upgrading power and video

[gatholl]

I want to up grade my power supply so i can use a new video card
I have upgraded ram and changes disk drives but never up graded any higher
The question I have is,  Is there such thing as to much of a power supply upgrade
and if my current chipset has a video driver on it how do I use a PCI-E video card?
Any info will help thanks

[EEVIAC]

Is there such thing as to much of a power supply upgrade

In some cases, the higher the power supply rating (in watts) the higher the minimum load (hardware) must be, in order for the PSU to stay on.  In other words you probably don't want a supply with too high of a rating (only what you need, plus 20 - 30 % of your total calculated need, to give room for expansion and/or miscalculation in total needed power).  It would also cost you more buying a higher rated psu (if you didn't need it) than one that is relatively lower in watts.

if my current chipset has a video driver on it how do I use a PCI-E video card

I assume you mean "integrated graphics"?  You just plug it into one of the available PCIe slots (while the computer is unplugged) and your system will default to using that card, instead of the integrated graphics.  You might have to disable the integrated graphics in cmos, but it's not difficult...



Go to power supply calculator  Input all hardware installed on your computer and INCLUDE the graphics card you want to use...

[patio]

In some cases, the higher the power supply rating (in watts) the higher the minimum load (hardware) must be, in order for the PSU to stay on.  In other words you probably don't want a supply with too high of a rating

I read this 4 times and i still don't understand what it's supposed to mean...

[EEVIAC]

I read this 4 times and i still don't understand what it's supposed to mean...

Minimum Power Supply Load


Also...

Quote from Upgrading and Repairing PC's:

Generally, the higher the rating on the supply, the more minimum load required.  However, exceptions do exist, so this is a specification you should check when evaluating power supplies.

[Computer_Commando]

Minimum Power Supply Load


Also...

Quote from Upgrading and Repairing PC's:

Generally, the higher the rating on the supply, the more minimum load required.  However, exceptions do exist, so this is a specification you should check when evaluating power supplies.



edit: I don't know why this post looks like I used hyper link code on all of it.  I only used the code on the "Minimum Power Supply Load"

You are missing the end tag:  [/url] after the Minimum Power Supply Load
i.e.
Minimum Power Supply Load

[EEVIAC]

thx...     I need to pay closer attention I guess 

[2x3i5x]

And look at that +12V rail rating, that is important when selecting a good PSU.