Well, that's kind of tricky to answer. When choosing a power supply, wattage isn't as important as aperage. You should look for a power supply with that is both high efficiency and high in amperage output, particularly on the twelve volt rail/rails.

What kind of 500W unit are you using now?

Well, if this is the one you have:

http://www.hfinformatique.be/descriptif.php?num_art=2323

Maybe,  maybe not. First off, I think the card you speak of needs two PCI-E power connections, so be sure your power supply can accommodate that. Also, from what I was reading, this card can EASILY eat up 300+ watts on it's own under load. That won't leave much available for the rest of your machine.

Again, if you're using the power supply I found in the link above, it has two 18 amp, 12V rails for a total combined rating of  36 "theoretical" amps. ("+3.3V&+5V total output not exceed 130W Maximum combined current for the +12V outputs shall be 29A") That MAY be enough, but it might be pushing it a bit.

Using a PSU that can't provide the power needed can cause all kinds of problems including (but not limited to) overheating, random reboots, crashes etc., So if you decide to try it, and you experience any of these issues, your psu might not be up to the task afterall.

While I see no real reason not to try the power supply you have, if you DO have the means, you may be farther ahead just to get a better one now and save yourself the headaches later.

tiabu6620 wrote on Oct 19^th, 2008 at 10:42am:


Yes, but there won't be much advantage with that one over the one you already have, as the specs are nearly the same.

This one :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005
Would be a FARRR better choice, and is only $20(USD) more after the rebate.