Power supply question for a 9800 GTX

[harrisdurrani]

Hello there,

My Friend is selling me his BFG 9800 GTX GPU for a 100 dollars which I think is an awesome deal, but my question is regarding the power supply. The computer I have is the Gateway LX-6810 and the specs are as follows

1) Core 2 Quad Q8200
2) 8 GB DDR 2 Ram
3) the Gateway Motherboard
4) I have connect Three Hard Drives in a Raid totaling 1.5 TB.
5) Current GPU is the nvidia G100

Now currently it's installed with a 465w PSU

Will removing the nvidia G100 and installing the 9800 GTX be a safe bet with the 465W power supply? Or am i risking both my PSU and my GPU here because i certainly don't want it fried. Also i am on a very limited budget..

 

[Technochicken]

That depends on the specific power supply you have. If you take off the side of your computer's case, you should see a big sticker on the side or bottom of your current power supply. What will determine whether or not you can use the card is the number of amps on the 12 volt rail of your power supply. The 9800 GTX requires at least 24 amps, so if your power supply has a number of 24 or greater for 12 volts the card should work safely.

 

[harrisdurrani]

Hey thanks for the reply.. what i have right now says +12V and 26A

 

[harrisdurrani]

Just got the Card and was disappointed to see that the card simply won't fit into my casing... guess i'll have to live with my G100 lol.. Dam i hate computer upgrades. now i have to buy a whole new case, take out all the parts and change them into a new computer

 

[Technochicken]

Is the card too long for your case? If there are extra drive bays in the way of the card, it is usually possible to remove them.

 

[harrisdurrani]

yea the card is way to long for my case.. i even removed the HDD butit just won't fit in. 10.5 inches in my opinion is just way to big.. a 9600 gt can fit in there though which is a 9 inch card so now i have to buy a card that's about 9 inches.. i think the HD4850 is 9 inches

 

[Ritwik7]

If the PSU you currently have is of a reliable make then 465W should handle the card. However, it's generally recommended to have a slightly more powerful PSU (about 550W).