Help needed

[leapinglava]

I have a dell xps gen 5 computer with a 460 watt power supply.i just purchased the ati hd 4870 video card that states it requires 500 watts min.An amd rep told me that my power supply should be good enough.If i try, it can it fry my computer? Thanks for input in advance.

 

[cmichael138]

Possibly. What brand id the PSU?

 

[leapinglava]

It's dell own psu.

 

[ravenware]

I doubt anything would fry unless the PSU was defective.

The most it would do is make the system unstable and crash.

Remove the service panel on your case and locate your psu, there should be a table chart of the psu's rated amperage per each voltage rail.

Check the sample below, more specifically we need to know how many amps are on the +12v rail or rails.

Make sure you have either 2x pcie-6pin cables on your psu or have 1x pcie and 1x molex conector (4-pin).

Sample:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=17-139-004-24.jpg&Image=17-139-004-19.jpg%2c17-139-004-18.jpg%2c17-139-004-13.jpg%2c17-139-004-14.jpg%2c17-139-004-15.jpg%2c17-139-004-16.jpg%2c17-139-004-20.jpg%2c17-139-004-21.jpg%2c17-139-004-22.jpg%2c17-139-004-23.jpg%2c17-139-004-24.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&WaterMark=1&Item=N82E16817139004&Depa=1&Description=CORSAIR%20CMPSU-550VX%20550W%20Compatible%20with%20Core%20i7%20Power%20Supply

 

[leapinglava]

Thanks for your assistance.
My psu label reads:

Model # nps-460bb e
Input 100-120v~8.0a 200-240v
50-60hz autorange
output: +5v -----------/35.0a+12v_b-------------/17.0a
- - - - - - -- --- -

460 w max +12v_a ------------ 17.0a-12v------------0.8a
-- --- --- - -- -- -- --

+5vfp -------------/2.0a+3.3v --------------40.0a
-- --- --- -- -- -- -- --

combined +5v&3.3 v output power shall not exceed 240w
max combined output current on +12v _a & +12v_b
output is 32a
-5v & +3.3v 240w +12v_a & +12v_b
32a

as for your question on how many pins:i'm currently runing a radeon x850xt platinum edition conected to what seems to be a 6 pin connector.Not sure how many watts though. thanks again for your help in this matter.

 

[delluser1]

Your psu should be ok for the 4870.

 

[leapinglava]

Thanks,but just out of couriousity if ever the power supply were not to be sufficient,if i understood correctly ,the computer would not be able to boot up and would not damage the pc right?

 

[leapinglava]

Thanks,but just out of curiousity if ever the power supply were not to be sufficient,if i understood correctly ,the computer would not be able to boot up and would not damage the pc right?