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Can PSU handle it?

M

mac451

n00b
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
63
I have a tight budget and want to increase the gaming performance on my computer. My question is can my current powersupply handle the upgrade?

Right now these are my specs
Dell 8300 at 3.00 ghz
1x512mb, 2x256mb ram
dvd burner,cd burner
80gig harddrive
fx5200 agp
300 watt powersupply

My plan is to upgrade the vid card to a 6800 gs when it comes out. Do you think the power supply would be up to it?
 
On the dell site, it claims to only have 10A on the 12v rail.

I wouldnt throw a 6800 series card in that machine unless I was prepared for instability. The current rig draws heavily on the 5v rails and thats fine, but throw in a modern GPU and you dont have any headroom with that PSU.

Estimating (not accurate, off the top of my head) HDD 1A 2 burners 2A and a P4 8A (woah!!) plus the fans and the vid-card...

No, you will need a new PSU.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8300/sm/techov.htm for my source on your PSU
 
Not good news. The thing is I was planning on building a new computer this summer, so I wanted to spend as little as possible on this one. I think the 6800gs comes with its own power cord, would that make a difference? The only two options I can think of now is to either get a powersupply and 6800gs, or just get like a 6600gt and keep the current psu. What do you think?
 
I wouldnt even get a 6600gt with a PSU that you already have. Its already loaded near max with your current setup. Basically any addition will tax it further leading to burned up PSU at best or burned up system at worst.


edit: Would it make a difference that it has its own power cord?

No, it doesnt. It still uses the powersupply, but instead of getting its power from the AGP slot, it grabs is power from the PSU directly. Even more reason to have a stable PSU in modern systems.

If it were me, I'd see about replacing that PSU with one of the "budget" models listed in the sticky. They're only $30-$50 for something that you can hobble along with until your rebuild.

What you are running into is that lethargic 12V rail. With a 6600 or a 6800 GPU, those suckers are gonna pull almost 10A (Again, if my memory serves. Someone will undoubtedly correct me, and PLEASE CORRECT ME) but your current system is taxing the hell outta the PSU under full load, ie, games.

Look for something that can push mebbie 18A on the 12V rail with the budget model, That should get you through until the new build.

Edit: If this will fit your dell, thats a hella deal on a reputable PSU. Price shipped is roughly $40.
 
Bullitt thanks for all the help. I think I will buy a new psu, and then get the video card.
 
mac451,

I may be wrong about this but I do not belive that you can replace the PSU in a "Dell" computer with a standard PSU. I've heard that "Dell" wires thier MB's differently and that if you plug in a standard PSU it will fry the board. "Dell" does this so that you have to buy parts from them.
I have seen some aftermarket PSU's (I just can't remember the web sites) that spacificaly stated that they were for "Dell's".
If I am wrong about this, someone PLEASE correct me. I just think you should look into this before you do anything one way or the other.

wizzard0003

Edit:
I found the website with the "Dell" PSU's. It's PCPOWER and COOLING (the best PSU's).Link is below.

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/home/

They are a little more expensive than the run of the mill PSU manufacturer but they are the best and you can always migrate the PSU to the new machine (unless ithe new machine is NOT a "Dell").
You may find other "Economy" PSU's by searching specifically for "Dell" PSU's).
Hope this helps somewhat.

wizzard0003
 
Actually, newer Dells like the 8300 use standard ATX connectors with standard pin assignments. Unfortunately, the case requires its own proprietary unit; regular ATX units will not correctly fit the Dell OEM case. Thus, you will have to buy a new case along with a new PSU in order to upgrade that Dell 8300.
 
Bullitt said:
On the dell site, it claims to only have 10A on the 12v rail.
Click to expand...

thats a crappy rating for a 300W powersupply

to the OP, I recommend you do a google search on the 8300 and various videocards to see what others have done
 
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