ATI Newbie question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tina Fisher
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Tina Fisher

Hi guys,

switching from NVidia to ATI!

NVidia gobbles up power like hell ...

will I need a special psu for a 9800 XT Ultra?

tvmia,

<<< Tina >>>
 
300W+
Click to expand...

this is much less than I need for a Geforce 5800!
cool (literally) !

with a cheap (!) 500 W, will I have to check the amps, or will it be
sufficient in any case?

thanks :)

<<< Tina >>>
 
with a cheap (!) 500 W, will I have to check the amps, or will it be
sufficient in any case?
Click to expand...

Its impossible to say about any PSU as they all vary, and it also
depends on what else you have in your PC, but 500W should be more than
enough.
 
cheap powersuplies are hit and miss. it may be 500 wats and still not work
for what your tryng to use it for. if you have the nvidia card still i would
try a better name brand power suply first.
dont get me wrong i prefer ATI but you need to work out the problems befor
getting one of the best cards made ati 9800. or your going to get ticked if
you speend $ on a new card and stilll have power problems. i find that the
new generation video cards like to be on a seperat power conector. dont have
any thing eles conected to it just the video card.
 
Andrew said:
Its impossible to say about any PSU as they all vary, and it also
depends on what else you have in your PC, but 500W should be more than
enough.
--
Andrew. To email unscramble (e-mail address removed) & remove spamtrap.
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim messages to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking a question.
Click to expand...

i've got a 350W enermax and a 9800PRO.
no probs so far
 
Decided to venture out of the flight-sim newsgroup? :)

As others here have told you, the ATI cards don't require as much juice as
the nVidia cards do.

Although your 500W PSU is probably more than adequate, keep in mind that
often the manufacturer's power ratings are determined under optimum
conditions. So, for example, a 500W PSU may only put out 400W at higher
temperatures.

Of course, you also need to consider the other devices in your system. If
you're running a dual CPU system with 3 HDs and 4 optical drives, you may
already be stretching your PSU to the limit.

For the best PSUs on the market (IMHO), see PC Power and Cooling at
www.pcpowercooling.com

Ken
 
I would suggest buying a brand name psu. Enermax is VERY good and quiet
IMHO. My Enermax Whisper series 350W is more dependable than many cheap
q-tec 400-450W psu's.

Enermax, Acer, Antec are some of the better manufacturers. NEVER buy q-tec
or any other that weighs less than 2KG! I had bad experience with them. They
are missing heatsinks are thus become unstable after some 2-4 hours of heavy
use. Also they make a LOT of noise.
 
Decided to venture out of the flight-sim newsgroup? :)
Click to expand...

hehe, well, you need horsepower for FS9 too ... even if CPU is more
important there! Also I found that the GeForce 5800 is not enough for
running "Far Cry" (my first shooter ever) with all details maxed at
reasonable framerate - hoping for the Sapphire 9800 XT!
As others here have told you, the ATI cards don't require as much juice as
the nVidia cards do.

Although your 500W PSU is probably more than adequate, keep in mind that
often the manufacturer's power ratings are determined under optimum
conditions. So, for example, a 500W PSU may only put out 400W at higher
temperatures.
Click to expand...

yeah, my 500W is probably crap, the amps are also badly distributed,
but I think it should be sufficient!
Of course, you also need to consider the other devices in your system. If
you're running a dual CPU system with 3 HDs and 4 optical drives, you may
already be stretching your PSU to the limit.
Click to expand...

a 3,0 P4HT, one HD, two optical drives, one floppy, some stuff over
the USB ... :)
For the best PSUs on the market (IMHO), see PC Power and Cooling at
www.pcpowercooling.com

Ken
Click to expand...

thanks! also to the others!!!

<<< Tina >>>
 
I would suggest buying a brand name psu. Enermax is VERY good and quiet
IMHO. My Enermax Whisper series 350W is more dependable than many cheap
q-tec 400-450W psu's.
Click to expand...

exactly, mine is a q-tec ... :(
450 or 500 W, forgot exact number!
 
I have a Thermaltake Silent Pure Power 480W. It's nice and quiet and handles
everything I've got without problems.

BG
 
Strongly suggest to change/sidegrade your psu to another maker, for the sake
of your 9800 and P4!! Those power supplies do nothing but make a lot of
noise, and eventually fry up themself or fry your pc.

Let me guess, that is the one with 2 fans, no switch to turn itself off, and
in a golden color? If all of that is true.. Then my suggestion is to sell
this psu on ebay or something, and get a better one. Preferably a good brand
350-400W will be enough.
 
Strongly suggest to change/sidegrade your psu to another maker, for the sake
of your 9800 and P4!! Those power supplies do nothing but make a lot of
noise, and eventually fry up themself or fry your pc.

Let me guess, that is the one with 2 fans, no switch to turn itself off, and
in a golden color? If all of that is true.. Then my suggestion is to sell
this psu on ebay or something, and get a better one. Preferably a good brand
350-400W will be enough.
Click to expand...

that's the one!

loud as a train ... and golden ........
 
Strongly suggest to change/sidegrade your psu to another maker, for the sake
of your 9800 and P4!! Those power supplies do nothing but make a lot of
noise, and eventually fry up themself or fry your pc.

Let me guess, that is the one with 2 fans, no switch to turn itself off, and
in a golden color? If all of that is true.. Then my suggestion is to sell
this psu on ebay or something, and get a better one. Preferably a good brand
350-400W will be enough.
Click to expand...

what do you think about this one?

http://www.antec-inc.com/us/pro_details_powerSupply.php?ProdID=20550

thanks!
 
Absolutely not bad. Thing is if you really want this, as any good brand
400-450W psu for a much less money will do nicely. Antec is a good psu
maker, so this is very good choice.
 
Tina said:
Hi guys,

switching from NVidia to ATI!

NVidia gobbles up power like hell ...

will I need a special psu for a 9800 XT Ultra?

tvmia,

<<< Tina >>>
Click to expand...

Smart choice.

Get a good quality 430 watt power supply like Antec True Power - better to
have too much, than too little.
You will love the cards.
 
Hi guys,

switching from NVidia to ATI!

NVidia gobbles up power like hell ...

will I need a special psu for a 9800 XT Ultra?
Click to expand...

Unless is $250 - its not worth it.... buy the 9800Pro for $200 - no
problems with my 350watt PSU ($50 Antec).

2 HDs
2 OPticals
1 GB / AMD2500
 
Unless is $250 - its not worth it.... buy the 9800Pro for $200 - no
problems with my 350watt PSU ($50 Antec).
Click to expand...

well, the thing is the 350 W Antec has more power on the +12 line than
the 550 W QTec ... aaargh ...
 
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