the house may be using more power.

If you're worried about electric bills, swap CRTs for LCDs, buy energy saving light bulbs (they use 1/5th the power), turn your PC off when you're not using it, and set the monitor to turn off after 5 minutes of inactivity. Don't leave everything on standby either.

Also the X1800 XT only uses that amount when it's running flat out.
 
I would get a new power supply just to be on the safe side :)

@ Viper, your sig is 5 lines my friend, and the mods will change it, i think it needs to be four :)
 
I would agree with Taken.
Just get a replacement power supply, just to be on the safe side. especially investing £200 on a graphics card!
Again Enermax or Seasonic PSU's are the best. imo.

Cheers Taken, about the sig. Sorted it!.
Regards VIPeR.
 
I ran my X800 Pro with an inadequate PSU for about a week before I found out what the problem was, and it did no damage. The PC would just shut down when running games. Must have done it 40-50 times and it never damaged anything.

The worst that could happen would be a corrupt file on the HDD, something that was in the HDD cache or being written when the PSU got overloaded and cut the power.
 
An underpowered graphics card will run very hot because its trying to draw power when it isnt there, i read about this on the sapphire forums i cant explain it sorry :).

I Myself have a Enermax Liberty 620w PSU and im delighted with it :D


@ Viper, No Problem glad to be of help :)
 
TaKeN said:
An underpowered graphics card will run very hot because its trying to draw power when it isnt there, i read about this on the sapphire forums i cant explain it sorry :).

I Myself have a Enermax Liberty 620w PSU and im delighted with it :D


@ Viper, No Problem glad to be of help :)
Click to expand...

Thats what Im gonna order for my X1900XT, looks nice. I was at first going for the 500w version but thought what the hell, I may as well spend a bit more for the extra power.
 
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