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Danger running GPU with PSU under reqs?

M

Mexicorn

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Messages
285
A friend of mine just got an 8600 GTS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130291

only what was not listed in the spec sheet online was the fact that a 400w power supply is required.He's got a dell XPS 420 with a 375W PSU that he got about a year ago, and is afraid to turn on his system now with the new card. I've told him he should just give it a go, but not sure what damage it might do (other than randomly shutting off the system). He doesn't have much in the case though (1 hdd, 1 dvd-rom, wi-fi pci card, not much else) so I'm wondering if he even has a problem.

He's also debating getting a new 400w PSU worthy of running the card, but i'm not sure if the Dell form factor (this is a BTX box) restricts the options for an aftermarket PSU.

Any ideas?
 
well when they put the wattage requirements on the vid cards, those are based on the system being at full load. So basically it means that the power supply has to be able to handle the draw of power from when the card AND other components are under load.

My guess on the situation would be that if he did turn on the comp it would be just fine since nothing will be really under load, it's only when he goes to start a game that he should be worried. I estimate that with everything fully loaded on that system with that card, he might be using up 295W (plus or minus a few wats). Now this does fall under spec for his PSU but it is running close to the max of his psu and running it at that amount for long times can put quite the stress on it. I would say just go with the 400W PSU.
 
The Dell 375W power supply will be fine. It is rated to handle that kind of card. I assume you mean XPS 410 ;)
 
When a video card pulls enough power under load to overload the the PSU, it tends to mainly affect the video card - you get game lockups, system lockups, occasionally blue-screen crashes, and sometimes windows shuts down the video card driver, which will force a reboot.

The primary collateral damage from all of this is data loss from a system freeze - anything in memory is obviously lost. Actual physical damage is quite rare because of the way modern electronics is designed to protect itself. Of course repeated tripping of safeguards and system resets isn't good for a machine, in general.

You do have to be careful with some Dell systems (perhaps with a BTX form factor system), because even though Dell switched back to standardized power supplies for most systems, there are some that need some careful searching before you find a suitable upgrade.
 
when i ran my 8600GTS off of a 350 watt psu it worked fine, until i loaded a game, it would just minimize and windows would give me a warning.
 
The XPS 410 will accept a standard power supply mount.
 
I would not worry about running an 8600GTS on that power supply. The issue is that Nvidia has to cover their asses by recommending a power supply that absolutely will be adequate. A frightening number of crap generic power supplies vastly overstate their output capabilities. To combat this they have to "recommend" a bit higher than should be necessary. If he already has a Dell 375w, just go with it. I wouldn't change it unless he's going with an 8800. Then a quality aftermarket 500w would be necessary.

The potential risks of too small of a power supply include (from least serious to most):

- Lockups and crashes.

- Odd behaviour due to voltages being way out of spec from overloading the supply.

- The power supply dying an early death.

- The power supply dying an early death and taking the motherboard or other components out with it.

So, when in doubt, replace a power supply. As stated above, you should be fine.
 
The Dell XPS 410 WILL NOT accept a standard power supply, first off its a BTX mobo, and second trust me you can not fit any other psu in the case.
As for the 8600gts it will be fine. I have a 8800gts in my 410 with the stock PSU and it runs just fine. Only thing I will say is open up the case when you play games as the 410 does not allow for fan speed adjustment.
 
thedocta45 said:
The Dell XPS 410 WILL NOT accept a standard power supply, first off its a BTX mobo, and second trust me you can not fit any other psu in the case.
As for the 8600gts it will be fine. I have a 8800gts in my 410 with the stock PSU and it runs just fine. Only thing I will say is open up the case when you play games as the 410 does not allow for fan speed adjustment.
Click to expand...

Sigh, yes it will. BTX means nothing for the power supply. The mounting holes and dimensions are identical to a standard power supply. The connector on the system board is standard. Cheers.
 
Have you tried to mount a psu into a xps 410? BTX has a different connector for the mobo.
The Dell standard for for the xps 410 is not a standard psu. Trust me I tried to mount an atx/btx psu into my case.
 
Just jerry rig another PSU, solder? Velcro? Into your case and have that one power the vid card itself (like a old PSU thats 200W or something thats just sitting around the house). That way you have dedicated power to your card while everything else is running just fine.. Of course then you have to jerry rig a switch or make a breadboard thats uses the power button, same power button of your computer case. Yep... lots of work...

Or... Wait for a free 600W PSU deal to come along and gather up all your strength to not resist and buy it.
 
you have nothing to worry about with that PSU and an 8600gts. you can even configure that Dell with an 8800gtx from the factory with that same 375watt PSU.
 
dennab205 said:
you have nothing to worry about with that PSU and an 8600gts. you can even configure that Dell with an 8800gtx from the factory with that same 375watt PSU.
Click to expand...

You do realize that just because you can configure it w/ the GTX doesn't mean it'll be stable for a long time. With a GTX in the case he will be running dangerously close to the max wattage of his PSU on load. He would probably be like 5 to 10 Watts away from the maximum Wattage of his PSU while under load. But under general (not gaming) usage then yes it will be fine.

The overall point though is even though the PSU currently in question will work it will be just barely capable of doing so. I would always use recommended hardware just in case.
 
JM001 said:
You do realize that just because you can configure it w/ the GTX doesn't mean it'll be stable for a long time. With a GTX in the case he will be running dangerously close to the max wattage of his PSU on load. He would probably be like 5 to 10 Watts away from the maximum Wattage of his PSU while under load. But under general (not gaming) usage then yes it will be fine.

The overall point though is even though the PSU currently in question will work it will be just barely capable of doing so. I would always use recommended hardware just in case.
Click to expand...
the point is that the 375watt psu Dell uses is rated for continuous power and is more than enough for the 8600gts the OP is asking about. also Dell isnt stupid enough to allow you to choose a configuration on a particular model that the PSU cant handle.
 
dennab205 said:
the point is that the 375watt psu Dell uses is rated for continuous power and is more than enough for the 8600gts the OP is asking about. also Dell isnt stupid enough to allow you to choose a configuration on a particular model that the PSU cant handle.
Click to expand...

Well yes then you are correct sir. I personally would still get the recommended just to play it safe but yes OP will be fine w/ an 8600GT and that PSU.
 
ive read about numerous ppl being able to run a 8800gts and gtx with the 375w psu on the 410. i myself will put a 8800gt in my xps 420 although theres a configuarable one that gets the 425 w because that config requires more money.gt runs less power than gts so it should work well.
 
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