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0sprey

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Aug 27, 2013
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10,510
I want to upgrade my now 2 year old ATI Radeon HD 5770, the card that I am looking at is a Radeon HD 6970. The question that I have is that my old card has under a 460 W draw, which is the PSU my computer has on board.
When I asked Dell customer service if upgrading my PSU would have any harmful effects to my computer they said yes it would. As I have never heard of a higher watt PSU harming a computer before I wanted to know if upgrading my PSU to a <560 W would harm my computer.
 
Solution
Ironsounds
Hello... the number of Watts I listed are the MAX numbers reported, for those Video cards... you stated earlier you have a 460 Watt Power Supply???... I do not understand the math you are using in your above statement.

If you keep a cool case/power supply, and not running alot of hardrives or other high current devices, not Overclocking... you will be on the edge, but OK... IF you have a 460 watt DELL power Supply!!!... what model of DELL do you have???... Please help us help you!!!

There will be a LABEL on your PowerSupply stating size, current draw at stated voltages, etc... Please look and tell us, to be sure before making any future commitments.
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kennai

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Sep 11, 2012
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1: Go with the Radeon HD 7870, it'll give you more performance than the 6970.
2: Going with higher wattage will not harm your computer, but you need to make sure it's compatible with your rig. Which it usually is, but I've had a friend whose motherboard had only like a 20 pin connector instead of the standard 24 nowadays.
 
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Ironsounds

Ironsounds

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Jul 31, 2011
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Hello... Some Dell PowerSupplys/motherboards are known for having some of their Wires switched around... and plugging a new Standard Type in, will blow the motherboard, or will not fit in the case... 'good Ol Dell '... there are Web pages discussing this, and they know of which models... it is easy to switch wires in a Power Supply connector... Do a search to see if your model is affected... the easiest way is to DIY, look at the colors of the wires... Wiki Power Supply types and the common color codes of the wire is shown and the voltage on them... compare yours with the ATX Standard.

another option is to buy a motherboard/case/powersupply

I feel you will be OK with your present 460 watt settup... keep your PowerSupply/CASE COOL... Do you overclock CPU and VIDEO? Then you could have problems...
Radeon HD 5770 108 watts
HD 6970 250 watts
HD 7870 175 watts
HD 7850 130 watts
HD 7950 200 watts
 
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0sprey

Honorable
Aug 27, 2013
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I do not currently overclock, I don't plan on doing so either. The 7950s minimum draw is only 50W higher than the on board PSU, would that end up being too much even if it isn't overclocked?
 
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Ironsounds

Ironsounds

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Jul 31, 2011
10,403
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56,960
Hello... the number of Watts I listed are the MAX numbers reported, for those Video cards... you stated earlier you have a 460 Watt Power Supply???... I do not understand the math you are using in your above statement.

If you keep a cool case/power supply, and not running alot of hardrives or other high current devices, not Overclocking... you will be on the edge, but OK... IF you have a 460 watt DELL power Supply!!!... what model of DELL do you have???... Please help us help you!!!

There will be a LABEL on your PowerSupply stating size, current draw at stated voltages, etc... Please look and tell us, to be sure before making any future commitments.
 
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