EVGA 8800gtx Power Question

[ravenrez]

Hey guys, I just got a 8800gtx and whenever I'm playing CoD2 or Oblivion and it gets really intense (fighting 10 guards simultaneously) my pc shuts off, and I have to turn it back on again. I'm pretty sure this is a PSU issue, as my PSU is only 500watts.. But; the recommended wattage for the video card is 450, so what gives?

I'm thinking about getting the 5.25" thermaltake 250w psu just for my card, and I was wondering if it would power my card with no problems. Here's a link to the said PSU. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153037

Here are my other specs:

x6800 core 2 duo cpu
2gbs of XMS2 DDR2 800 ram
2x 250gb sata-II hdd's
evga 680 sli board

 

[IcY18]

What brand is your psu? if it is not a quality psu that could very well be the problem. you have to make sure that both of your 12V(they do not add up to a total) rails can deliver a combined 30A total , wattage is not the sole factor

List your psu and its specs and it will determine whether it can power your system

 

[R0B0T]

Hey guys, I just got a 8800gtx and whenever I'm playing CoD2 or Oblivion and it gets really intense (fighting 10 guards simultaneously) my pc shuts off, and I have to turn it back on again. I'm pretty sure this is a PSU issue, as my PSU is only 500watts.. But; the recommended wattage for the video card is 450, so what gives?

I'm thinking about getting the 5.25" thermaltake 250w psu just for my card, and I was wondering if it would power my card with no problems. Here's a link to the said PSU. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153037

Here are my other specs:

x6800 core 2 duo cpu
2gbs of XMS2 DDR2 800 ram
2x 250gb sata-II hdd's
evga 680 sli board

i belive in the 8800 review on toms hardware they were talking about the card spikeing to 230W full load, so imagine that your proc 130W HDDs plus the 680i isnt excatly easy on the power, i said your spiking past 500, lets say for a second your barely running where you need to be, well this could potentially hurt your electronic devices. so i would either upgrade the PSU or find a way to power it externally of another PSU however make sure its pushing enough amperage to the 6 pin connectors. for the video card. its only rated at 250 watt and the Amperage is divided into certain rails. this is not an expert opinion but i would look into these factors atleast

 

[ravenrez]

Here's my current PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182044

Thanks for the help btw, guys.

 

[melarcky]

I wouldn't get the extra case. Instead just get a nice name brand PSU something between 600W-800W so you are safe for future upgrades .

 

[ravenrez]

I'm thinking either this one Thermaltake 750w.

Or this one Thermaltake 700w.

Any suggestions about these?

 

[danny9894]

Consider an OCZ PSU, I thinking about getting one

 

[IcY18]

either of the two you listed will be fine, actually any OCZ or Thermaltake PSU at about 550W will be fine,

unfortunately the psu you currently have is rated at 500W but that doesn't tell the whole story, the amps on your 12V rails is 15A and 16A, but you can't simply add this two figures together to get 31A, its more like 28A or so. so unfortunately you psu is not able to provide enough amperage over the 12V rails.

 

[ravenrez]

I went ahead and got the Thermaltake 750w PSU, which was $200 with tax . Oh well, my 10306 3dmark06 score makes me happy!

 

[AKJ]

Why didnt nVidia come out with this option:

Use a wall plug to provide power to the card. This will relieve the PSU as well as saving the consumer the cash of having to buy a better PSU.

Or am i talking crap?

 

[danny9894]

Would be kind of weird but I think it would be a good idea for these newer cards

 

[IcY18]

You have to have a psu in the first place...why do you think we have them now?

 

[danny9894]

Wait forgot that wall = AC power and hardware = DC Power so yea you would need a PSU anyways haha

 

[R0B0T]

well all it would need is a transformer on it providing DC Voltage, at whatever voltage the card needed. it would look like an xbox or laptop cable and there could be alittle power hole in the back of the card, like next to your TV out or something.

 

[dean7]

Wait forgot that wall = AC power and hardware = DC Power so yea you would need a PSU anyways haha

Yeah, but they could make it an external AC adapter (e.g. xbox 360), and that WOULD be cool (because it would take the heat of that PSU and put it outside your case).

 

[dean7]

Damn... beat me to it .

 

[techgeek]

The external power brick for graphics cards has been done. I believe Asus had and possibly Gigabyte (if memory serves me) had a video card (one of the first dual GPU cards) which had an external power brick.

 

[R0B0T]

The external power brick for graphics cards has been done. I believe Asus had and possibly Gigabyte (if memory serves me) had a video card (one of the first dual GPU cards) which had an external power brick.

Yea thats nice but it didnt take oviously, i mean it wouldnt have to be mandatory, but it would be nice if it was an option, like in the box it came with a power adaptor or something, and already had the interface for it. i mean what kind of psu do you need for two 8800 GTXs'? plus i dont have 4 6 pin rails only two, so then i have to adapt molex to 6 pin which i dont want to do but i have no problem with as i have a extra molex rail not being used.

edit: for those who might not know, the 8800 has ports for two 6pin connectors.

 

[IcY18]

Any psu with 4 12V rails will or high rated psu will have enough pci-e connectors for a video card, its not like it wasn't available when nvidia launched the 8800s, psu's have had them for awhile

 

[AKJ]

This has been done already (7950 GX2). Therefore, I think it should be re-introduced.
This will save the consumer lots of money. Additionally, one wouldnt have to worry about having any power problems.

Although, what would happen if, for example, you accidently disconnect the power adapter from the card while your pc is still running??