How much power do i need??

C

curtains

New Member
Currently i am running a 500w psu and in my system i have a duel core cpu(amd x2 4800) jst one 6600gt fx card 2 hdd 1 250g 1 150g (if size matters) 1 gig of ram(that 2 512 ones that work 2gether cant think of what ther called atm minds gone a bit blank and its a bit late) and quite a few fans .. like least 6 (donno how much power they take up) oh and 1 DVD drive and a TV card i think thats bout it so anyways I want to put another fx card in(for sli another 6600gt good mid range fx card) but i donno if i have enough power to support it someone told me i would need more than a 500w psu unit and a new one would be least $150 nzd(like 90us only esitmating) cheapest for say a 650 one and a 6600gt is like $200nzd(like 125us i think)(for the one i want(its a good one same as the one in my computer the fanless gigabyte one) so if i need a new psu 2 put in another fx card that would be like 200+150=300 mor dollas (like225usd more esitmates)
so practally the real question is do i need a bigher psu if i do how much least or recremended for duelcore sli computer(with the other normal stuff)?
 
It's not the wattage that's too important. 500W is enough, if it's a quality PSU. What is the brand/model?
 
As bobo said, the wattage isn't really so important. The brand and model will be helpful, as is the amperage available on the +12V line. If it's a generic 500W PSU, then you need to upgrade.
 
its a hyena psu .. donno wat the ampre is on the psu havent looked .. so if thats the case wat does the watt have 2 do with things?
 
Hyena are rebadged deer, so pretty terrible. I believe that unit is rated for +12V@20A, and I wouldn't be inclined to use it for SLI'd 6600GTs. I would upgrade the PSU, but you don't need to spend all that much. If you have any links to sites you like to buy from, i'd be happy to recommend a unit.

watt have 2 do with things?
Click to expand...
The wattage is the total power output possible over all of the PSUs rails. There are a few problems with using it to judge the ability of a PSU to power a system, however:
  1. In a modern system, about 90% of the load is on the +12V rail. Many cheaper or older PSUs have excessive output available on the +5V and +3.3V rails, where it is not required, and skimp on the +12V output. This allows them to produce a cheaper unit that they can still rate at 500W.
  2. There is no hard and fast standard to how PSUs are rated, any many manufacturers will overstate or downright lie about how much their unit is capable of outputting. I've seen units that will blow at as little as half their rated output
You'll find, for example, that a 350W Antec (or other quality) PSU could easily power a system that wouldn't even start with a 550W Powmax (or other crappy PSU)
 
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