Power Supply and it Relationship With Other Peripherals

[BSOD1]

Thats one thing(amoung other noobish things) i have never got. What is the relationship with these things besides the obvious(supplying power, i'm not that stupid). I figure the MoBo acts as a relay for power but what happens with graphics cards and such, is there power requirements and ways to screw your stuff up? Thanks

 

[skunx7101]

There are power requirements for specific components, however if you stick with a good PSU you should have no problems. And the only problem you should run into is a lack of power, which typically will not cause permanent damage, it will just fail to work properly. Some high end gaming cards will actually underclock the GPU to keep from causing damage should you install a insufficient PSU.

 

[BSOD1]

There are power requirements for specific components, however if you stick with a good PSU you should have no problems. And the only problem you should run into is a lack of power, which typically will not cause permanent damage, it will just fail to work properly. Some high end gaming cards will actually underclock the GPU to keep from causing damage should you install a insufficient PSU.

i have a 350W power supply, that should be enough, right?

 

[quartz01]

i have a 350W power supply, that should be enough, right?

depends on what your specs are?? unless you have a super-duper gaming computer, usually that is enough

 

[skunx7101]

Another thing to keep in mind. How good is your PSU? Does it out weigh a beer can? These new cheaper PSU's that claim to be 350's sometimes lack in performance once the PSU is heated up.

 

[BSOD1]

Another thing to keep in mind. How good is your PSU? Does it out weigh a beer can? These new cheaper PSU's that claim to be 350's sometimes lack in performance once the PSU is heated up.

trust me, it outweighs a beer can, it is made by enermax(not spelled right), but i haven't had problems with it, it proforms good and i got no qualms with it

 

[skunx7101]

They make an excellent psu. I'd say your set unless you start running high end video cards and multiple optical drives.

 

[BSOD1]

They make an excellent psu. I'd say your set unless you start running high end video cards and multiple optical drives.

Thats what i was worrying about, graphics cards, though i heard that one of the new ones nVidia put out doesn't zap much power. Which one is that. Though i don't plan on upgrading now. I upgrade by the maxum "Upgrade when you need it, not when you want it". Doesn't make sense to go out and buy a 600 dollar graphics card when in a year it is in the bargain bin

 

[skunx7101]

i run a fx5900 ultra that i flashed the bios on the card to a 5950 ultra bios. I was running a decent 350 watt psu at the time with a few optical drives and the card was underclocking to keep from damaging it. I removed the optical drives, and went to just one. It worked for a while, then I upgraded to a amd 64 2800+ and a new k8v-x asus board and started getting the same problem. So I upgraded to a thermaltake 480W butterfly psu, and have been very happy. My advice if its not broke, don't fix it as they say, if your in the process of upgrading its a good idea to keep a little extra cash around for the things you don't plan on needing. They always seem to come up. The Enermax psu is excellent. I am not sure of the graphics card you are talking about taking less power, the new 6800's take two molex connectors just themselves.