Video Card Questions

[Hoko]

I have an IBM Think Centre 814815U computer running XP Home Edition with a 230 watt power supply. I just bought a GeForce 6200 512mb video card for it and read on the box that I need a 300 watt power supply to run it. Would it cause problems that would harm the card or the computer if I tried to run it? Or would it cause the graphics card or other computer systems stress or not to perform at optimum levels? I dont care if the power supply burns out, I'll just put a big one back in.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

There is a potential problem here.

The computer has a 230W PS right now, and that is probably it's peak supply running flat-out. If that 300W for the nVidia is correct for continuous power consumption, just forget the idea right now.

Let's put it this way, if that nVidia card needs 300W from the power supply just for itself, you need at least a 500W replacement PS before you can proceed safely. Any other advice would be criminally negligent ( and this is presuming your system is not using the entire 230W, if it were make that 500w even higher ).

What will happen is that the total system demand will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 500W all at once at turn-on. Presumably IBM used good parts in that little Power Supply, so there will be a fast-blow fuse inside that will pop and smoke right after you hit the switch.

Fusing is to protect against several things, most-importantly a dead-short somewhere demanding maximum supply of electricity and causing the wires quickly overheat or melt or catch fire due to higher current than their carrying capacity. 500W will appear as a dead-short and the fuse will go. If there were no fusing in the Power Supply then it would likely trip the circuit breaker or fuse at the wall panel, or possibly some AC mains splitter you have inline. Were all these safety measures to fail or be too slow, the next weakest links in the electrical chain will go, most likely the thinnest AC wires.

If that is one of the old-style non-tower desktops it may have a mini-ATX or smaller PS, which are kind of limited in range already. A desktop 500W PS is simple to get and would cost like $40 USA, I can't say about the smaller form factors though.

[Hoko]

There is a potential problem here.

The computer has a 230W PS right now, and that is probably it's peak supply running flat-out. If that 300W for the nVidia is correct for continuous power consumption, just forget the idea right now.

Let's put it this way, if that nVidia card needs 300W from the power supply just for itself, you need at least a 500W replacement PS before you can proceed safely. Any other advice would be criminally negligent ( and this is presuming your system is not using the entire 230W, if it were make that 500w even higher ).

Thanks Charlotte, You confirmed the gut feeling I had about the whole situation. Fortunately it is the tower type of computer which has more room to work with. I'll just replace it with a 500 or 600 power supply.

[jaclaz]

@Charlotte

I doubt that the fuse (which IF is there, it is on the 110/240 VAC side of the PSU) can blow.

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/smpsfaq.htm#smpstsps

A line fuse is usually present as well to prevent a meltdown in case of a catastrophic failure. It rarely can prevent damage to the supply in the event of an overload, however.

Most modern PSU's have overload protection (electronic), but it is not guaranteed that it will work, then most likely the regulators/power transistors of the switching DC part will heat instantly and the PSU will shut off by thermal protection.

@Hoko

In any case DO NOT do it.

jaclaz

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

They should all have fuses on the AC primary as a fallback since it's an inexpensive solution to safeguard against a dead short. The electronic breaker would normally be set to something below the maximum power rating since it is automatically resettable, but the fuse for maximum draw should burn-out for those extreme circumstances. Depending on the age and quality of the PS in the system, the OP should get lucky and have the electronic breaker ( if existing ) trip with no fuse burning out, so there would be no need to open the PS and replace the fuse for further use after removing the offending component that required too much current. BTW, I have my doubts that the nVidia card uses 300W continuously. At the very least it would have supplementary connectors to the PS, but he didn't specify the exact model to get a look at it. Someone may have actually tested the normal power use requirements already.

I have a pile of old Power Supplies from the AT and ATX era. I usually convert them to bench use as they become superseded ( AT supplies work as is, ATX require a jumper on the #14 green wire to ground to simulate an attached motherboard ). Each one I examine has a fuse, but maybe it's just a USA or UL thing, I don't know. I found a 230W AT model in the pile ...

The handles, LEDs and AC switches are added by me. Note that the fuse is 5 amp and is selected to match the max power on the label which is AC 115/230V 5A 60/50 Hz. Our typical home AC breakers are 10 AMP as are many of the multi-outlet splitters so this thing should be the first to go poof unless the internal electronics have a slightly lower trip threshold, which they definitely should.

Also note that it is an older and cheap PS, and the fuse is actually soldered to the PCB. Generally they have the common sense on better models to use a fuse block.

[cdob]

I have an IBM Think Centre 814815U computer running XP Home Edition with a 230 watt power supply. I just bought a GeForce 6200 512mb video card for it and read on the box that I need a 300 watt power supply to run it

300 watt is the recommendation for the system, assuming a trash PSU.

The GeForce 6200 requires about 30W, the P4 2800 ? about 90W.

Given a ThinkCentre there is no need to update the PSU.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

I have an IBM Think Centre 814815U computer running XP Home Edition with a 230 watt power supply. I just bought a GeForce 6200 512mb video card for it and read on the box that I need a 300 watt power supply to run it

300 watt is the recommendation for the system, assuming a trash PSU.

The GeForce 6200 requires about 30W, the P4 2800 ? about 90W.

Given a ThinkCentre there is no need to update the PSU.

I thought that sounded fishy.

I had a look at a few nVidia cards with the OP listed specs and they did in fact word it as requiring a 300W PS. Very sloppy of them. If they make the darn card they sure as heck know the power consumption! Why not spell it out/

[cdob]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/1506/5

System

Intel Pentium 4 560 (3.6GHz)

Intel 915GUX (Intel 915 Chipset)

NVIDIA GeForce 6200

The system cosnumes 117 W at idle and 200 W at peak.

The 560 CPU is listed at TDP 115 W

http://ark.intel.com/products/27472/intel-pentium-4-processor-560560j-supporting-ht-technology-1m-cache-3_60-ghz-800-mhz-fsb

The ThinkCentre uses a Northwood or a Prescott: most likely a lower TDP

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=migr-55505

@Hoko

How do you use your system: as a gaming machine?

[Ponch]

I read on the box that I need a 300 watt power supply to run it.

It never says "an apart 300W PSU to run the video card". They don't want you to return the card so it's a big warning, with a margin included. I'd try. You'll see problems running the computer long before the PSU blows.