Need Larger Power Supply?

[srichard25]

I have a standard Dell Dimension 8400. It is about 2 years old. I would like to upgrade the video card to an ATI Radeon X1950 PRO. But I keep reading comments about how it requires a lot of power and you need to make sure your power supply can handle it.

I have no idea what size my power supply is, or how much power is currently being used. Is there some way to tell this? Should a 2-year old Dell Dimension 8400 be able to power this card with no problems, or do I need to do detailed research on the subject before I buy this card? I don't want to get stuck with a card that I can't use.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[bc4]

I've never had a dell but you should start by looking at the Power Supply and posting everything on the label ---

 

[trooper1947]

If ya bought it from dell you can goto their site ... put serial number in and they'll tell ya all the components . It's not big enough for now and future video cards though I can almost guarantee that. I'd go minimum 700 watts or larger to be safe in the future. Of course if they keep making them run hotter we're all going to have to hook up a window air conditioner tube to the case ... LOL ---- :lol:

 

[carver_g]

I have a standard Dell Dimension 8400. It is about 2 years old. I would like to upgrade the video card to an ATI Radeon X1950 PRO. But I keep reading comments about how it requires a lot of power and you need to make sure your power supply can handle it.

I have no idea what size my power supply is, or how much power is currently being used. Is there some way to tell this? Should a 2-year old Dell Dimension 8400 be able to power this card with no problems, or do I need to do detailed research on the subject before I buy this card? I don't want to get stuck with a card that I can't use.

Any help would be appreciated.

Your PSU has 28 Amps max on the 12v rails. If that PSU was new, I'd say it was fine for an x1950 Pro but since it's a few years old, you may want to be on the safe side and grab something more powerful, especially since you're using a netburst CPU as well.