Has anyone experience with two Quadro NVS 295's (2-head) graphics cards in a computer with a 250 watt power supply? Wondered if there might be a power supply overload issue using these in an HP Pavilion p6617c Desktop PC w/250 watt power supply. Maximum Power Consumption 46W for two NVS 295's (23W ea) What's the verdict? Thanks
I think that the risk is small. The 2 boxes that I have retired are HP/Compaq SR5610F desktop. I used them to drive 3 x PCI/PCIeX16 PNY Technologies dual cards (it's 3 cards on each box) for about 2 years with no problem. The SR5610F also has a 250W power supply, and the chip Athlon 64 X2 is rated at 65W, similar to the HP p6617c which also uses Athlon X2 chip at 65W.
You can find many PSU calculators online (google it ) , from my limited knowledge 250w PSU seems inadequate , hell i run 800w in my machine
May not be inadequate, but on the small-ish side. Lots of modern computers run at 120-160W at idle.... most trading setups run throughout the day at near-idle. So, for OP's concern..... (1) Try the 2, 295s... likely won't be a problem. (2) If PSU fan starts running faster, it means it's getting stressed a bit... being stressed "some" can be OK, but running near maximum is not desireable. (If necessary, replace the power supply with something 380-500 or so watts, but don't buy an el-cheapo PSU... get one from a decent brand... like Antec, Corsair, Thermaltake, etc.) $40-$60 is enough to spend, or look for a good one with a rebate to lower cost. If you're running a Small Form Factor computer, replacing the PSU is more of a chore... replacements less readily available than standard size boxes.
The "problem" with "PSU calculators" is they presume all components are running at maximum at the same time.... rarely if ever the case. Measures of "system power use" at both idle and maximum stress can be found online also... they indicate "maximum wattage which could possibly be used", but trading usually only requires enough PSU for "idle" power consumption... and that's usually 120-160W, depending upon the CPU and video card. The only way to know for sure whether a 250W PSU might be inadequate is to connect your rig to a watt meter.... which can be found online for about $20 or less.