ATI 4850 and Dell Computer

[UTNemesis]

Hello everyone. Right now, I have an ATI HD 2600XT in my Dell XPS 410 desktop, and I need to get rid of it. The other day, I checked its temps, and the card was up to 97C according to CCC. I've been looking for a reason to finally upgrade, and I think I found it.

But back to my main question, do you think a 4850 will run fine on the 375 watt power supply that came with my Dell? I've heard that they are actually quite good power supply units, though I don't remember the exact specifications for them (like the amps on the 12v rails).

I've been looking into this myself, and this is what I have so far:

In the Techpowerup review of the 4850, their system consumed 128 watts at idle, and 208 watts peak. Granted, we don't have the same systems. They had an overclocked E8400, 2 gigs of RAM, and a WD Raptor hard drive. I've got a stock Q6600, 2 gigs of RAM, a 250 gig 7200 RPM hard drive, and 2 optical drives.

The 4850 seems to consume less power than the 8800GTX that Dell used to sell as an upgrade (at a crazy premium as you might imagine), so I hope that I'm ok. But, I'm looking to get opinions from others on this, so please let me know what you think.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. I also wanted to know if people felt heat/airflow would be an issue in the Dell case. It's got 2 fans in the front, one for the CPU heatsink, and one for the hard drive cages.

 

[Proximon]

Well, no one would sell a machine with that PSU and GPU combined. Power supplies can cause all kinds of problems if they aren't adequate.

You will need to actually look at the label on your PSU, but I'm thinking no.

Also, have you cleaned out your computer lately? Sounds like it's full of dust.

 

[aevm]

The Visiontek HD 4850 says it wants a PSU with at least 450W. Even that is a bit small IMO because it would mean the PSU running close to max, where efficiency is lowest, and you'd have a heat problem when all the wasted electricity turns to heat inside the case.

The HD 4850 has a single-slot cooler that leaves the heat inside the case too, so yes, expect some issues there. It may be OK. Monitor the temps and if they are too high buy a new case. Say, RC-690 or NZXT Tempest or Antec 900.

We've had threads like this before. Search for them if you want. Anyway, the usual conclusion is to buy a new PSU, making sure it's physically small enough to fit in the case. (Earthwatts 500W, Corsair 650TX, OCZ StealthXStream 600W, etc.).

 

[orangegator]

According to the extreme PSU Calculator, at stock settings your system would need at peak load 360W. Yes, I've heard oem psu's are usually decent quality. However, I wouldn't trust your system with it. And with 20%, capacitor aging, your system will need a 430W psu. If I were you, I get at least a 500W quality brand psu (Corsair, Antec, etc).
Also, I would add an exhaust fan to the case to remove the additional hot air.

 

[UTNemesis]

Here's a quick update on the specs of the PSU I have:

12vA: 18 amps max
12vB: 18 amps max

Combined 12vA and 12vB not to exceed 360 watts
Max continuous output not to exceed 375 watts

Also, the 2 fans up front are both 120mm, and there is 1 80mm fan on the PSU.

I measured the PSU in my case and compared it to the Antec Earthwats PSU, and I believe they are identical. So, worst comes to worst, I get a new PSU. I guess it's not the end of the world.

 

[aevm]

"not to exceed 360 watts" means 30A combined on the 12V rails. The ATI recommendation is 32A, apparently (I haven't double-checked). It might work anyway, since you have a single disk and not too many fans or other cards, etc. It's just uncomfortably close.

Read this:
http://futuremark.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85782

 

[UTNemesis]

Thanks for the link aevm. I'll probably hold off on throwing in a 4850 until I know that I can get a better PSU. Or, I might go for an HD 3870 if they consume enough less to be comfortable with my current PSU. Heck, even an HD 3850 would be a big step up for me, surely it would work fine with what I have. (fingers crossed)

 

[dirtmountain]

I agree with aevm, your 375 aged PSU would be pushing it.
Might try a more budget graphic card, it would still be a good step up.
9600GT $95 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261002
HD3870 $100 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125086
add a decent power supply and stay in the same neighborhood as just the HD4850 GPU.

 

[astrotrain1000]

When upgrading on the dell site, sometimes that crazy premium for an upgrade can come from having to upgrade other things that they don't tell you about. In this case upgrading to an 8800gtx would have called for a bigger power supply, so more cost.

 

[derek2006]

Your 2600XT takes less power and is at 97C, what do you think the higher powered card is going to be at?????? It's not gonna be lower that's for sure.

 

[cjl]

It'll run fine. The Dell XPS 410 has an underrated power supply. I've run a 3870 in one for over 9 months now, and it runs great. You could actually buy it stock with an 8800GTX, but that was close to the limit.