venividivici

I have an HP Pavilion media centre TV PC, it has a crappy 300w PSU which now doesn't have a working exhaust fan, lol.

I want to put an ATI Radeon X1800XT 512mb card into the computer, however at the moment all I have PSU wise is the 300w one that won't cut it obviously, and a 420w PSU which can be seen at this link for specs. http://www.highpowersupply.com/produ...pc420102df.htm

Would this PSU be able to handle the load? The computer has 2gb PC4200 ram, 320gb hdd, Intel C2D E6300 1.86ghz.

I want to be able to play World of Warcraft: tBC with a good FPS...crappy Intel accelerated graphics.

If the 420w will do the job for the interim, what should I look for wattage wise for a new PSU?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. and thanks in advance.

The_Other_One

The specs are...ok, but fairly low. I'd seriously consider another power supply with higher amps on the 12v rails.

Plus, that website looks like some highschool project. I seriously wouldn't even consider a power supply from a manufacturer with a website like that

__________________
Desktop * Athlon X2 4200 | 2G RAM | 160G HD | 7600GT
Laptop1 * C2D T5550 | 3G RAM | 120G HD | Intel x3100
Laptop2 * C2D T5250 | 2G RAM | 160G HD | Intel x3100

venividivici

I already have that PSU that is from the website. My old computer's initial PSU died so that was the replacement one I bought well over a year ago.

I had everything installed however I cannot seem to get my monitor to show what is going on. I am assuming the computer is booting up normally, and all fans are running so perhaps it is a driver issue?

I am going to install the drivers and see if that might fix the problem. Other than that I cannot for the life of me figure out why nothing will show up.

Oh and yes I will be investing in a new PSU, an OCZ 700w. I can say that I have technically voided the warrenty on this computer, and really I am wishing I had just gone ahead with my own build again as I planned however I got impatient and went with a store bought. *sigh* lesson learned.

ceewi1

That PSU is an old Sirtec unit, and despite the fancy Dual Rail labeling, it's only capable of a net +12V@18A. That's not enough for an X1800XT.

__________________

Cheap PSUs - 2% of system costs, responsible for 28% of system deaths

venividivici

So just to clarify, if I were to get something like this:


(700w version)

I should be able to get my X1800XT working? If that is all it takes then I will certainly invest the money into the PSU.

A buddy told me on his system he was running an X1600 on a 420w, so I figure 700w should do the trick.

ceewi1

Obviously I can't guarantee that the PSU is the (only) problem, but it's well worth replacing it, and the GameXStream 700W is more than sufficient for an X1800XT.

I am a little curious how you intend to install the drivers if you can't see anything on the screen?

__________________

Cheap PSUs - 2% of system costs, responsible for 28% of system deaths

venividivici

Yes, I made an error in that posting considering that you can't install drivers for a piece of hardware that is not install in the computer while you are doing it. But it was late and I was beyond tired.

However I have decided to return the computer and I ordered parts to just build my own PC like I had planned. However I do appreciate the help. I posted my proposed build in the main section of the forum if you care to look *shrugs*.