power supply?

i am getting 6600gt and i was wondering if my dell would have enough power to support it and if not, could i maybe disconnect one of my cd drives to give it more power. Also, how can you tell if it is getting enough power?

the cd is negligable compared to the card

if it is not getting enough power it has a pop up that says it is getting insufficient power

what i would worry about is overstressing the power supply and having it short out

that could be anything from a simple poof it is gone and you replace it to shorting everything in the system

some decent ps run about 25 up to 125 dollard

for your purpose check with the manufacturer if the card would be too big a strain

remember that the power increase is only the difference between what comes out and the new one

Check the dell website for a faq about your computer, see if there is any issues with the card you are getting. Also see if there is some sort of power supply upgrade. That would give you a clue as to whether your system can support the current power supply demands in it's retail configuration.

Cheers

Last I heard.. PcPower and Cooling make the power supplies for dell. So, the only thing that would be holding you back is if that power supply is only like 140-300 watt. If its a 350/+, the dell power should do the job ok, How many more components are in the computer? BTW PcPower and Cooling are top rated power supplies, along with OCZ.

In truth, three Optical drives can easily ask for the same amount of wattage as a top of the line video card. Alright, here are some numbers to chew on, remember though some optical drives will be greater than or less than these ranges (same goes for video cards...but I believe I picked the highest power consumers, correct me if i'm wrong).

nVidia Geforce FX 6800 Ultra has a PEAK wattage of 77 watts
ATI Radeon X800/XT has a PEAK wattage of 68 watts.

A standard CD-RW when operating has a nominal wattage of 15-25 volts or PEAK wattage of 15*sqrt(2) for lower range 25*sqrt(2) for higher end... meaning CD-RW when writing has a PEAK wattage approx. between 21-35 watts

An average DVD/CDRW combo has a nominal wattage of 30, so PEAK would be 30*sqrt(2) or approx 42 watts.... thats 2/3 wattage of the top of the line video card.

Another note SCSI hard drives also soak up wattage 20-30 nominal I believe.

Disconnecting peripherals can save you lots of wattage and these numbers come from items in my computer... they did not specify they were peak or nominal so they may actually soak up less. That's why I said 3 optical drives instead of 2 as seen by the numbers.

Lansing Kai Don

P.S. But be warned... that your Optical drives have to be Reading/Writing (especially writing) to be using this nominal wattage. They really don't use that much sitting idle.... but then again neither does your video card (but it never completely sits at idle like your opticals would).

Just FYI. You may want to read the PC requirements for the video card you will be upgrading to. I have a Dell Dimension 8300 and upgraded to the ATI Radeon 800 XT card and needed to upgrade the power supply. Dell doesn't really offer upgrades of this nature to their systems, but was guided to a power supply manufacturer called PC Power and Cooling.

You can find their site here and select the Dell Computer link then select the model you have:

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/produc...ctor/index.htm

I upgraded to the 425W unit and have had no difficulties at all with the power supply or any malfunctions within the system. It is not a very cheap alternative, but video cards now a days require so much more power.

Good Luck..

several good name brands are much cheaper
i use antec true power supplies

http://www.antec.com/InternationalWelcome.php

I believe there is a list on most websites (AMD and Intel for sure) of recommend PSU makers. I just find the best deal from one of those makers.. I've never had problems (out of 27 computers in my lifetime) and this way if it blows up, your more likely to get a replacement... all of the previously mentioned power supply vendors are on AMD's recommended list

Here is the link to AMD's list:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/DevelopWithAMD/0,,30_2252_869_1039^4038,00.html

Lansing Kai Don

P.S. But to each his own.