Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > Power Supplies, PC Cases & Case Mods > How much wattage do i need?
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Eduren   06-28-2009 at 09:51:32 AM

I am trying to upgrade a dell system with a new videocard, extra hard drive, and more memory.

The current power supply is only 305W and i was worried a larger video card (plus the other things) would require a larger PSU. I tried finding the specifications for my current PSU so that i could replace it however the online manuals weren't helpful. I tried to contact dell and through a live chat i was told that my current PSU would be sufficient.

I dont exactly trust a dell representative (call it instinct) so i wanted to know if you guys thought differently.

I will end up with
2 or 4g of ram,
two hard drives,
2 optical drives,
a Pentium D processor that my computer claims is 3.0Ghz,
and a videocard similar to this

Is 305 enough?

Extra info: Dimension E510

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principe   06-28-2009 at 11:16:06 AM
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you watch this link -> http://www.extreme.outervision.com [...] orlite.jsp

for this band, 512mb are sufficient

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d0w0rk24   06-28-2009 at 12:02:42 PM
- 0 +

there are tons of decent 50$ 550W power supplies that should be adequate for any single gpu setup

This is a good modular ocz psu

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341022

tons of other are there too so take a looky poo at the 'egg


Message edited by d0w0rk24 on 06-28-2009 at 12:06:29 PM
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Bronze CPUs badge Delluser1   06-28-2009 at 12:49:14 PM
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The 305w is plenty for your system.

By the way, I'm not a Dell representative and you have good instincts.

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Bronze CPUs badge jsc   06-28-2009 at 02:29:02 PM
- 0 +

Agree. Figure about 100 watts for CPU. 4 GB RAM - no more than 20 watts @ 3.3 volts. Video card, 60 watts, two hard drives - 30 watts, two optical drives - 50 watts, motherboard - no more than 30 watts.

Why two optical drives?

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theAnimal   06-28-2009 at 03:50:31 PM
- 0 +

For that price you should get an HD4650/4670 instead. About the same power usage but more powerful cards.

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