Is my PSU enough?

[volco902]

hi, im looking to upgrade my video card and was wondering if my current psu would suffice. im on a budget of about 250$ right now. heres my current pc specs...

-AMD Phenom x4 955 3.2ghz
-GSkill Ripjaw 2gb x 2 1333
-Seagate 300gb hdd 7200rpm
-CD/DVD drive, dont know anything about it.
-ATI Sapphire 5770


heres my current psu my uncle gave me, its about 4 years old, if that helps...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103940

and heres the video card i've been thinking of getting...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150524

and if my psu is too risky heres my other option ive been thinking...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103196

dont plan to overclock anything on my pc.

...thanks

 

[beenthere]

If you want to objectively, accurately and scientifically determine what PSU power is required for your Vid card and PC in both watts and 12v rail amps., the forum Utility link below will show you how easy it is to calculate this information and objectively determine which PSUs are quality built, reliable PSUs that can meet your needs. Be advised that the available 12v rail amps. is just as important as the total PSU wattage. You need both to be correct.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/314712-28-please-read-determine-power-required

 

[ulillillia]

A 500-watt power supply should be able to handle the first card. I don't know AMD well so someone else should verify. I do know that, if you intend on using CrossFireX, you'll definitely need a bigger PSU than 500W. Age shouldn't matter too much, provided it has all the required cables.

 

[vitornob]

See that ur PSU can deliver in combined 12V rails can provide 38A. (http://www.antec.com/specs/NeoHE500_spe.html), let's remove about 10% of that amperage due to aging -> 34A

Per design, one of the 3 rails is going to power-up the CPU (95W-8A)

This gives you 26A more deal with the VGA, basically 13A for each of the 2 other rails.
A simple google search gave a HD 6950 max TDP of 200W or basically 17A. So yes, ur PSU SHOULD be enough

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Here ya go.....

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Make sure to include connected USB / Firewaire, all cards, Fans and capacitor aging (15% assumed for quality PSU)

 

[beenthere]

^^^^ That's included in my PSU Utility tutorial above because it's a nice, accurate PSU calculator.

 

[ilysaml]

@ OP
Simply, the Antec you listed in the first link will power up the HD 6950/ 6870 without any problem.

 

[volco902]

thanks for all your inputs, i think im going to buy the 6950 for now and get a better psu down the road. I dont ever plan on going crossfire. Im just concerned if it doesnt have enough power it might fry half my pc, but then again i dont know much at all about power supplies, other than watts. again thanks

 

[ulillillia]

There are tutorials around that covers the basics of power supplies. In the "power supplies, ..." category, there's a sticky that details the basics. For the most parts, it's the amps on the +12V rail(s) that's most important. Remember, volts*amps=watts.