[comments end-posted]

"Mr.E Solved!" wrote in message
. ..
Z Man wrote:
I have an HP desktop computer model m1090n (3.6GHz, upgraded to 3GB ram)
on which my video card has gone bad. I am considering replacing it with a
much more powerful card, perhaps the eVGA GEFORCE 7950 GX2. My question
concerns the power supply requirements.

My computer currently has a 300w power supply. Will that be adequate to
run the new video card? In general, if the specs for a particular video
card state that it requires a 350w power supply, and I have a 300w power
supply, what will happen? Will the computer not boot at all, run slower,
etc.?

I could change the power supply, but it is a hassle and I would prefer to
avoid it, if possible.


Considered advice:

1) Your Media PC comes with a bundled ATI X600. I am a fan of nvidia
cards, but you might consider sticking with the same brand, for ease of
installation, troubleshooting.

2) You should not consider installing the 7950GX2 in that case under any
circumstances. It is a very finicky dual-card with substantial
requirements for proper operation, none of which are met by your
situation.

3) Power Supply Units, regrettably, are only labeled in "watts" for very
broad purposes, mostly marketing, partially confusion. While you are
correct in thinking your PSU is potentially underpowered, you are being
led down the garden path when you are told that a PSU of "this many watts"
will run a state of the art video card. It's like advertising a car in
"miles per hour". There are other, more important considerations that the
manufacturers don't spend time educating the consumer on. Best bet? Stick
with a top-name in power supplies, and check what power supply models have
been certified with certain high-end video cards. Nvidia keeps a list of
those on their nzone web site, for example.


So, what options do you realistically have? I would suggest a PCI-E card
from ATI that does not require power from a molex (those little plastic
connectors that provide power to devices, such as hard drives and cd
drives).

Or, a 7600GS from nvidia, it has low power requirements, so you might not
need to replace your PSU (Which you correctly want to avoid), and it is a
reasonable performer, you just have to make sure you uninstall the ATI
software fully, and install the nvidia software correctly.

To answer your question about what happens when your PSU is being
overworked, bad things. Most often, 3D mode will crash to desktop, or the
PC will spontaneously reboot. Also, more heat will be generated from the
overworked unit, maybe even a really high pitched whine, or squeal in more
rare instances. Things will just seem, off. Best of luck, avoid that
7950GX2!


I have given a lot of thought to what you have said. I also checked out high
end cards from ATI. It seems that the power requirement for most high end
video cards would make me upgrade my power supply. Although it is
inconvenient, I would be willing to do it if necessary. What is it about the
case that houses my PC that would make it imappropriate for the 7950GX2?
Does it take up two slots? If so, I probably still have adequate physical
space. Looking into the case, with the rear of the case on my left, there
is empty space above my PCI Express slot. Does that help? Below the video
slot, I have my soundcard, but I could move that to another slot. The
computer also came with a sound card (just below my video card) and a modem
on the bottom. I have already removed the modem, which is useless for me.

In terms of possible ATI cards, I am looking at the VisionTek Radeon X1600XT
Xtreme Video Card, PCI Express, 512MB GDDR3. This card is about $300 at
CompUSA (a little less at Newegg and other online retailers), and the specs
state that a 300w power supply is adequate. Trouble is, once I looked at the
higher end card, I found that I really wanted on