How do I tell the wattage on my PSU?

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marckh

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So I was thinking of getting a new GPU, but I don't know if my PSU can deliver the amount of watts the GPU requires. How do I tell how much wattage my PSU has?

Here's a picture of the sticker on my PSU, I have absolutely no idea how I'm supposed to read it, so maybe some of you guys can help me.
http://i.imgur.com/kCI4JQ2.png
 
Solution
nukemaster
Video cards list a recommended wattage. Now your power supply seems to have a label that covers many other units from the same maker. The top of it is covered. I am betting that is the location of its number or a X or other mark to show what it is.

To be honest, it is very old and chances are it is NOT suitable for most modern video cards.

@ Drew010, The 550 watt version of that unit has the same amount of 12 volt current as my 300(22 amps or 264 watts) watt in my media center :) . They still need to look further up on the sticker to see what model it actually is.

Simply put, older power supplies do not dedicate enough power to the 12 volt rail for a modern system. Once you get the sticker top, you will see exactly how many watts it is.
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Video cards list a recommended wattage. Now your power supply seems to have a label that covers many other units from the same maker. The top of it is covered. I am betting that is the location of its number or a X or other mark to show what it is.

To be honest, it is very old and chances are it is NOT suitable for most modern video cards.

@ Drew010, The 550 watt version of that unit has the same amount of 12 volt current as my 300(22 amps or 264 watts) watt in my media center :) . They still need to look further up on the sticker to see what model it actually is.

Simply put, older power supplies do not dedicate enough power to the 12 volt rail for a modern system. Once you get the sticker top, you will see exactly how many watts it is.
 
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Solution
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marckh

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Thanks for the clear answer, but can you maybe explain why, relative to what the sticker says, so it's easier for me to be completely sure what you're saying is correct?

Thanks for your answer, the GPU that I was thinking of getting, is a GeForce GTX 760, do you think I will be fine? And do you think there's another sticker on my PSU?
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Do not get a new gpu until you get the top of the sticker.

If it is the 550 watt model(with only 264 watts on its 12 volt rail because of the older design) I would not go past a gtx 650 ti or AMD 7770 and even that would be pushing it on such an old unit. As power supplies get older, they can loose some capacity since the capacitors age over time and with heat.

This is assuming your system is a light weight with only a 95 watt max cpu 1 or 2 hard drives and NO overclocking.

I had edited my above post, No way to know what model it is without looking at the top part of the sticker. That unit has a sticker that covers many different models.
 
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Drew010

Drew010

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Now that I look at it a bit closer, nukemaster is correct. I had originally thought that the label was showing the different amperage levels at different loads of your PSU, but I don't think that that is correct. I would agree with him by saying that it is just a table with the values for their different models, and the actual model number is probably hidden.
 
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marckh

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is there any way to get to that sticker, without disassembling anything but the psu itself, no wires or anything. I am no professional in building or disassembling computer components. Is it easy to do, even if you're not a professional. Don't worry, I can tell the components apart, I just don't know how easy or difficult it would be, to disassemble something from a computer, and put it back in.

Edit: So I just looked up the specs of my current GPU, and it requires 500W, which is the same as the GPU I'm going to get. With that conclusion, I guess I'm safe to get the GPU.

Current GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6850
GPU I'm getting: Nvidia Geforce GTX 760
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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The power supply only has 4 screws holding it in the case. So with the case on its side, you can remove those screws and slide it down a bit to have a peek.

Here are some power numbers for the 2 cards you are looking at.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6850/26.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_760/25.html

So the 760 uses a bit more power.

I still worry about such an old power supply(while it may run, it may not last very long this way. I would think of the 550 watt as a 300-350 watt power supply in modern terms because its 12 volt rail is quite limited), I would also guess it does not have the 6 pin pci-e connectors.
 
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marckh

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Thanks for the instructions, I only needed a confirmation that it would be safe for a non-professional. But I figured that my current GPU that requires the same wattage, is good enough for me to be sure that my PSU delivers enough wattage.
 
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Drew010

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That would be a very safe assumption to make, however it never hurts to know exactly what you have inside of your case =]
 
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marckh

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Since I'm probably first gonna be getting the GPU in a couple months, I'm probably gonna check at some point in those months.
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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I edited above the new card takes about 36 watts(3 amps) more at full load. If you are near the top load, you may overload the power supply. This can lead to a best case system shut down and a worst case system damage. If you can get a new supply, it may not hurt and may extend the systems overall life.

Again, that should be treated as a 300-350(no joke, my media centers 300 watt power supply has as much 12 volt current as that 550 watt version of that power supply) watt power supply in modern terms because it was built before systems relied so much on the 12 volt rail as they do now.
 
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