Amp not up to recommended. will it bottleneck PC?

riddle_me_this

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Dec 11, 2008
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hi guys.

i've been running a system with a pair of 8800gt 512mb. i just realized the recommended amperage for a single 8800gt is somewhere around 22~26 (what was said in forums). but both of my 12v rails only have 18A on them.

so my question is, is my PSU holding back the performance of my gfx cards? i do OC a bit and plan to go a bit more further. do i need a bigger PSU? (currently 650W)

and from what i read in forums, some ppl say tht the recommended amperage for a gfx card is for the whole system, not just the gfx card. which one is true?

any recommendation is welcomed
 
Hmmm, I can't seem to find the info I need (Watts supplied to the +12v rails) and I can find only one review of the unit which wasn't too promising. You certainly don't need more watts. I dunno, I'd be tempted to buy a better PSU with similar wattage, just stronger +12v rails. I mean, looking at your sig, you have an impressive system. I'm not sure I'd chance it on that PSU. Have you already tried both cards on it?
 

riddle_me_this

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Dec 11, 2008
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well i've had the system with both 8800gt cards since september, OCing both cards and my CPU as well. i've never had any problems, just wanted to know if my card didnt have enough amps would it hold back my system.
what'll happen if the gfx cards doesnt get enough power? will it blow up?
toms hardware says 8800gt in sli will consume around 242watts in full load. if my 12V rails have 18 amps each, summing to 36, multiply by 12V, i'll be getting 432 watts from the rails, right? or does it work in a different way?
 
If the PSU isn't providing enough power, your system just won't turn on. If your cards just aren't getting enough power, they won't run like they are supposed to.

If you stress the PSU past what it can handle there is a potential that the PSU will short and *possibly* take other components with it.

If you have been running the system for a while with no bad signs, you may not need to mess with anything. However, I'm not sure I would do any upgrades to the system without considering a PSU upgrade as well.
 

darkprince360

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Feb 27, 2009
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guys...i have a PSU with 450W...my GPU is an xfx8800gt(670Mhz core). n i hv a pentium processor with 2.66Ghz.

but d performance of my card is useles! :( i mean i get rly low fame rates on games such as Assassins creed, spiderman web of shadows, nfs undercover etc.

n my 3Dmark score is below 5000. i hv connected both d molex adaptors of my card to d PSU 12V rails. i hv no idea of the amperage of the rails though. stil d performence is vry poor. i'm wondering is it my CPU which is droppin my fps or d PSU. i no definitely its NOT my card cuz its a vry gud performer.

a buddy of mine hs an evga 8600gts n it runs d above mentioned games REALY smooth n easy! his PSU is 500W. i'm rly nt gud in this PSU scene.

i went thru sum threads, they say i need an amperage of 24-26. wat does it mean?

d driver for d card ws downloaded from nvidia (182 version). is dat an issue too?? cuz d driver dat came with d card ws a 176 version.


so is it my CPU o my PSU givin me d fps drops???? please help me out. :(