How Taxing is 4 monitors on a Power Supply

On a PC there is an only one AGP slot (usually) so this card can't be 'added' to an existing PC but only be the main videocard. Yes a 300w PSU is good, if the CPU is not a heavy Pentium 4...

 

Ok thanks. I meant as the only video card. The processor is an Athlon XP 1700 (1.47 ghz).

Harold

 

I am running 3 monitors on a Dell Dimension 8300 that is a Pentium 4 at 2.6

I have a MSI GeForce 5700 with 128mb in the AGP slot and a simple GeForce Mx440 video card with 64mb of RAM in my PCI slot. I am also running 1 full Gig of memory.

Power supplies aren't the most glamorous of components on a PC but it is one of the most important. I did a lot fo research on this a couple of years ago right after I bought my Dell 8300. It's not just the AGP or PCI cards that draw power, but also your memory, your hard drives, etc.

I decided to play it safe and upgrade my 250W stock Dell powersupply with one from PC Power & Cooling. They are the only company that makes aftermarket power supplies for Dells, and carry the "Silencer" model name.

I believe that they also have a configuration table on their website that helps you figure out your power consumption, and then identifies what kind of wattage your system draws. ( see next post below for Usage Table ).

It can get a bit complicated, because their are 3 different "rails" to a power supply, and certain computer components run off each respective rail. Thus, you usually have to figure out how powerful the 12V rail is ( just check the specs ) because that is the one that usually powers your memory and AGP cards, I believe.

http://www.pcpower.com/home/

Micro-Center now carries some of the PC Power & Cooling line.
They are very well built, and you will notice a huge difference in the weight of them ( and the materials used ) compares to your stock power supply, let alone other "cheaper" units.

 

Power Supplies: How Much Power Do You Need?


Component Requirement

AGP Video Card 30W – 50W
PCI Express Video 100W – 225W
Average PCI Card 5W – 10W
DVD/CD 20W – 30W
Hard Drive 15W – 30W
Case/CPU Fans 3W (ea.)
Motherboard (w/o CPU or RAM) 50W – 100W
RAM 15W per 1GB
Pentium III Processor 40W
Pentium 4 Processor 80W – 125W
AMD Athlon Processor 80W – 125W

For overall power supply wattage, add the requirement for each device in your system, then multiply by 1.5. (The multiplier takes into account that today’s systems draw disproportionally on the +12V output. Furthermore, power supplies are more efficient and reliable when loaded to 30% - 70% of maximum capacity.)

http://www.pcpower.com/technology/power_usage/

 

Hi Gnome. I just installed a GE Force 600 with 256 on board ram. It uses the 4 pin plug in. Should I be concerned about an underpowered PSU? I have been running it for the last 4 days no problems? It's with the standard Dell PSU in Dimension 4700. I looked at the PSU's that Landis posted. $150 that's over 1/4 of what I just payed for my new Dell E521!

 

For example, the GeForce 6800 Ultra video card probably draws a substantial amount of wattage, OVER 100 WATTS during peak gaming activity. ( the key here is "peak" activity ).

A number like that is certainly going to burden a 250w power supply on a Dell 4700. I would bet that the instructions that come with your video card state that the power supply should be ATLEAST 350 watts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exaMRJZGUmo