Wattage of graphic card and psu

[jagdtiger12cm]

I know that you guys are probably mad at me, because this question appears everywhere on internet! But yust to be sure! I have max 300W psu and I have to buy a new graphic card. I have this in my mind:
ATI radeon 5450 1GB, but recomendations says taht I need at least 400W psu! I've heard alot about AMD overstating the power requirements of their lower-end cards. My old graphic card:

ATI radeon HD 2350:
http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/index.php?gid=391&graphics=Radeon%20HD%202350%20Pro


ATI radeon HD 5450:
http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/index.php?gid=411&graphics=Radeon%20HD%205450%201024MB

5450 uses yust 1 wat less than 2350!!!! :O WTF Where's point?
I have intel core due 2.4Ghz, 2 sticks of 1GB DDR2 ram.
I would like to finish this topic once and for all... TNX

 

[Michael31]

I would be safe and run with 500watts of power, you cant go wrong with that, whats your budget for a PSU I bet we can find you some nice ones to fit your budget.
(Radeons have tendenct to suckup more power than NVIDIA so a 500W should be fine)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159124&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= only 20$

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LM7PCS/?tag=pcpapi-20 -24$

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TYN2PC/?tag=pcpapi-20 38$

Good Luck!

 

[bucknutty]

The 5450 only draws like 20 watts max. I dont know what you have for a CPU but the most it could possibly draw is like 125 watts, throw in the board, drives and fans and stuff, and your at 150-175 max draw. Now add in the 5450 and your still below 200 watts.

I would not waist time on the PSU upgrade.

On a side note the 6450 only costs about $10 more uses only about 18 watts of power and is a good bit faster. I would grab one of those if you can.

 

[jagdtiger12cm]

hmm.. I'll probably go for better psu and better 6450. tnx

 

[WithoutWeakness]

You have no reason to upgrade your power supply for that card. It has no PCIe 6- or 8-pin connectors, thus it will be powered through the connector on your motherboard. 300 watts is more than enough to run the card with that system.

 

[bucknutty]

Just looked for a core 2 2.4 there is
the e6600 is a 65 watt part
the e4600 is a 65 watt

Your system with new video card will never draw more than 175-200.

 

[jagdtiger12cm]

Hmm maybe ur right! But still i checked and o got only 19Amps on 12V rail! 5450 needs 22 amps and 6450 needs 25 amps... so :S

 

[geofelt]

Look at the card to see how many 6 or 8 pin pci-e power connectors it requires.
If your psu has the requisite number, you are OK unless the psu is of very poor quality.
Here is a handy psu power requirement chart:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
And here is one estimate of psu quality:
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

 

[jagdtiger12cm]

And i'm still confused! wats = voltage * amps
How do you do that? 12V * (let's say) 20A = 240W?

 

[bucknutty]

Dude i dont know where you got those numbers???
5450 draws 20 watts at 12 volts.
20watt / 12volts X 1.66amps.

Its your money, new stuff is always fun to install, and hey fun is what its all about!

 

[jagdtiger12cm]

yeah Ill buy new psu yust to be sure nothing goes wrong!

 

[jagdtiger12cm]

Best answer selected by jagdtiger12cm.