Video card overheating?

[yegosimo]

Hey buds. I don't know if you remember but I was looking for a video card for my Dell Inspiron 531s, which had to be a low-profile one.

I got this one (ATI Radeon Visiontek X1300 256MB PCI-E) from the Dell online store, which specified that the product was totally compatible with my desktop PC. I also asked an online salesman (via chat at Dell's website) and he said that the card would work fine.

The thing is that my I have a 250W power supply, which is ridicously small, and I found out at ATI's website that the X1300 needs 300W or greater in order to work well, and I'm pretty scared that it will burn in flames in a couple of days.

Is it fine to have 50W less or should I try to get a greater power supply..? Will all power supplies work with this computer?..

Specs:
AMD Athlon X2 4000+ ~2.1GHz
3 GB RAM
160 GB HDD
Windows Vista Ultimate SP1

Thanks!

 

[Allnatural]

It might work, depending on how much power the rest of your system is drawing. I had a failing power supply a while back and 3d apps would crash to the desktop because my nvidia card wasn't getting enough juice.

So, no, your computer won't burst into flame, but a better PSU would be a good idea. It's best to future-proof yourself and buy as large a supply as you can afford.

 

[Azimer]

Learn from my mistakes. Get the very best power supply you can afford. I have fried more than my fair share of circuitry because of bad power.

 

[yegosimo]

So should I get another PSU?..

Are they different for a slim case too?.. If so, which are my choices?.. Dell doesn't offer me any PSU for upgrading my computer..

 

[t0rek]

Check if you can find something in eBay

 

[marshtric]

The easiest/cheapest way to test that would be to take the side of the case off & point a desk fan directly inside. Run your game & see if the problem persists. The load temps seem very high, but software does not always report accurate temps.

 

[yegosimo]

The easiest/cheapest way to test that would be to take the side of the case off & point a desk fan directly inside. Run your game & see if the problem persists. The load temps seem very high, but software does not always report accurate temps.

Thanks, but I think that the video card is working fine, I have played around 15 hours and it works fine, I constantly touch the computer case and it doesn't get any hotter or w/e.

 

[yegosimo]

Sorry for double-posting but.. my PSU didn't survive. Using the graphics card for a month killed my poor 250W PSU. I noticed that when the computer screamed a weird beeep and shutted down all of the sudden. I opened the case and the fan tried to spin each time I pressed the On button, well I know you know that means that the PSU is dead.

Well whatever, I went to a computer store and they sold me a "400W" generic PSU for about $20, then I came here and plugged it into my computer. Now I have two problems:

1. The 4-pin-thing-that-goes-into-the-motherboard's wire is not long enough. In order to be able to plug it I had to leave the PSU with only 2 screws out of 3 supporting it in the case, which I heard around is not recommended.

2. As I said before, the PSU isn't fixed to the case as recommended, and I'm a little afraid of that but it's the only way I can use my computer now, also, the screw "holes" that the generic PSU has doesn't match the case ones so it's practically hanging from there.

3. Oh, one more problem: a bunch of PSU wires are left because I don't need them and I would be so happy if I could just cut them..

So, what am I supposed to do now? I could order a Dell replacement PSU that is supposed to match my case perfectly (this) and take out the crappy graphics card that I bought (which after all wasn't a great deal), and continue using the integrated graphics, but common!.. I don't want to do that..

 

[Allnatural]

So, what am I supposed to do now? I could order a Dell replacement PSU that is supposed to match my case perfectly (this) and take out the crappy graphics card that I bought (which after all wasn't a great deal), and continue using the integrated graphics, but common!.. I don't want to do that..

That's a lot of coin for a 250W PSU. I'd save your money and build your own computer.

Not having the PSU securely attached would worry me, but so long as you're reasonably sure it's not going to fall (and you don't frequently move the computer) then you should be fine.

And don't cut any wires. You might need them in the future.

 

[yegosimo]

Thanks for the answer but I don't think that it would fall since the computer is standing up vertically and the PSU is in the lower part of the case. The unused cables are the ones that worry me the most, since I can't tie them because they are just way too much.

 

[t0rek]

Again, check eBay to see if they have a Dell PSU suited for you

 

[Allnatural]

The unused cables are the ones that worry me the most, since I can't tie them because they are just way too much.

Yeah, that annoys me too. I bought a modular PSU hoping to reduce cable clutter (Enermax), but every cable that plugs into the supply has *four* connecters attached to it, two molex and two sata. Because of the way things are spaced out in my case I still have a lot of unused cables and connecters floating around.