Is this really bad?

[vegetash]

I am building a pc for a friend with a sapphire radeon x1900xt and the power supply I ordered gives 20amps for 12volts. I heard you need 28-30 at full load and was wondering if I am seriously killing my potential power by only having 20amps. The thing is I didnt factor the price of a "good" PSU into the final budget and only realized my mistake when I got the case/psu combo. I dont want to tell my friend to lay down another $60-80 if the difference isnt that much. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[_Korruption_]

You got a generic case/PSU combo, did you?

 

[vegetash]

raidmax case and psu...420watts

 

[Royicus]

Well, I'd use some caution. I mean, you could try it, but if you run into problems, you'll have to get a new PSU. If you do try it, I'd recommend that you check the rails with a multimeter. If they are sagging under load, you'll need a better PSU. The video card will draw tops around 9A (9Ax12V=108W), so that leaves you some room for your other devices.

Personally, I probably wouldn't try it and would just get a good PSU for the system. A solid 500W should be plenty. There are many manufacturers that you can pick from, Seasonic, Tagan, Antec, OCZ, PC P&C (expensive), etc that make solid units.

 

[vegetash]

alright, I didnt think of checking it out with a multimeter, thats a good idea. Thanks for the input, I'll give it a shot. I think I have a problem with my motherboard and I need to RMA it, I am using an intel d 805 2.6ghz and an albatron mobo and it didnt even POST, nothing came on the screen, I thought it might be the PSU so I tried another one (a 450 watt one) with a less powerful video card and the same thing happened. Looks like I have a bad board.

It should at least boot up if the amps arent enough right?

 

[Royicus]

Well, that's hard to say. I'm not sure how those power supplies are built, but too much stuff could lead to a large inrush current demand from the PSU. I'm pretty sure they are built to cope with that though. If it doesn't post at all, and you are getting a solid voltage reading from your power supply, then I'd think that the problem may lie with the motherboard.

 

[Stuey83]

Some people have problems with Raidmax PSUs, and when they go, they drag down entire systems into the dust with them.

Don't risk it. He'll be better of springing for a better made PSU. Royicus had some solid suggestions.

 

[kydsid]

I wouldn't use that PSU for anything but a door stop. Mine had trouble powering a AMD Winny 3000 and an X800Pro with one HD and one CD Rom. I upgraded to a Tagaon 480 U22 which is about $80. It now powers the system I have in my sig with no problems whatsoever.

 

[joemama]

You might get away with using a cheap psu that came with a case for a lower end videocard but probably not a X1900XT. Keep in mind they are more power hungry than even the 7950GX2..

 

[Dozoy]

Some people have problems with Raidmax PSUs, and when they go, they drag down entire systems into the dust with them.

Don't risk it. He'll be better of springing for a better made PSU. Royicus had some solid suggestions.

A lighting surge took down my Raidmax PSU and the PSU wouldnt destroy itself instead of killing the whole system like it should have and my whole system was gone.

 

[AlexStenka]

I say don't do it man, I learned my lesson the hard way 3 times now cuz I used stock PSUs.

 

[AdamNesvick]

look around, you can find a good one for not too much. It IS the most important part in a rig though, from a stability standpoint.

I got an Ultra X2 from ZZF, you can get the standard model for $90, or the purdy UV one like me, for $100, its worth it!

 

[Trackstar23]

Beware of generic PSU's. The one in my sig just gave up on me 2day out of nowhere. I opened it up to see what was wrong and discovered one of the components was burnt to the 5th power!

 

[Ju$tice]

Put the generic psu on ebay some junky might buy it then get a new one!