PSU/Video card upgrade!

[TheStallion]

I just bought the Gateway SX2800 and I was considering upgrading a few things for better gaming. Because it is a slimline computer I'm not sure on what to do. I was planning on buying the 9600GT low-profile card, but i was concerned about the power supply. so, i was wondering if i could get any recommendations on what to do for that card and psu. I dont know what amount of wattage i should get or what psu's fit in the slimline models. if anyone has any ideas for me that would be great!

Thanks!

p.s. i believe the current power supply on the pc is 220W

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The 9600GT does not use very much power. I checked a few references. The card uses between 26 and 61 watts. A complete pc system with a 9600GT will draw a combined total between 30 and 85 watts at the electrical wall outlet and between 5.5 and 7.2 amps on the 12 volt rail. The numbers will vary a little bit depending on which version of the card you have.

Is there a label on your psu with the wattage and amperage information?

 

[TheStallion]

This is the model I was going to get: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162016

I don't see anything on the outside, should open my case to look for that information, I researched it and couldnt find anything on amperage.
I know the max wattage is 220

 

[TheStallion]

The 9600GT does not use very much power. I checked a few references. The card uses between 26 and 61 watts. A complete pc system with a 9600GT will draw a combined total between 30 and 85 watts at the electrical wall outlet and between 5.5 and 7.2 amps on the 12 volt rail. The numbers will vary a little bit depending on which version of the card you have.

Is there a label on your psu with the wattage and amperage information?

This is the model I was going to get: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814162016

I don't see anything on the outside, should open my case to look for that information, I researched it and couldnt find anything on amperage.
I know the max wattage is 220

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The card is okay and operates within the ranges in my previous post. It is not power hungry

Turn off the power, remove the side panel of the case, and see if there is any visible label on the psu.

 

[TheStallion]

Yea, there was a label, but im not sure if i got the right numbers. I believe it says the max is 13 or 14A

 

[TheStallion]

also on the side there was a label that reads Rating: 100-127/220-240Vac, 6/3A 60/50hz. not sure if this is significant, im new to working with power supplies. thanks for being patient

 

[TheStallion]

The card is okay and operates within the ranges in my previous post. It is not power hungry

Turn off the power, remove the side panel of the case, and see if there is any visible label on the psu.

Yea, there was a label, but im not sure if i got the right numbers. I believe it says the max is 13 or 14A

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I checked a few 200 watt psu's for Dell, HP, Emachine, and Gateway systems. 13 amps on a 12 volt rail appears to be fairly standard. Your system with a 9600GT would max out at about 7.2 amps on the 12 volt rail. You should be okay.

 

[TheStallion]

Thanks a bunch! I really appreciate it!

 

[Gulli]

It's not a power hungry system, but 7.2 amps on the 12V rail is ridiculous, the TDP of his Q8200 CPU alone is 95W (8 amps), so no, a 220W PSU won't be enough, go for the Coolermaster extreme power 390W instead, they're cheap and will do the job.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

gulli

It is not ridiculous. Total power draw at the wall outlet:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-radeon-power,2122-6.html

http://archive.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=9354

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/system-wattage.html

 

[TheStallion]

haha umm... so i should be okay???

 

[TheStallion]

and if i were to get a power upgrade it would have to fit into my slimline case

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Correct! In all probability you should be looking for a micro-atx power supply which is smaller than a standard atx power supply. If we can get DellUser1 over here he would probably know and could make a recommendation.

 

[Gulli]

gulli

It is not ridiculous. Total power draw at the wall outlet:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-radeon-power,2122-6.html

http://archive.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=9354

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/system-wattage.html

Those links only count the power consumption of the graphics card, to run a PC, your graphics card, cpu, hard drive, fans and DVD drive all need juice from the 12V rail.
So let's go for a worst case scenario: 100% graphics load + 100% cpu load + active hard drive + spinning DVD drive, so for the Gateway system with Q8200 and 9600GT we get:

60W + 95W + 10W + 5W + 15W = 185W, we want to stay under 80% of maximum 12V rail load, so (185W/8)*10 ~ 230W needed on the 12V rail.

In reality, the DVD drive won't be spinning up a lot during load, and when it does it will stay under 100% of maximum 12V rail load, so let's disregard that one: (170W/8)*10 ~ 210W on the 12V rail (the Coolermaster extreme power 390W has 216W on the 12V rail.)

Now, I'm not saying a weaker PSU won't get you on the desktop, but don't be surprised if the PC shuts down during benchmarks or even heavy gaming.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

gulli - From the Tom's hardware article:

"all the test measurement values are taken at the socket"

The OP's said nothing about hardcore gaming or extreme overclocking.

 

[Gulli]

gulli - From the Tom's hardware article:

"all the test measurement values are taken at the socket"

The OP's said nothing about hardcore gaming or extreme overclocking.

Highly unlikely: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-9600-gt,1780-18.html

 

[TheStallion]

okay, so in the case that i would need a psu upgrade, what should i get for my slimline case? Im going to wait until i install the card and see what happens when I am gaming.

 

[Gulli]

Well, anything with 18A or more on the 12V rail would do, so if you can find a slim PSU that fits that requirement you're good to go, I found this one using google: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151070