PSU Requirements

[dna5122]

I'm trying to figure out what the true power requirements are for video cards (no card in particular). I only see on retailers like Newegg that a card requires 300W or 450W power supply, or like 24A or 40A. I know that the amp rating is more important, but how many amps do the cards really use? And many cards only list watts required and nothing about Amps.

I've used eXtreme Power Supply Calculator before, but where do they get their information? If the manufacturers don't provide this info, how do they know what kind of PSU your system needs?

 

[gkay09]

The TDP of the card would give you a rough value for the power consumption of the card...
And the Amps that they say is required is not for the card alone but for the entire system along with the card...

 

[JohnnyLucky]

For any specific graphics card use specific search phrases like: XFX HD 4770 power consumption.

For a series of cards use search phrases like: HD 4770 power consumption

That should bring up search engine results for technical reviews. Pay particular attention to how power consumption is calculated. The reviews usually list system components, overclocking, and whether total system power draw at the wall outlet was measured or just power for the video card was measured.

I recommend using a search engine because the reference charts I have bookmarked are not up to date. They do not list the newer graphics cards.