Can I power a sapphire hd 4650

[nick155]

I just finished building my second computer a couple hours ago and I am debating installing my new sapphire hd 4650 1gb ddr2 pci-e. I just noticed the powersupply I had laying around that I used for the build is a 300 watt. I just punched my system specs into the newegg power supply calculator and it said recommended is 284 watts? so am I in the clear?

heres my power consuming components :
pentium e5700 @ 3.00ghz
standard lowend dell mobo
4x 1gb ddr3
320gb 7200rpm SATA harddrive
DVD/RW drive
1x exhaust fan

I understand I should go with what the manufacture recomends but my budgets basically gone and I dont want to have to wait around to buy another psu right now, So can I run this card under low loads maybe light older games or general computing without much risk of damage?

any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[purple stain]

Newegg's PSU calculator isn't percise,it's mainly just a, make sure your in the right area tool.

Usually a 300 watt PSU is good enough to run a 5670 but it has to be a good brand.What is the make/model of your PSU? 12/v rail amps?

Even if it's to much wattage the card "should" downclock to not use as much power to save itself from shorting out.

 

[king smp]

the OP said it is a Dell mobo so if it is a Dell 300w the OP is fine
I used a HD 4650 1g DDR2 and also have a HD 5670 on a Dell 280w PSU

 

[nick155]

well im not exactly great with powersupplys but after a quick shutdown I managed to scrape of this info...
I definetly know HIPRO isnt a great name but it looks like a sturdy powersupply good construction at least.
Heres the exact powersupply im talking about: PSU

 

[nick155]

the OP said it is a Dell mobo so if it is a Dell 300w the OP is fine
I used a HD 4650 1g DDR2 and also have a HD 5670 on a Dell 280w PSU

So your telling me I should be fine and dandy with a 300 watt paired with the 4650 1gbddr2?

 

[king smp]

as long as it is a dell psu and reasonably healtrhy you should be fine
dell rates their PSUs at continous Max wattage
so it can run continously at that rating
its Peak Max wattage is higher
HD 4650 is a low powered card
draws about 60w at max (remember that a PCIE slot by itself can only supply 75watts)
it idles around 20 watts
as long as you dont run multiple hard drives,optical drives and pci cards at one time you will be fine as long as the PSU is healthy

 

[nick155]

as long as it is a dell psu and reasonably healtrhy you should be fine
dell rates their PSUs at continous Max wattage
so it can run continously at that rating
its Peak Max wattage is higher
HD 4650 is a low powered card
draws about 60w at max (remember that a PCIE slot by itself can only supply 75watts)
it idles around 20 watts
as long as you dont run multiple hard drives,optical drives and pci cards at one time you will be fine as long as the PSU is healthy

Hey, If you dont mind can you look at this powersupply I posted above just to double check for me its a adequate power supply, it is in good condition only thing is it says something cant exceed 160 watts but maximum is 300 watts. Its relatively new but I cant remember if its from a dell computer.
thanks for your patience and help

 

[king smp]

Hipro is a decent name
one of their supplies got a decent review in Johnnyguru
can you write down the exact specs that are on it
especially 12v amperage and wattage

 

[nick155]

Hipro is a decent name
one of their supplies got a decent review in Johnnyguru
can you write down the exact specs that are on it
especially 12v amperage and wattage

Like i was saying man everything is on this links sorry if you didnt see it earlier, but here it is again Hipro Psu

 

[purple stain]

It isn't actually a Dell PSU.Where it says it can't exceed 160 watts is actually for the +5 rail and the +3.3 rail which is the motherboard.The rail that you should be worried about is the +12v rail.That rail powers the CPU and GPU as well as the case fans,CD Drives and the HDD's.

That PSU has 18amps on the 12/v rail which is about 230watts..Luckily since your running a Dual Core it doesn't use as much power so I'd say it would be safe to run it but I suggest saving up to buy a new PSU as soon as you can.Since it's not a actual Dell PSU it doesn't have that quality name so I would run this PSU as a "band-aid" until you have the money to buy a new one.It will run but it's not good to run a PSU at it's maximum rated wattage for a long period of time.

 

[king smp]

^+1 purple stank
I agree
good for now but should upgrade

 

[nick155]

Ok, thanks for the info, do you guys think I should underclock the gpu a little just to be better safe than sorry? eventually im going to pick up around a 500 watt but im not going to have the dow to order it for about another week or two.

 

[king smp]

i wouldnt worry about underclocking
i run my hd 5670 (hd 6670 is @ same wattage)
on a dell 280w no problems
i just have to be careful that i dont run multiple hd and optical drives
but right now i have a dvdrw,velociraptor 10k HD,asus soundcard,ati theater pro tv tuner pci and an external usb powered hd
plus I oc my cpu and gpu

hipro is a respectable name
take a look at this review of a hipro 550w
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=148

johnnyguru gave it a reasonably good review
remember that johnnyguru is tough on PSUs

 

[purple stain]

I meant more than a couple months.You'll be fine with it if your only using it for a couple weeks.Also the graphis card should auto downclock itself if it's not getting enough power.

I would suggest this type of PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

 

[nick155]

I was aiming for something a little cheaper maybe over $25, but I like the Earthwatts psu and I guess johnyguru is pretty tough on power supplys, thanks for the help again guys. Later today when I get some time im going to try and install this sapphire, My FPS in world in conflict was about 10fps with integrated gpu, lets see if this radeon can push high detail. But thanks again I love this site.

 

[king smp]

post back and let us know how the fps is with new card
also I have a sapphire 1gb ddr2 hd 4650
i had it before my hd 5670
good card for the money
it can OC with amd overdrive to the max
also could run nice details at 1280x1024 and at 1680x1050 would do decent

 

[purple stain]

Save up your money for the PSU.The PSU is the most critical unit in a PC so don't cheap out on it.

 

[king smp]

^+10 I 100 percent agree with purple stank

a bad psu can ruin the rest of the system

the seasonic 430w and the antec 380w are both good cheap psus on the lower powered side
plust antec and xfx make some nice psus that are only about 30-40 after rebates

 

[purple stain]

I think I saw an Antec and a Corsair 500 watt PSU for $40 after rebates.

 

[nick155]

Well after running some benchmarks in "world in conflict", heres the numbers
at Very High detail with 1440x900 I got a avg 15fps, 1280x800 at high detail avg.21 fps. lastly I set up a custom setting mostly everything high, but I downgraded water physics and track length, I ended up getting 23fps on average but alot of nice 30fps spots and even a couple 50fps but never dipping below 14fps during explosions. Now everything is stock besides for the gpu which overdrive auto overclocked at 640mhz but left the ram still at 400mhz and im running idle at 60c with 50% fan speed.

one question though what do I have to do to get hdmi to send to my tv at a nice hd resolution like 1080p?

 

[king smp]

you can still tweak more OC out of the card I bet
usually the max on Overdrive is safe to set the card at

just connect the HDMI to television and the CCC will auto detect it
I usually use windows screen resolution menu on right click desktop
to use two displays
just highlight the picture of the tv and set the res accordingly

 

[purple stain]

I would not reccomend O.C.ing at all with that PSU.Your already close to the maximum rated wattage.

 

[king smp]

take a look at this
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4650_OC/24.html
the hd 4650 in a similar system only drew 184w at max load

 

[purple stain]

Yah but the PSU he has isn't a Dell PSU.When I said 18amps on the 12/v rail is equal to 230watts the 230 watts is an estimate.And since it's not a Dell PSU I can't really think of it as a very reliable PSU.For all we know the actual rated wattage could be much lower than 230watts.I'm just saying that the OP stays away from O.C.ing until he gets a new PSU.

Remember that this PSU is rated for 300watts but can only deliever around 230watts. That hardly sounds like something Dell would make.The PSU is already being stretched to it's limits,no need putting more power on it.Power Supplys aren't meant to run at the full rated wattage at all.

 

[nick155]

wow, damn only 184 at peak. Seems like I was worrying a little too much about the psu, I read reviews on amazon before buying this card that people were running dells with 280 watts and 300s fine but I was doubting them.

also I just started getting probs with my plasma tv, I dont know if its the connection or the card, I was testing, switching between dual monitors and singles then I would get off and on picture to the tv. Im going to try a reboot see if that helps. I really wanna watch battle los angeles on the big screen. also @ king, quick question how would i switch my audio to hdmi I heard of windows 7 having glitches with that.