video cards and power supplies

Iendan · 05-07-2006, 10:50 PM

ive deciding that im going to upgrade my video card, so i went to newegg and started looked for a good relatively cheap video card and i found one that i really liked(radeon x1600 for 130 dollars) but i look at the system reqs and see that it needs 420W power supply and mine is only 300W, so my question is...Would i get a 420W power supply or does the rest of the computer need to be taken into account aswell when choosing how much power to get?

Pirotess · 05-07-2006, 11:27 PM

When they give those ratings they generally make them with some padding so a 420w would be all you need for the card and the PC. That said I'd just go with a 500w so you have some wiggle room. Its not all that much more expensive. Make sure you go with a good brand name too. The cheaper brands tend to not live up to their output claims at room temperature.

Iendan · 05-07-2006, 11:29 PM

do u have a suggestion for a good power supply to get (i have no idea what im doing, i know a good bit about software but hardware is beyond me...dont understand it at all...)a link would be most appreciated

EDIT: i guess what i acctually want to know is what are the good brand names?

Neatton · 05-08-2006, 09:34 AM

Here is what I have in my rig. Its not the most expensive but at the same time I havent had any problems with it and it meets or beats the numbers it advertises.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103932

Iendan · 05-08-2006, 03:36 PM

well, ive been looking around newegg and this one looks pretty good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817101518

btw, are there any compatibility issues when i comes to power supplies?

EDIT: Neatton, that one looks really good, but its costs a bit more than i was hoping to spend

Taronn Anvilmarr · 05-08-2006, 06:37 PM

dont know if this helps but here your go....

I decided i wanted a nvidia 7800 (any card this number)

I found out that it needed a PCI Express slot on my motherboard and that this type of slot was the best type of slot out for distribution to everyone. Apparently it is the next-generation of slots - lol, so that all the new computers will have one of these (u can only hope). lol

So then i found out information about this slot (motherboard, ram, processor, etc....) and i decided to purchase a new computer (no monitor) instead of trying to upgrade parts.

I got one fairly cheap. Might be an idea for you...

Neatton · 05-08-2006, 06:40 PM

unfortunately for power supplies you either put in a few bucks like above or you take your chance with a cheaper one. i have had some good and some bad. As piro said above basically the cheaper ones dont always put out the power they advertise and sometimes it can be as bad as starting fires. I just look at it as i put thousands into my hardware. One little hiccup in the PSU and it could fry it all. Just not worth it in my book. I used to however just get the crappy ones that came built into cases before i knew better though :P As far as compatibility if you have an older mobo make sure the 24 pin main connector can be broken down to 20 pin like in the one I linked. Put out the bucks im tellin ya!! lol

Iendan · 05-08-2006, 10:50 PM

well, you have convinced me Neatton, if i can persuade my parents, which i prolly can considering this is for my birthday, im gonna get the one u linked
Thanks for your help

Pirotess · 05-09-2006, 10:48 AM

You wont be disappointed Iendan. So many problems stem from bad power to the PC.

Neatton · 05-09-2006, 07:38 PM

Yup good choice saving lots of potential headache