minimum PSU requirements?

[CMC79]

I bought a HP system for my wife and it only has onboard 6100 graphics, which is fine for 2D and Quake 3 but for some newer games I think she might like it will be too weak. I have a spare X800 XL from where I upgraded my system, and I'd like to put it in her system. Her system only has a 300W psu though, and I'm worried it might be too much of a power draw.
Here's what's drawing power right now:
CPU-Athlon X2 5200
Motherboard--onboard sound, network
2x1gb DDR2
1 DVD-RW
1 HDD
1 card reader
1 case fan
1 PCI modem (easily removable since she'll never use it)

Thoughts?

 

[CMC79]

Nobody?

 

[happy medium]

It should be fine.

 

[Ayah]

It'll work. The x800XL doesn't draw that much power.

 

[Captante]

Before I hazard a guess if it'll work or not ... what brand of 300 watt psu & whats the amp rating on the +12v rail?

 

[CMC79]

From doing a little research, I think the 300W are made by Bestec; I believe it has 19 amps on the +12v rail.

The HP manual (which doesn't seem to be based on any particular model) says to add not more than 15amps of draw from add-in cards. But they say that for all models it seems, and they use power supplies that run from 250W to 350W.

 

[AFurryReptile]

I've ran an x800xl on a 300 watt for almost a year with no problems. You will be fine

 

[Captante]

I'm not familar with Bestec, but if the +12v rating is accurate (it sounds high) you should be ok... only thing to do to find out for sure is to try & see, just keep in mind that if the supply blows under heavy use theres a good chance it'll take other components with it.


Edit: After a little digging, it appears that the Bestec 300 watt psu is actually rated at 15 amps on the +12v rail which is enough if its accurate, but its also a very cheap model & seems like it might let you down. Considering the potential extra cost & hassle if it were to fail I'd replace it myself ... the biggest concern is making sure that whatever you get will fit it your HP case, so be sure to measure first & go with somting in the 450 watt range.

 

[CMC79]

thanks for the replies...I might try with the standard model for awhile and see how things go--it wouldn't be subject to a great deal of load most of the time. Still, I think I'll pull the modem out just get rid of its power draw, however little there is. Then I'll shop around for a model that'll fit in the case.