New PSU or not?

[Las_Killar]

Hi guys

 

I got an old pc with and Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz processor with stock cooler and 6 gigs of DDR3 ram (unknown brand) 1333MHz.

 

And i am wondering if i can put a HD7850 graphic card in the machine without replacing the PSU. The one that sits in the machine at the moment is an old FSP350-60MDN which has an onput on 350watt.

 

I know that the E8400 has an TDP at 65watt, so in my mind that would leave (approx) some 285 watt to the GPU but i am not sure.

 

There will be no OC on the machine and the only purpose for it will be just an video machine, ergo youtube and movies.

Should i try with the PSU or should i get another one?

[Godlygamer23]

Bear in mind that other components are pulling power as well, like the components on the motherboard(RAM and the chipsets for example).

Edited September 3, 2016 by Godlygamer23

[STRMfrmXMN]

15 minutes ago, Las_Killar said:

Hi guys

 

I got an old pc with and Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz processor with stock cooler and 6 gigs of DDR3 ram (unknown brand) 1333MHz.

 

And i am wondering if i can put a HD7850 graphic card in the machine without replacing the PSU. The one that sits in the machine at the moment is an old FSP350-60MDN which has an onput on 350watt.

 

I know that the E8400 has an TDP at 65watt, so in my mind that would leave (approx) some 285 watt to the GPU but i am not sure.

 

There will be no OC on the machine and the only purpose for it will be just an video machine, ergo youtube and movies.

Should i try with the PSU or should i get another one?

That's a pretty low end PSU. It'll probably work but I'd replace it myself.

[Trevor87]

You are playing with fire if it unknown brand PSU with all your parts.

Your PSU going run at 274 watts but reading reviews they recommend a 430 watt power supply with the graphics card.      

[SwarmEdits]

If you are using the pc for watching videos is it really necessary to upgrade the GPU? 

I would recommend upgrading the CPU to a newer one as this is in general will boost the performance of the pc in tasks such as watching videos and using the internet. This in turn would mean that you will not have to upgrade the power supply as 350 watts is more than enough for the CPU and other components like RAM and Hard drives. 

If you are set on upgrading the graphics card then use a power supply calculator that you can find online or use the one i linked. The HD7850 isn't a very power hungry card, only using around 100 to 110 watts on full load but i would recommend using the website just to be safe.

http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

 

[Las_Killar]

12 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Bear in mind that other components are pulling power as well, like the components on the motherboard(RAM and the chipsets for example).

I know and that is why i am in doubt.

But my buddy has an Intel Core 2 duo with same TDP and a GTX 550 ti on a 330Watt PSU and he's machine is running but he is not pushing it or anything like i wouldn't do because of i just want it to watch movies on

 

2 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

That's a pretty low end PSU. It'll probably work but I'd replace it myself.

I am also thinking about finding another but i don't need it to be an 80+ rated so could i just get a 500 watt PSU or ?

[Godlygamer23]

3 minutes ago, Las_Killar said:

but i don't need it to be an 80+ rated so could i just get a 500 watt PSU or ?

Bear in mind that the 80+ rating has nothing to do with the wattage. Lower wattage power supplies can have very high 80+ rating.

[Las_Killar]

1 minute ago, SwarmEdits said:

If you are using the pc for watching videos is it really necessary to upgrade the GPU? 

I would recommend upgrading the CPU to a newer one as this is in general will boost the performance of the pc in tasks such as watching videos and using the internet. This in turn would mean that you will not have to upgrade the power supply as 350 watts is more than enough for the CPU and other components like RAM and Hard drives. 

If you are set on upgrading the graphics card then use a power supply calculator that you can find online or use the one i linked. The HD7850 isn't a very power hungry card, only using around 100 to 110 watts on full load but i would recommend using the website just to be safe.

http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

 

The Core 2 Duo doesn't have an intergrated GPU so the motherboard has an GPU chip but it is to slow to view youtube videos at 720P and i would like to watch 1080P, and the HD7850 is a leftover card from one of my previous machines so it would just be nice to make it to good use again

But thanks for the info and link

 

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Bear in mind that the 80+ rating has nothing to do with the wattage. Lower wattage power supplies can have very high 80+ rating.

I know
But i just want to save some bucks if i has to purchase another PSU (here in Denmark the rated PSU is overcharged in price)
 

[STRMfrmXMN]

6 minutes ago, Las_Killar said:

 

 

I am also thinking about finding another but i don't need it to be an 80+ rated so could i just get a 500 watt PSU or ?

An EVGA 650GQ will have way more wattage than you need, isn't super expensive, and should work well. It's also quiet. Too expensive? Maybe get a Corsair CX450M. 

[SwarmEdits]

4 minutes ago, Las_Killar said:

The Core 2 Duo doesn't have an intergrated GPU so the motherboard has an GPU chip but it is to slow to view youtube videos at 720P and i would like to watch 1080P, and the HD7850 is a leftover card from one of my previous machines so it would just be nice to make it to good use again

But thanks for the info and link

 

I know
But i just want to save some bucks if i has to purchase another PSU (here in Denmark the rated PSU is overcharged in price)
 

Therefore i would recommend upgrading the CPU and motherboard as this will offer more upgradability in the future and overall will make the pc feel more snappy due to a more up to date CPU.