Concern about installing my BRAND NEW card

I just bought(FINALLY!)a Leadtek GF4 Ti 4200 64mb. It's in step 4 of 5 at <A HREF="http://Newegg.com" target="_new">http://Newegg.com</A> so I should be getting it by the middle of the week, hopefully.

Unfortunately, I bought my PC from Compaq. I just want to make sure I'm not going to have any problems installing my BRAND NEW video card. Here's what I know:

KT266?(1 agp, 5 pci, 2 mem(max 1024 ))
Athlon XP 1500+
512gb Crucial PC2100
40gb Maxtor 7200rpm
GF2 MX 400 64mb(being replaced by my BRAND NEW video card)
Windows XP Home

I don't know off hand what my PSU is, but I'm sure it's at least 300w. Does the Ti 4200 64mb use alot more power than a GF2 Mx400? What if my PSU is 250w? Will I need more power?

Basically I don't want to break anything when I install it. I know how to intall a video card, I just wanna make sure I'm good to go for the install.

I really appreciate if anyone can help shed some light.

Thanks.

Hmmm... I'm not so sure it would be 300W. My Dell P4 has a 230 or 250W PSU (not sure which), but I had a R8500LE 128MB in there no probs at all. I'm sure you'll be fine. If your comp restarts randomly, it could be the PSU. Then you should unplug any unnecessary things and see if the porbs go away. If they so, you're pretty well guaranteed it's the PSU.

...And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put my computer back together again...

First off, I appreciate all the responses.

Ok...I just looked at my PSU and here's what it says(keep in mind I don't know a whole lot about computer components):

Model: DPS 300GB-2A Rev.00
Input: 100-127v~/9A....200-240v~/4.5A
Output Max Power : <b>300w</b>
The Combine Power on +3.3v & +5v Total <b>180w</b> Max

Does this mean I have a 180w PSU or 300w? Man I hope it's the latter.

Thanks again.

I just want to let you know that my old Hewlett Packard (and it wasn't THAT old) had a 132 watt PSU in it.

So while you may have lucked out with a slightly better one, most of the time, OEM PSU = POS.

Make sure you have an AGP slot. Compaq and IBM, among others, have been known to leave AGP slots off of their motherboards when they do systems.

In a world without <font color=red>walls </font color=red>or <font color=green>fences </font color=green>, what use have we for <font color=red>Windows </font color=red>or <font color=green>Gates.</font color=green>

No your PSU is 300W....the 180W is the combined for the +3.3 and +5 Volt Rails....theres still +12 and -12 and -5 etc....so ur PSU should suffice.....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>

Unless its a <b>horrible</b> PSU, 300w is enough. My Ti4200 runs in my system with a 300W PSU, and I have done quite a bit of CPU overclocking, two CDR drives, etc, etc, etc

-Col.Kiwi

Ok.

1.uninstall Det 40.71 drivers
2.install old svga standard drivers(where would I get these?)
3.shutdown
4.install new video card
5.boot up
6.reinstall det 40.71

Right?

I'm glad you told me <b>xxsk8er101xx</b>. I wouldn't have done this.

So what damage would happen if I didn't uninstall my GF2 MX400 drivers?

Thanks.

I'm sure I read somewhere (in a forum) that either Dell or Compaq use a standard ATX connector at the end of their power supply but the wiring is different. Wish i could remember which company that was. I'd look into it if you do replace the PSU because the connector will fit on your board but if the wiring is in fact different you could fry your mobo.

Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it. <A HREF="http://www.btvillarin.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=327" target="_new">MY SYSTEM</A>