A PSU for my new x1950xtx.

Qbah

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2005
3,754
10
81
Greetings,

Didn't find a dedicated section for Power Supplies, so I recon the Video one will be fine too.

My brand new Radeon x1950xtx will be arriving next week. Got tired from all the problems with my 7800GT. I'm wondering, if my PSU is sufficient for it. It's an Antec SmartPower 2.0 450W. The backplate says it has 15A on 12V1 and 17A on 12V2, so that's 32A total. As the x1950xtx requires 30A, I'm guessing it will be enough. Though any insight from you peeps would be most welcome, as I'm not that familiar with this part of my hardware

Btw. I read a pretty good review of my PSU and the folks there stated, that it's rock stable at full load up untill 430W. No voltage fluctuations of any sort. 3V, 5V and 12V are all very nice. How much power do you recon my computer uses? It's a Pentium-D 820 not OC'ed, got two sticks of DDR2-533MHz Value RAM, one WD 160GB SATA2 drive, a Lite-On DVD-RW, an i945 mobo and a SB Audigy2 Value soundcard (think it's all in the sig :p). Gonna change it into a Core 2 Duo in a month or two.

Cheers and thanks for the tips.
 

thegimp03

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2004
7,420
2
81
It doesn't look like you're running a bunch of extra optical drives or hard drives. However, you may want to upgrade to a new psu if you're going to get a C2D. Have not read the power requirements of them but I'm gauging that it might require more than your current cpu. Plus this will just future proof you and give you headroom.
 

moonboy403

Golden Member
Aug 18, 2004
1,828
0
76
get the Fortron BoosterX 3 psu...it's specifically designed for multi-gpu and fits into a regular drive bay

the most important thing is...the price isn't that bad.....80 AR
 

Qbah

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2005
3,754
10
81
Well, I ain't planning on going Crossfire. And one more thing, my system is almost noiseless. The only thing I can hear is a silent humm from the PSU (goes away when I force the fan to stop) and some buzzing of the electronics (I guess it's that :p). So if I am to change to a new PSU, it needs to be at least as quiet as my current Antec one (was one of the reasons I bought it). As for the C2D, it's rated at 65W max, my P-D is probably around 100W...
 

dug777

Lifer
Oct 13, 2004
24,778
4
0
I would imagine you'll be fine.

Those who say you'll need a higher PSU for your C2D are on crack, the 820 would use significantly more power than a C2D i'd imagine.

Looking at some of AT's reviews, an X1900XTX rig never draws over 300w even at full load, so that 450 with the dual rails shoudl be fine for a lower power using x1950xt...

Of course, i'm in the minority here, everyone else thinks you need a 1kW PC Power & Cooling PSU ;)
 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,392
1,058
126
Originally posted by: hmorphone
I'll step out on a limb and second dug777's thoughts on the matter.

QFT. I don't need to imagine either. The C2D does use significantly less juice.
 

Icepick

Diamond Member
Nov 1, 2004
3,663
4
81
Originally posted by: dug777
I would imagine you'll be fine.

Those who say you'll need a higher PSU for your C2D are on crack, the 820 would use significantly more power than a C2D i'd imagine.

Looking at some of AT's reviews, an X1900XTX rig never draws over 300w even at full load, so that 450 with the dual rails shoudl be fine for a lower power using x1950xt...

Of course, i'm in the minority here, everyone else thinks you need a 1kW PC Power & Cooling PSU ;)

Seconded. The power supply you already own is powerful enough to power your system with the X1950XTX.
 

Mattd46612

Senior member
Jan 23, 2005
670
0
0
600W GameXstream by OCZ would do you well. I have that but I like my PC sounding like a single engine plane so I go witht he 650w Enhance for my main setup.
 

Vinnybcfc

Senior member
Nov 9, 2005
216
0
0
Your fine, it should run like a dream unless you are doing serious serious overclocking (like 100% on on the cpu) etc
 

Qbah

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2005
3,754
10
81
Thanks for the replies! I think I'll hang on to my current PSU for a while. I am a bit short on cash, was reluctant to spend the extra $$, as a x1950xtx costs like 550$ here...