A Man and His Music
I would like to get a new video card for my machine. However, I only have a 300w power supply, and cannot change it. The AGP cards I am looking at, state a minimum 350w & up. Even if I change the motherboard to PCIx, my power supply is too small. How critical is this requirement? Could I get away with a card that says 350w min, with a 300w power supply? I am not having any problems with my machine, but read an article in a pc mag that leads me to believe I have a counterfeit card. I will build a new machine later this year, but want this one to become my backup.
Posted Wed 25 Jan 06 @ 10:45 pm
A Man and His Music
C'mon guys, help me out.
Posted Thu 26 Jan 06 @ 3:42 am
Dj Xeo
if the powersuply you have at the moment came with a cheap case then its probably about 2/3 of what it claims anyway. if its a generic one like a dell or something its usualy up to what it claims. the requirements stated by the graphics card companies are usualy on the safe side so they dont get slated for not warning people when their crappy chinesse generic powersupply that says 300W on the side packs up when they put a card that probably only needs 300W, but a real 300W not an overinflated cheapo 300W. also factors like how much other equipment your pc has in it will affect how much you need to head the warnings of 350W minemum. if you have 6 harddrives and 3 DVD rewriters it may not be a good idea to get a beasty graphics card no top of all this. however if your system is quite lean you can probably get away with this. what is the reason for the powersupply being irreplacable? if you have a shuttle or simmilar case you would be supprised how many compaines (including the manurfacturer) that sell aftermarket powersuplies.
anyway i hope this helps. good luck!
anyway i hope this helps. good luck!
Posted Thu 26 Jan 06 @ 3:51 am
Dj Xeo
lol i only just read that last bit. counterfit card lol? i dotn think thats likely mate. if the latest manuracturer drivers work on the card it is very very unlikely to be a counterfit as the graphics manurfacturers invest a great deal of effort to ensure that their software and hardware only works with legit components.
Posted Thu 26 Jan 06 @ 3:54 am
A Man and His Music
This is the case I have http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15130. I cannot change the power supply. I talked to the company again today, to see if there was an option. The company is highly rated for their power supplies, so I believe it to be rated to their specs. I have 3 harddrives, DVD drive, modem, soundcard, AGP card, and a PCI slot blower fan. I got this card on ebay at a very good price, and after the article I read, leads me to believe it to be countrfeit. You usually get what you paid for. This was my first build so I did not know as much as i do now. It also does not work right with the latest drivers. The chip is probably real, but the card may not be authorized. It could also be my paranoria, because I now know that everything on ebay, may not be what it's supposed to be. And I just noticed that the fan is not working. This has just made me go into warp drive. I have to get another card, now. I do not want to build a new machine now, so I may have to settle for another card like I have, an ATI 9600 256mb. I wanted one of those nVidias 6600 GT, that everyones talking about. I just don't want to get it, and it gives me problems because my power supply is weak.
Posted Thu 26 Jan 06 @ 4:33 am
Killabee44
Honestly, being underpowered will cause many, many weird stuff to happen. Reboots, random blue screens, etc. I would recomend you sell that machine and build a solid backup with a powerful PSU. Hard to hear, but that is my honest opinion.
Killabee44
Killabee44
Posted Fri 27 Jan 06 @ 12:07 am
Dj Xeo
wheres DJ cyder. apparently he knows tons about computers, or as he puts it 'total computer nerd'. i dont think that i would advise getting a 350W graphics card on top of all that stuff you have. if your deffinately going to buy a new system anyway and want this to be a good backup order a good card (like a 6600GT, good prices now) and see if your machine can take it. and if it cant, doent matter because you can sue it in your new machine anyway. oh but that doesnt make sence cause itl be PCI-E in the new one. hmmm well i think that if you cut out the unneccesary components from that case (3hdds and all the reest of it, PCI blowers are worthless too IMO) it should take a edcent enough graphics card. mabey you can borrow one from a friend and see how well your PSU deals with it?
anyway good luck. if you want something good you will generaly ahve to pay for it as a rule fo thumb, thats why you buy the best you can afford. will last longer and have more upgradeability.
anyway good luck. if you want something good you will generaly ahve to pay for it as a rule fo thumb, thats why you buy the best you can afford. will last longer and have more upgradeability.
Posted Fri 27 Jan 06 @ 1:43 am
DJ Cyder
you rang?
Humm...typical power consumption of modern pc componets
CPU 18-45 Watts
RAM 10 Watts per 128 MB
Motherboard without CPU or RAM 20-30 Watts
CD ROM / DVD ROM 10-25 Watts
Network Card 5 Watts
Hardrive (typical) 8-15 Watts
Soundcard 4-15 Watts
6600gt = 18-45 Watts
Humm...typical power consumption of modern pc componets
CPU 18-45 Watts
RAM 10 Watts per 128 MB
Motherboard without CPU or RAM 20-30 Watts
CD ROM / DVD ROM 10-25 Watts
Network Card 5 Watts
Hardrive (typical) 8-15 Watts
Soundcard 4-15 Watts
6600gt = 18-45 Watts
Posted Fri 27 Jan 06 @ 2:30 am
A Man and His Music
Well I took a chance and ordered this one; http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=326006&affiliate=pricegrabber. I read a lot of reviews and some guys said it ran on 250w systems. Now I know that does'nt mean jack, because some said it did not work on their systems. At some point you have to make a decision. If it don't work, it will be for sale at a great price. Cyder, I added up the maximum from your figures and came up with 290w. So, if I don't sneeze, I should be ok. Of course, there are a slew of things that may not get along with this card, so will have to wait and see.
Posted Fri 27 Jan 06 @ 5:45 am
Sound Connection
If you plan on doing video, get a 256 mb card, it makes a BIG difference.
Henry
Henry
Posted Fri 27 Jan 06 @ 9:47 am
A Man and His Music
I have 256 now, but I thought that everybody was using this card with 128, and not having any problems. Hey Cyder, don't you use the 6600Gt 128? Anyone else using this card?
Posted Fri 27 Jan 06 @ 10:31 pm
DJ Cyder
I use the 6600gt all the time i have both the agp and pcix versions
its a very solid card. The ram only makes the differnce in how far you can backspin. The ddr3 ram and the perfromace gpu make the 6600gt hard to beat.
its a very solid card. The ram only makes the differnce in how far you can backspin. The ddr3 ram and the perfromace gpu make the 6600gt hard to beat.
Posted Fri 27 Jan 06 @ 10:54 pm
Dj Xeo
is the frame buffer stored in the actual video memory?
Posted Sat 28 Jan 06 @ 12:27 am
DJ Cyder
the video card is doing the work. If you don't believe me open up your cpu usuage and do a bunch of scratches, the cpu usuage will go down. If you can monitor your gpu look at them both together. The ram in the video acts as a kind of buffer this is used in conjuction with system ram.
Posted Sat 28 Jan 06 @ 6:11 pm
acw_dj
A Man and His Music,
It's better to be above our power requirements because the power supply also heats and has a lifetime too; that's no good to be in the top of your power requirements. A 450 Watts power supply is a good choice and let you work more time with more devices. As you cannot change your power supply we have to wait and see how it goes... anyway you only want to use it this year, hope you can make it.
It's better to be above our power requirements because the power supply also heats and has a lifetime too; that's no good to be in the top of your power requirements. A 450 Watts power supply is a good choice and let you work more time with more devices. As you cannot change your power supply we have to wait and see how it goes... anyway you only want to use it this year, hope you can make it.
Posted Sat 28 Jan 06 @ 6:30 pm
A Man and His Music
Fed Ex just dropped my card off, here at the club. I am fighting the urge to try to install it tonight. I don't like doing anything to my machine, when I have to be back here tomorrow. On the other hand, it is harder to get help on the weekend, cause most of us are giging. I'm off this weekend, so far anyway. I'm like a kid with a new toy.
Posted Thu 02 Feb 06 @ 11:28 pm