8800GT PSU issue?

[LxMxFxD4]

Just as the topic suggests... im running an amd 3800+ @ 2.4ghz with an old enermax 431W supply. I've used the supply for probably 5 years now, runs like a top.

At any rate, today I upgraded my old ati x800 (vanilla) video card to an 8800GT so I can play bioshock, and lo and behold when I got home I realized that the box recommends 26A on the +12 Rails, and I've only got 20A!

I ran a few games (at max settings now) including Counterstrike and WoW and didn't have any issues and got great frame rates. I also ran 3dmark2006 and got a score of 7800 which is apparently consistent with people with my cpu and 2GB of PC3200 ram in winxp pro.

So my question is - should I upgrade my PSU?

If the card doesn't have enough power, I would imagine the game (and maybe windows) would totally crash....

Or is it possible I'd actually see reduced frame rates?

Thanks for your replies in advance...

 

[MarcVenice]

Nah, if your PSU doesn't hold up, it will crash, and burn. Oh no, forget the burning part, just kidding hehe. Your PSU is rather old though, and you might be asking a lot of it. At it's top your 12v rail can supply your CPU/GPU with 240w of power. Overclocked your CPU and GPU might need 200w combined. I'm not sure if it matters if you push the 12v rail to it's max though, as long as you don't push the PSU to it's maximum output of 430w. And, I don't want to scare you, but I think I have heard of people with Enermax PSU's that went out with a puff of magic smoke, so I suggest you ask the same on the PSU forum, or head over to jonnyguru.net/forums, and ask there.

 

[LxMxFxD4]

Thanks for your reply there... yeah my enermax is 5 years old.. I got it in 2003 to pair it with an amd 2100+ which supposedly needed a lot of power.

But.. can anyone else say definitively that I need 26A on the +12 rail for this video card?

As for my cpu, it is o/ced.. it probably uses 110W during games considering the 2nd core doesn't do anything and such...

 

[error8]

I had a PSU just like yours with 20A on the 12 V rail, a 7600 GT volt modded and an OC'ed 3000+ A64 and everything worked perfect. But when I've changed my cpu with a 3800+ X2 I started to have restarts when playing games. It was because my 12 V was doing 11 V when in full load so I've changed the PSU right away. The morale is : don't risk it. It could do resets when gameing , but it can also destroy your computer. So just buy another one, killing that sweet 8800 GT for a couple of $ more is just not worth it.

 

[bozack]

I have an Enermax Noisetaker II 420w supply that I was planning on running an 8800GT with, here are the PS Specs...

+3.3V = 32A

+5V = 36A

+12V1 = 15A

+12V2 = 14A

-12V = 0.8A

-5V = 2.5A

+5VSB = 2.5A

Total O/P = 420W

I ran a GTX with this supply for a while but sold the card...hopefully it will work for the 8800 I am hoping to get as I am a cheapass with this stuff.

 

[sutahz]

It sounds like its holding up just fine. Here's an idea, run prime95 and ati tool to max out your cpu and video card at once. Run it for 24hrs or overnight and if your PSU doesn't catch on fire or restart/shutdown the computer by itself then your good to go. Just look out for when your comptuer does shutdown/restart by itself OR if you hit the power button and nothing happens, those are very good signs of a PSU on it's last leg.