Enough power for a new video card?

Question

I just received a gift of a Sapphire Radeon HD5450 (1G DDR3) for my Dell XPS 400. The computer has 375 watt power supply but the card calls for 400 watts. Can I get away with 375 watts or do I need to trade it in for a lower powered card?

Adrian · Accepted Answer

According to:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
or
http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards
you only need a 330W PSU for a 5450, so you should be ok (AMD says 400W). That said, those that call for a 400W PSU usually do so because of the +12V power requirements of the 5450, you need a good 22A at least on a single +12V rail in the PSU. Many 350W PSU and such have two +12V rails, often at 16A or 18A, not enough for that video card (it needs one rail to provide all the current)

So, check your PSU ratings. If it has 22A rating or more on one +12V rail, you should be ok (22A is total system use, of which the video card is a large portion).

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Enough power for a new video card?

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