Member Avatar for scrypt3r

Im upgrading my graphics card for gaming and just wondered if my power supply was good enough

My system-
AMD 64 X2 2Ghz
4Gb RAM
Nvidia GeForce 9800GTX+

I have a 550 Watt power supply

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Ali.Ayam

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Brief, practical addendum that ties together the points already raised by , , and and makes the decision repeatable.

The checklist

  • Identify the PSU exactly (brand/model) and read the label: note total +12V amperage (or per‑rail numbers) and count native PCIe power connectors.
  • Tally expected draw: GPU (use the card spec), CPU (TDP), each HDD/SSD, optical drive, fans and any bus‑powered USB devices. Treat drive and fan figures as small but additive and use published TDPs where available.
  • Add a safety margin: target roughly 20–30% headroom above the summed estimate. Convert required +12V wattage to amps by dividing by 12 to check against the label. Multi‑rail vs single‑rail matters only in how the manufacture assigns those rails to connectors — check which +12V rail feeds the GPU connectors.
  • Inspect age and quality: generic or very old PSUs rarely deliver rated power consistently. Prefer a known brand and an 80 Plus rated unit if replacement is considered.

Quick tests and failure signs

  • A brief combined CPU+GPU stress (monitor temps) will reveal instability caused by an underpowered or failing PSU: sudden reboots, display artifacts, or seesawing voltages are red flags. Software voltage readings are indicative; a PSU tester or multimeter gives definitive results.
  • Avoid Molex-to‑PCIe adapters for high‑draw cards when possible; use the PSU's native PCIe plugs. If the label shows low +12V amps or the supply is generic/old, replacement is the safer choice even if the total wattage looks adequate.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for airbourne

You would need to verify the power requirements for all of your components together, but it does appear to satisfy the requirements for your video card at least (taken from nvidia.com)

Nvidia GeForce 9800GTX+
Maximum Graphics Card Power (W) 141 W
Minimum System Power Requirement (W) 450 W

Member Avatar for scrypt3r

how would i go about doing that?, is there some sort of tool i could use?

Member Avatar for airbourne

Not that I know of. I used google and found a power consumption webpage for HDDs and one for CPUs (wikipedia actually), so you could do one for your motherboard and for each of your components.

With that in mind, you have a 550 W power supply, and based on your Video & CPU you have listed, if you have typical hardware (1 HDD, sound card is built-in to the motherboard, etc), 550 W should be plenty.

On the other hand, if you have a high-end soundcard, video capture card, and like a dozen USB devices, and other things I can't think of right now, you could (in theory) exceed that 550 W.

I run a 650W power supply with a Quad Core processor, 2GB RAM, 1 SATA HDD, USB keyboard & mouse, GeForce 8800 GTS and everything else is built-into the motherboard and have no problems.

My DVD-RW & Printer are USB devices that plug into the wall.

Member Avatar for scrypt3r

thanks

Member Avatar for airbourne

No problem. :)

Member Avatar for ishanjain

You can try this to calculate power usage for all your devices.
Can you tell me which PSU are you having, because its not just the power ratings, but also the reliability you must look after for if you wish to keep your components healthy.

Member Avatar for jimscafe

As I understand it the power available on the 12v rail is the critical measurement for graphics cards. Not the total W of the power supply.

Member Avatar for Ali.Ayam

Make sure your 12V+ rail exceed 28A.

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