PSU good enough?

Vanus · Apr 23, 2006, 11:43 PM

So, my old 9800 pro seems to be ailing, and I have a suspicion it's going to die soonish. So while I wait for that, I've been thinking about it's replacement.

I'm one of those unfortunate souls who is trapped in the AGP era, and I refuse to let go for the time being. In light of that I've decided a 7800GS would be my best option. This way I have a chance of keeping up until my entire system is ready to kick the bucket.

However, I've been wondering if my powersupply is enough to handle a 7800GS. It's a no-name (Just PC(USA) Inc) 450W, with the following ratings on the rails.

+12V | +5V | +3.3V
20A | 40A | 28A
225W | 92W

fobis · Apr 24, 2006, 05:31 PM

The rails look alright, but I'd really go for a high quality PSU.

Vanus · Apr 24, 2006, 07:53 PM

Yeah, I'd agree, but as it is I'm on a limited "I'm a poor college student" budget. Even trying to justify the cost of a 7800gs is hard...

Masamune_Howard · Apr 24, 2006, 09:58 PM

Spare yourself the heartache and put the money toward a quality PSU first. An unreliable PSU can damage your motherboard, your video card, your memory, and even your CPU. I recently purchased a 7800 GS OC and tried using it with my Antec 550W PSU which had 24A on the 12V rail - And that wasn't enough power to sate the card. The point is that I checked the PSU with a multimeter and found out that the 12v rail was way low, giving about 11.5v instead of 12v, which is outside spec.

You should theoretically be able to run a 7800 with that PSU, but I would be especially careful about that. Taxing your power supply to its maximum can be vey, very risk.

Judas · Apr 24, 2006, 10:15 PM

20Amp 12v rail?

no... your quite likely to run into a problem...

Best to get a decent quality one.. nothing to steller.. but 500 watt powestream OCZ should do you VERY well....

Vanus · Apr 25, 2006, 07:36 PM

Thanks guys, your advice has been helpful.

Chrysalis · Apr 27, 2006, 11:56 PM

on subject of psu is there a way of knowing the amps without examing the psu itself?

my psu was very hard to get in the case since my case the top doesnt come off so had to squeeze it around the cpu fan and had less then an inch gap. design flaw of slk3000b i guess.

Apr 23, 2006, 11:43 PM	#1
Vanus DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	PSU good enough? So, my old 9800 pro seems to be ailing, and I have a suspicion it's going to die soonish. So while I wait for that, I've been thinking about it's replacement. I'm one of those unfortunate souls who is trapped in the AGP era, and I refuse to let go for the time being. In light of that I've decided a 7800GS would be my best option. This way I have a chance of keeping up until my entire system is ready to kick the bucket. However, I've been wondering if my powersupply is enough to handle a 7800GS. It's a no-name (Just PC(USA) Inc) 450W, with the following ratings on the rails. +12V \| +5V \| +3.3V 20A \| 40A \| 28A 225W \| 92W __________________ K8T Neo2 AMD64 3000+ 1GB Corsair XMS RAM Radeon 9800pro (for now)

Apr 24, 2006, 05:31 PM	#2
fobis DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 741 Rep Power: 36	The rails look alright, but I'd really go for a high quality PSU. __________________ MacBook Pro Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.4 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz 2GB DDR2-677 ATi Mobility Radeon X1600 256MB 120GB 7200RPM SATA HDD

Apr 24, 2006, 07:53 PM	#3
Vanus DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Yeah, I'd agree, but as it is I'm on a limited "I'm a poor college student" budget. Even trying to justify the cost of a 7800gs is hard... __________________ K8T Neo2 AMD64 3000+ 1GB Corsair XMS RAM Radeon 9800pro (for now)

Apr 25, 2006, 07:36 PM	#6
Vanus DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Thanks guys, your advice has been helpful. __________________ K8T Neo2 AMD64 3000+ 1GB Corsair XMS RAM Radeon 9800pro (for now)

Apr 24, 2006, 09:58 PM	#4
Masamune_Howard DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 18 Rep Power: 0	Spare yourself the heartache and put the money toward a quality PSU first. An unreliable PSU can damage your motherboard, your video card, your memory, and even your CPU. I recently purchased a 7800 GS OC and tried using it with my Antec 550W PSU which had 24A on the 12V rail - And that wasn't enough power to sate the card. The point is that I checked the PSU with a multimeter and found out that the 12v rail was way low, giving about 11.5v instead of 12v, which is outside spec. You should theoretically be able to run a 7800 with that PSU, but I would be especially careful about that. Taxing your power supply to its maximum can be vey, very risk.

Apr 27, 2006, 11:56 PM	#7
Chrysalis DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	on subject of psu is there a way of knowing the amps without examing the psu itself? my psu was very hard to get in the case since my case the top doesnt come off so had to squeeze it around the cpu fan and had less then an inch gap. design flaw of slk3000b i guess.