Can I use two power supplies?

watdahel

watdahel

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
456
I have a Geforce GTX 295 which supposedly sucks 25 amps. Nvidia recommends a 700 watts power supply. My current power supply is a Seasonic 550 watts, 40 amps on the 12 volt rail. If this was not enough I was also thinking of connecting another power supply to power up the video cards by themselves if it is possible. Is there any special precaution I need to be aware of?
 
That's possible, and there are little cables sold (much more elegant solution than the "paperclip trick") that daisy-chain 24 pin connectors so both turn on at the same time, but in all honesty it adds complexity and noise to the machine, plus you have to deal with two power cords now and figure out where to mount the thing...

I'd strongly recommend just biting the bullet and getting a new higher wattage PSU. Keep the Seasonic as a spare / backup.
 
First, get a kill-o-watt and see what you're pulling now before you put in the 295. If you don't game heavy, you may (MAY) be able to get away with your 550 (if its decently new) as Seasonic often underrates their PSU's.
 
A single video card set up like that doubtfully would be even close to overloading that 550W psu imho, measure how much you're actually pulling from the wall, I doubt it's over 350W.
 
tazeat said:
A single video card set up like that doubtfully would be even close to overloading that 550W psu imho, measure how much you're actually pulling from the wall, I doubt it's over 350W.
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Generally true, but a 295 is a dual GPU card.
 
I think that his current psu should be fine if the manufacturer only recommends 25A.

Would there be any harm if the psu was overloaded? Wouldn't the system just crash if the video card didn't have enough juice? But yes, test the system and watch for voltage fluctuations.
 
J Macker said:
I think that his current psu should be fine if the manufacturer only recommends 25A.

Would there be any harm if the psu was overloaded? Wouldn't the system just crash if the video card didn't have enough juice? But yes, test the system and watch for voltage fluctuations.
Click to expand...

In theory no harm. In practice, shit can go south fast. If the automatic shutdown system built in to the PSU doesn't work properly it can take the whole machine with it in one last big surge of glory.
 
Whats the rest of your system specs? List model of the psu also.
 
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I'm going to have to say if you have the money why not buy a new power supply? A good 750 would last you through just about any upgrade you could want to do to your system and depending on how old your power supply is you may end up saving money on energy anyways. Just a thought. If you are set on a double power supply set up I would suggest you look into a new case with the space for two power supply's, but at that cost you could get yourself a higher wattage power supply and still save money.
 
I'm setting up a testing rig for when I repair stuff. It's an open chassis where everything is exposed so I can easily swap out parts. I want to use parts I have rather than buying if I can do so. My setup:

Asus M4A88TD-M mobo
Phenom II X4 925
4GB PC1333
one harddrive
Seasonic S12ii 520
FSP Group FSP350-60THN-R
 
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