380Watt PS enough for X1800XT?

OmegaRED · May 12, 2006, 07:23 PM

I have an Antec Sonata case it's powered by an Antec TruePower2.0 380Watt ATX12V powersupply. My system isn't overloaded just whats in my sig.

Judas · May 12, 2006, 07:42 PM

you pusshing it..... REALLY pushing it....

if not overloading it with the x1800xt..

what's your 12v Rail on that thing? better be well over 30amps... (or 2 18amp rails hopefully)

nicnik · May 12, 2006, 09:09 PM

it should work. and antec tpII's have 18A dual rails.

Robert McClelland · May 12, 2006, 09:14 PM

I stay get 450 watt psu you be fine thats what I have in my rig

OmegaRED · May 12, 2006, 11:56 PM

LOL if its comes to it I'll strip out the hardrives, audigy2, 2nd 120mm case fan and extra NIC card just to get enough power

ATI4LIFE!

If that don't work I'm just gonna get a Geforce 7900GT rather than spend $120+ for a new PS and installation.

Dyre Straits · May 13, 2006, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

LOL if its comes to it I'll strip out the hardrives, audigy2, 2nd 120mm case fan and extra NIC card just to get enough power

ATI4LIFE!

If that don't work I'm just gonna get a Geforce 7900GT rather than spend $120+ for a new PS and installation.

Why would you have to pay for installation? There's nothing to swapping one for another.

Also, I got my 550 W with 28A for around $60...half what you're talking about.

OmegaRED · May 13, 2006, 11:17 AM

I can't even make the inside of the case presentable let alone install a Power supply. Stores here chage around 20-40 bucks to install I might as well just buy a new case Antec Sonata II with 450watt PS it'll be cheaper.

I'm gonna spend it all on the video card and get a better PSU later.

H3X4D3C1M4L · May 13, 2006, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

LOL if its comes to it I'll strip out the hardrives, audigy2, 2nd 120mm case fan and extra NIC card just to get enough power

Video card is no good to you without hard drives, and it'd overheat without ventalation

fobis · May 14, 2006, 12:54 AM

The X1800XT, sorry to say it, shreds the 7900GT in half when it comes to DX9 based games... I wouldn't even consider the 7900GT over the X1800XT anymore, especially since you can get 512MB X1800XT's for about the same price as 256MB 7900GT's.

Tipstaff · May 14, 2006, 03:20 AM

THIS should give you an idea on how much power you need.

You will have to look at the chart on that page for the X1800XT power usage, but lemme just say that at peak performance it's around 103 watts (it should be noted that the X1900XT pulls about 120watts).

Even though it's not on the list you should know that the 7900GT actually pulls less than the 7800GT does, so by lowering the power usages on their chart for that card by a few points should give you an idea what the 7900GT pulls (I remember reading an article that at it's peak the 7900GT pulls about 55 watts or so).

I've read a lot of posts, and a lot of articles that had people stating that with a 380watt PSU they were either just able to, or just could not get their systems stable enough to run a 7800GTX (which at peak pulls 95 watts), and most of the reported specs for those systems are close what yours is.

As Judas said, you may be just pushing it.

OmegaRED · May 14, 2006, 04:20 AM

Quote:

The X1800XT, sorry to say it, shreds the 7900GT in half when it comes to DX9 based games... I wouldn't even consider the 7900GT over the X1800XT anymore, especially since you can get 512MB X1800XT's for about the same price as 256MB 7900GT's.

That is not true even in the case of vanilla 7900GT's. All the EVGA and XFX cards are comparable to the X1800XT. I'm not saying the X1800XT isn't overall the better card but the differences in FPS are no where near "shred in half".

Quote:

THIS should give you an idea on how much power you need.

You will have to look at the chart on that page for the X1800XT power usage, but lemme just say that at peak performance it's around 103 watts (it should be noted that the X1900XT pulls about 120watts).

Even though it's not on the list you should know that the 7900GT actually pulls less than the 7800GT does, so by lowering the power usages on their chart for that card by a few points should give you an idea what the 7900GT pulls (I remember reading an article that at it's peak the 7900GT pulls about 55 watts or so).

I've read a lot of posts, and a lot of articles that had people stating that with a 380watt PSU they were either just able to, or just could not get their systems stable enough to run a 7800GTX (which at peak pulls 95 watts), and most of the reported specs for those systems are close what yours is.

As Judas said, you may be just pushing it.

Thanks for the link Tipstaff. I went and did another Power supply calculation and if I keep my 3500+ at stock and take out an extra HD that will bring the system to 337watts at full load. That should be sufficient.

I've still got a bit of time to decide as the Sapphire X1800XT's haven't arrived yet at ncix.com. The reason I'm so stubborn about this is the X1800XT's are only gonna be around for a little while and I can get a PSU anytime.

Sandok · May 14, 2006, 04:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fobis

The X1800XT, sorry to say it, shreds the 7900GT in half when it comes to DX9 based games... I wouldn't even consider the 7900GT over the X1800XT anymore, especially since you can get 512MB X1800XT's for about the same price as 256MB 7900GT's.

16pipelines vs 24piples and the 7900 GT gets HALF the frames of a X1800XT?

Please mate, they are perfectly comparable and they perform almost 99% of the time identically.

fobis · May 14, 2006, 03:11 PM

Yeah, I'm an idiot... Shoot me.

Sorry for the misinformation, but I guess from what I saw of reviews and such, the X1800XT did better in DX9 games...
And I wasn't literally saying the X1800XT gets double the framerates of a 7900GT, it was just a figure of speech when I said "[The X1800XT] shreds the 7900GT in half..."
Again, sorry... I'm a moron, what else can I say.

.:B@m!:. · May 14, 2006, 04:14 PM

If you're worried you won't have enough power, then try this PSU --->http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817170012

I bought it and haven't had any problems with it. Just a recommendation if you choose to upgrade your PSU.

OmegaRED · May 14, 2006, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fobis

Yeah, I'm an idiot... Shoot me.

Sorry for the misinformation, but I guess from what I saw of reviews and such, the X1800XT did better in DX9 games...
And I wasn't literally saying the X1800XT gets double the framerates of a 7900GT, it was just a figure of speech when I said "[The X1800XT] shreds the 7900GT in half..."
Again, sorry... I'm a moron, what else can I say.

Get working on DHzeropoint drivers and make the X1800XT twice as fast as the 7900GT. Then all is forgiven.

[hobo]eclipse · May 14, 2006, 06:37 PM

just a word of caution, i have an Antec Sonata that came with the 380 trupower, good supply. i used it till i upgraded and them my bro used it till he upgraded. He ordered the Sonato 2 with the 450 watt pwr supply. The supply that came with his is a 450 watt but is of lesser quality than a tru power, a pure power maybe? i cant recall off hand, lust looks alot "cheaper" than the the trupower. When we first put his rig together he was gettin random shutdown and reboots, fould out the 450 watt supply had a shotty exhaust fan that was causing heat issues, replaced the fan and it has been fine, though he is no overclocker at all, all stock (A64 +3500, 1 gig TCCD, X1800XT, Asus A8N), im pretty sure i compared the rails and the trupower 380 had better rails than the 450 "cheapo"

H3X4D3C1M4L · May 15, 2006, 03:27 PM

Handy link: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

Tipstaff · May 15, 2006, 10:56 PM

Just a not about that caluclator that HEX posted to.

In the list for Surge Compensation &Capacitor Aging you should add a bare minimum of 10% for both listings (the site recommends higher, but I it's not really necessary) if you computer is more than 1 year old. Also, for every year that you've had your computer, and depending on how long each day you run it for, up the second listing by 5% for each year you've had the system. Doing so will take the age, quality of the capcitors, and the use of your current power supply AND motherboard into consideration when it calculates the wattage.