Just want to know

if I should upgrade my PSU. I dont plan I getting a new card anytime soon but am I safe with a 300watt ATX PSU and aXFX 8500GT. What i mean is if i try to run a game to high will my PSU give or am I safe to experiment with what games I can run.

Im looking to get Age of Conan but will my PSU and video card be safe to run it well. And would adding another 1GB of ram be take away from my PSU in terms of watts, or power, will my current set-up allow me to add more ram without having to worry?

if I should upgrade my PSU. I dont plan I getting a new card anytime soon but am I safe with a 300watt ATX PSU and aXFX 8500GT. What i mean is if i try to run a game to high will my PSU give or am I safe to experiment with what games I can run.

Im looking to get Age of Conan but will my PSU and video card be safe to run it well. And would adding another 1GB of ram be take away from my PSU in terms of watts, or power, will my current set-up allow me to add more ram without having to worry?

Marine152

The current video card you have, like any other Low Quality video device, uses comparatively little electricity if it's a proper 256 MB version. If it's one of the noobie-bait 512 MB versions (can't use more than 256 anyway), it is wasting electricity and creating waste heat, and it reduced the finite quantity of rare metals used in its manufacture. From an ecological point of view, it is a major disaster.

Any low quality video card runs fine in a PC with as little as 200 watts or so from a PSU. Yes, if you max out the RAM, there is a greater need for power, although not to the same extent as going from Medium Quality (which needs a 300 to 350 watt PSU) upward to a High Quality video card.

The question is, why are you here in a gaming-oriented forum, where throughout, all the advice given you'll constantly see that the minimum video card is a 600 level of some kind, and yet you are still satisfied with a waste of money like that one?

(Just for instance, in the original query about this exact same subject, whether to upgrade a PSU, I've already allued to the need for a proper video card as follows):

'Most "600 Level" video cards don't need more than 350 to 400 watts' worth from a quality brand power supply, although I think that the 9600 GT cards probably need 450, and it is within the bare limit of a 300 watt (Highest Quality Brands) PSU to handle some of these Medium cards, if the rest of the system remains more or less medium (one Hdd, one DVD, 2 GBs RAM, etc). But when it's HP, the PSU is Low Quality, not to be trusted.'

Hmmm? It appears that you are working toward being a SPAM artist after all. There was a still prior thread you started, also about the same cheap PC and minimal power supply replacement.

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_msgs.php?board_id=314159272&topic_id=26290365

One single thread on the subject was totally sufficient.

The minimum for that card, according to this specifications page (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?XFX-85GT), is 350w.

I wouldn't try it before upgrading your PSU. Here's a link to a $45 450w PSU from MSI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817701003). I'd rather spend the extra $45 than risk frying valuable components.

The minimum for that card, according to this specifications page (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?XFX-85GT), is 350w.

I wouldn't try it before upgrading your PSU. Here's a link to a $45 450w PSU from MSI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817701003). I'd rather spend the extra $45 than risk frying valuable components.

idreambuild