Do I have enough power for a 8800GTS?

[Ronin13]

For my new build I already ordered the Antec P150 case that comes with an Antec Neo HE 430 Watt PSU.

Reading this review, it says that the 8800GTS requires 'a minimum 400 watt power supply (with 12V current rating of 26A)'.

Checking the specs of the Neo HE 430, I'm not quite sure what to look for.

I read it as it has 16A on each of it's 3 12V rails (?) Is that good enough for a '12V current rating of 26A'?

 

[LittleNemoNES]

I'd invest in a 500w seasonic of fortron PSU to be on the safe side.

 

[Ronin13]

Originally posted by: gersson
I'd invest in a 500w seasonic of fortron PSU to be on the safe side.

I'd rather not, as I already bought the PSU in question.

So the question remains:

What does '12V current rating of 26A' actually mean?

And since the Neo EH 430 has a max output of 16A on each of it's '+12V1, +12V2, +12V3' rails, does it live up to those requirements?

(I mean, does it have to deliver 26A on each +12V rail or is it the total amps from the combined 12V rails that has to exceed 26A? I'm not sure if my usage of the term 'rails' is correct here, but I hope this question makes sense...)

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Your Antec has 384W on its 12V Rail.
That means 384/12 = 32A

It is definitely in-line with nVidia's recommended specs (which if I'm right, consider a loaded system with an X6800). I don't see why it shouldn't work.

 

[hans007]

that should be plenty.

the card probably maxes out at somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 watts. thats about 10amps on one 12v rail. it will have a single power connector going to it which has 16amps all by itself. should be plenty.

i think the reason they want 26amps at 12v, is because some older PSUs put all the amps on one rail (so if you had used say... a molex to 6pin pci-e adapter) you'd be sapping it all off one power rail. since you have a newer supply with seperate rails it should be more than enough.

 

[Skott]

It meets the requirements of volts and amps per nVidia. The bigger question would be how stable does it hold the volts and amps on the rails? This is where quality made units come into play.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Skott
It meets the requirements of volts and amps per nVidia. The bigger question would be how stable does it hold the volts and amps on the rails? This is where quality made units come into play.

the antec neo he is a pretty good PSU as it is.


i forgot to add.... since you have 1 rail going to the motheboard which is why there are 3 rails. you get 75 watts worth of power through the pci-e slot itself.


so basically the card gets power from the pci-E connector. AND it gets some from the motherboard. so in theory is it sharing 2 16amp rails.


i believe a motherboard gets power from parts of 2 rails, one through the normal atx 24 pin connector and some from the 4 pin or 8pin 12v connector.

anyhow, either way you probably have plenty of power. i would guess you probably could even run a GTX unless you had tons of hard drives. the neo HE is a very good power supply anyway.

 

[Ronin13]

Thanks for the replies!

It seems that the 8800GTS is the way to go instead of the 7900GTX I had planned for (the 8800GTX will propably be too large for the Antec P150 case - besides, it costs $800 here...)

edit: A final question: How much more power draw will I be looking at at idle and load compared to a 7900GTX?

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Ronin13
Thanks for the replies!

It seems that the 8800GTS is the way to go instead of the 7900GTX I had planned for (the 8800GTX will propably be too large for the Antec P150 case - besides, it costs $800 here...)

edit: A final question: How much more power draw will I be looking at at idle and load compared to a 7900GTX?

i would guess something like 50-60 load 30 or so idle based on the numbers i've seen.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

cant see why it shouldnt

ive ran a x1900xt on a 430watt seasonic PSU ran fine

 

[Ronin13]

Originally posted by: hans007

Originally posted by: Ronin13
i would guess something like 50-60 load 30 or so idle based on the numbers i've seen.

I seem to remember seeing some numbers that showed it was the other way around?

Meaning that the 8800's have a higher draw when idling (maybe plus 20-30%) when compared to last gen GPU's, but that the draw at load was only about plus 5-10% (compared to last gen GPU's, also at load).

I've combed through some of the reviews but can't find these numbers again. Have anyone seen something like this or am I way off?

 

[Midwayman]

Ugg. I only have a 350w PS. Its antec, so a fairly good brand at least. I wonder if Ill be able to power the gts with it, or if Ill have to buy a new PS. I only have 1 hd and 1 optical drive and a core 2 cpu, so I dont have alot of stuff to run.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

Originally posted by: Midwayman
Ugg. I only have a 350w PS. Its antec, so a fairly good brand at least. I wonder if Ill be able to power the gts with it, or if Ill have to buy a new PS. I only have 1 hd and 1 optical drive and a core 2 cpu, so I dont have alot of stuff to run.

Don't skimp on your power supply. I've learned the hard way after one took out my motherboard because it used up too much power. ESPECIALLY if you're going to drop $500 or close to it on a video card, there is no reason not to spend 90+ on a good quality PSU that's going to last you for years.

 

[SteveMaster123]

ok i have the apex allied 400W psu
it has only one +12V @ 20A
but theprodigalrebel said that you divide the total 12V by 12 to get the real Amps
so my total says its 380
and 380/12 = 31.6A
does this mean i can run the GTS?
i have one hard drive with one dvd/cd player and a amd athlon 64 4000+ cpu

 

[Midwayman]

Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
[
Don't skimp on your power supply. I've learned the hard way after one took out my motherboard because it used up too much power. ESPECIALLY if you're going to drop $500 or close to it on a video card, there is no reason not to spend 90+ on a good quality PSU that's going to last you for years.

Yah. I ended up with one of the antec triple rail 650w ones. Certified by nvidia to support the 8800gts in SLi.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: SteveMaster123
ok i have the apex allied 400W psu
it has only one +12V @ 20A
but theprodigalrebel said that you divide the total 12V by 12 to get the real Amps
so my total says its 380
and 380/12 = 31.6A
does this mean i can run the GTS?
i have one hard drive with one dvd/cd player and a amd athlon 64 4000+ cpu

A total of 380w on just the 12v rail with a total power of 400w?? I doubt that. That might be peak power??