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How much power does a 9800pro need (realistically, is 350 watts enough?)

CubicZirconia

CubicZirconia

Diamond Member
First, I realize I have another thread going already, but I've narrowed down my problem so I'm starting a new (more specific) thread. Here it goes:

Short question: How much psu wattage do you realistically need to run a 9800pro?

Long question: I just upgraded my system (a64 3000+, asus k8v deluxe, 1 gig muskin pc3500 ram, 9800pro) and I'm getting hard lockups in games. Sometimes it only takes 30 seconds to lock up, other times it will take an hour. I removed my new 9800pro and replaced it with my old ti4400; the lockups went away. Then I took my 9800pro and tried it in two different systems. In both cases, I got the same lockup problems. That would make me think there is an issue with the video card, but the other systems only have 300 watt antec psus (mine is a 350 watt fortron). So now I don't know if I need more power, or if I need a new video card. After locking up, all three systems eventually go to a rainbowish picture with different color lines running across the screen. Does that have anything to do with the power supply?
 
Having read your second question I would say that 350w is not enoughh juice for all your hardware...I would suggest an Antec TruePower 430w at the least...
 
Originally posted by: Manzelle
Having read your second question I would say that 350w is not enoughh juice for all your hardware...I would suggest an Antec TruePower 430w at the least...
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The weird rainbow colors and whacky lines that show up are making me lean towards the psu being an issue. I seem to remember people having problems with psus and video cards getting strange colors showing up on their monitor. I wish it wasn't, because I really don't want to have to buy a new power supply.
 
how many othe devices do you have? hard drives, cdroms, fans, ect..


already tho i would get a 400+ with the system you have.

JB
 
Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze
how many othe devices do you have? hard drives, cdroms, fans, ect..


already tho i would get a 400+ with the system you have.

JB
Click to expand...

1 hard drive, 2 optical drives, and 3x80 mm fans. I'll probably end up getting a new psu, though I'm not real happy about it since I just got one a few months ago. This time around, I'm definitely not going cheap. Right now I'm looking at this bad boy (the Antec True Power 550w). It gets solid reviews and it's supposed to be really quiet. If that won't cut it, nothing will.
 
Do you have Fast Writes off? Did you try running in AGP 4x mode? Fortron is pretty good, and 350W should be a decent supply for your setup.
 
550W is overkill. I have an Antec 350W power supply and haven't got any trouble with it. I have 2 hd, 2 (dvd and dvd+r), 1GB mem, Barton 2500@3200+ , 2X80mm case fans and 1X92mm fan for the cpu. BTW, the power supply has a 92mm and 80mm fan.

edit: granted it's not A64. A 400W might serve your need well.


-PING
 
Originally posted by: Pete
Do you have Fast Writes off? Did you try running in AGP 4x mode? Fortron is pretty good, and 350W should be a decent supply for your setup.
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I've tried fast writes on/off. I've tried agp 4x. I've tried messing with memory settings. I've updated my drivers. I've flashed my bios. I've tried everything I can think of. But to be honest with you, after getting the same problem in 3 different systems, I don't see how any of that could be the issue. The way I see it, the video card itself or power issues have to be the problem. When I bought my current psu, I was under the impression it would handle just about everything. Maybe I just got a bad card. Maybe I'll just RMA the sucker and hope for the best.

550W is overkill
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Yeah, I know. But I'd rather have overkill than underkill.
 
Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
dfloyd- good, more confirmation that I just got a bad video card. I really don't want to get a new psu.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, power supply quality is more important than wattage. You don't need 550watts of power, but an Antec, Enermax, or other high quality power supply is what you should get.
 
I've tried fast writes on/off. I've tried agp 4x. I've tried messing with memory settings. I've updated my drivers. I've flashed my bios. I've tried everything I can think of. But to be honest with you, after getting the same problem in 3 different systems,
Click to expand...
I was going to second Pete?s suggestion, but since you?re already tried that I would be heavily leaning towards a bad card. Fortrons are good psu?s. 350w should easily run that system.
 
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
dfloyd- good, more confirmation that I just got a bad video card. I really don't want to get a new psu.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, power supply quality is more important than wattage. You don't need 550watts of power, but an Antec, Enermax, or other high quality power supply is what you should get.
Click to expand...

I understand that power supply quality is more important than wattage. That said, I'm under the impression that Fortron makes a very high quality unit. And If I do end up getting a new psu, it's definitely going to be more than I need. I don't want to have to end up buying yet another power supply down the road. I'd rather have more power than I need than not enough.
 
I doubt it's power supply. I'm using a 330W Truepower with
A64 3000, 512MB Ram, 9500Pro, 2 CD drives, 2 Harddrives, floppy, sound card, hpna card, 5 case fans.
 
300w PSU, 20A on 3.3v, 30A on 5v and 15A on 12v lines, 9800np overclocked to Pro speeds, XP1900+, 2xHDD, DVD-RW, CD-RW, 4x80mm case fans, sound card, modem, network card, 1GB PC2100 RAM, all runs fine.

Probably an issue with card, especially if your old card is fine, and the 9800 didn't work in two other machines. I would RMA before getting a new PSU.
 
Originally posted by: Lonyo
300w PSU, 20A on 3.3v, 30A on 5v and 15A on 12v lines, 9800np overclocked to Pro speeds, XP1900+, 2xHDD, DVD-RW, CD-RW, 4x80mm case fans, sound card, modem, network card, 1GB PC2100 RAM, all runs fine.

Probably an issue with card, especially if your old card is fine, and the 9800 didn't work in two other machines. I would RMA before getting a new PSU.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm now leaning towards. There seem to be plenty of people running a setup similar to mine with equivilant power supplies. And fortron does make a good unit.

quality 300 watter > no name 500 watter
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Yes, I know that. See this thread.
 
I'm fairly confident the issue is with your card (unless your PSU is simply defective). I'm running everything in my rig (minus the 20GB hard disk, which appears to be dying and causing lockups) on a 300W Seasonic PSU. You should not need 400W or more for your box, as long as the power supply is name-brand. I don't *think* A64 CPUs pull significantly more wattage than AXPs...
 
Originally posted by: Matthias99
I'm fairly confident the issue is with your card (unless your PSU is simply defective). I'm running everything in my rig (minus the 20GB hard disk, which appears to be dying and causing lockups) on a 300W Seasonic PSU. You should not need 400W or more for your box, as long as the power supply is name-brand. I don't *think* A64 CPUs pull significantly more wattage than AXPs...
Click to expand...

My power supply definitely isn't defective. Even if it was, that doesn't explain the lockups in the other two systems. For now I'm going to RMA the card and hope that fixes the problem. It should.
 
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