Dedicated power supply for a graphics card?

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wencke530

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Hello,

I recently bought a new HP (model m8330f). It comes with an NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT. It is an ok card for average gamers, however, when I go to run Oblivion, CoD 4, etc. it just doesn't cut it.

Here is my problem:

The motherboard will only support a 450W power supply (max). I want to get the BFG NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT OC. It requires a 425W power supply. Is it possible to just buy a 430W power supply and let it run the graphics card and leave the stock 300W supply that is in my motherboard alone, or does the graphics card have to be plugged into the powersupply that is running your motherboard? If I can pull off just getting a power supply to plug the card into, then "modifying" my tower to let the connection to the card through, I will be very happy. :)

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Robert
 
Welcome to Tech Forums!!

It's not a good idea to run two power supplies. It's just not logical. Maybe if you were running a ton of peripherals, but you should be getting a higher power PSU anyway. A motherboard does not have a limit, to how much power a power supply has. So you can put a 700W PSU if you want (don't do that though, would be overkill). What are the rest of your system specs?
 
I don't see a problem with that, unless your motherboard realises "hang on, my pci-e is getting more power than me" and also, you're gonna have to find a place for the PSU.

Just a question, why don't you use the 430W for your MB and the 8800? Or did you mean the 8800 needs 425 by itself?

Sorry if I confused you :p



Welcome to Tech Forums!!

It's not a good idea to run two power supplies. It's just not logical. Maybe if you were running a ton of peripherals, but you should be getting a higher power PSU anyway. A motherboard does not have a limit, to how much power a power supply has. So you can put a 700W PSU if you want (don't do that though, would be overkill). What are the rest of your system specs?

That's what I was trying to get at, but I couldn't find the right words! :p I agree, one PSU with enough for the 8800 plus your optical drives etc
 
An 8800GT does not need 425W by itself.

He could use the 430W along with his system and the 8800GT. But that depends on the brand, and how many amps are on the +12v rails.
 
Thank you for the fast responses! :)

Here are the specs on the system I bought.

HP Pavilion Media Center (model - m8330f)
AMD Phenom Quad-core 9500
3 gigs DDR2 RAM
640GB hard drive
300W PS
NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT

The HP rep I talked to said that my motherboard would not run a PS that is over 450W. I would be very happy to hear if I could put a 550 or 600W without any issues.


I have not been able to talk the fiance into building a system yet, so this is all I have to work with. :(

Thanks again for the help!

Robert
 
I didn't know if he meant 430W to run the card AND the rest of his system, im not familiar with the requirements of the 8800.

Sorry for misleading you.
 
The only time it is a good idea to have two power supplies is if you want one to power a phase change, peltier cooler or a water pump..
 
Thank you for the fast responses! :)

Here are the specs on the system I bought.

HP Pavilion Media Center (model - m8330f)
AMD Phenom Quad-core 9500
3 gigs DDR2 RAM
640GB hard drive
300W PS
NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT

The HP rep I talked to said that my motherboard would not run a PS that is over 450W. I would be very happy to hear if I could put a 550 or 600W without any issues.

I have not been able to talk the fiance into building a system yet, so this is all I have to work with. :(

Thanks again for the help!

Robert


Thanks for posting your specs.

I can assure you that you can run a power supply more than 450W with that system. Most retail PC reps don't know much more than your average forum goer.

I would suggest this power supply:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail
It's a very solid PSU for the money, plus room for future upgrades.
 
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