Q: I have this computer http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668189.php It has a 300 watt power supply, I have read that the 4870x2 needs about 260 watts. MY current power supply probably isn't using all of it's watts. Would the 500 watt PC Power and Cooling do the job? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703015 With this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768 Will it be enough juice? I would like it to be. I don't need the extra wires in the higher watt versions. I'm reading graphs that say it needs less than 500watts total system. http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/745/power_consumption.jpg and that it only consumes 263 watts (MAX) http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/radeon-hd4870-x2/4870x2_power_full.png I'm only shy about 60 watts, and that is if my system is using all 300 of the current power supply. it honestly seems like the silencer would be enough. It has a 6 and 8 pin PCI connector. It seems like the extra watts aren't necessary. http://www.pcpower.com/products/description/Silencer_500_EPS12V/index.html well, the computer is OEM. So, the power supply is a bare minimum. However, I'm sure there are a few leftover watts that the system isn't consuming. That computer I linked actually isn't the one I have. The CPU is a phenom 9550, I think. It's the lower watt chip. Its got one hard drive and a dvd drive. It has a pretty decent onboard video chip which hybrid crossfires with the add in card (hd 3200s). All that graphic consumption will be replaced. I'm guessing the current graphics solution consumes at least 60 watts. I think 500 will cut it, but I don't know... I could probably provide better info This is the one, my system as is... http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668111.php
A: It will depend partially on the other components of your computer. How many hard dries, what processor, do you overclock, etc. ATI's website says you need 450-500 Watts btw. PC Power & Cooling is a great brand of power supply, that usually puts out what it's rated for with good stability. That would be a good choice in my opinion. You may want to enter your system specs into this calculator however, to check that the rest of your system is not too large. http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp