Geforce 5900 not recieving enough power.

[madfukr]

Howdy!

Ok, i've got an e-machines 770, and i recently installed a new graphics card, an nvidia geforce 5900 (upgrading form a 5200 ultra). When windows xp boots up, i get a popup message telling me that my card is not being supplied with enough power, and to prevent damage the graphics processor will operate at a lower rate. My psu is 300w, the minimum spec for the card according to the makers.

Q1. Am i missing something? I'd heard some cards had to be connected directly to the psu, but how?

Q2. Will operating the computer under these conditions damage my computer?

Q3. Should i buy a new psu? And would a more powerful psu be damaging to my system? I.E. Would it fry my pc?

I'm not really very experienced at this kinda thing and would really appreciate any help anybody could give me.

Thanks!

[Gizmo]

If your card requires more power, it will have a secondary power connector that looks like a hard drive power connector on the back of it.

My guess is that your 5900 is one of the 'budget' cards that don't have that second connector. Without it, the card can't draw sufficient power to run at higher speeds, because the AGP slot can't supply it without burning up.

[madfukr]

I'm kinda up the creek then?

[Gizmo]

That would be my guess. However, there may be someone else who has more knowledge of this than me who will drop in and share their opinion.

[Pitch]

If the card does need a secondary power source then it wil have something like the one below.

You won't damage you system with it running the way it is.

The PSU might be a Problem anyway. If it is an E-machines then it is very likly it will be a low ampage Generic PSU. Higher end graphics cards will pull alot fro the 12v rail, and the chances are the PSU was never installed with future upgrades in mind.

Have a look at the card, see if you can ID the power connector, or better yet, if you can take a photo of it and post it. Also, how much did you pay for it and if it was bought over the net, have you got a link.

[robbie]

Yeah, what pitch said.
Rob

[madfukr]

Thanks for the insight folks. My bro's comin over later with his digicam, so i'll post the pics later today. But say i was to install a new, more powerful psu - would that fry my pc components

I bought the card in a store in Dublin, it cost me 280 euro. (damn near a weeks wages!)

[Pitch]

Originally Posted by madfukr

. But say i was to install a new, more powerful psu - would that fry my pc components

Shouldn't do.

[madfukr]

Well i couldn't get any photos of the card, but the card definitely has one of those connectors thats highlighted in pitch's photo, black, with four pins inside. But the card didn't come supplied with any additional cables for connecting it to the psu.

So i'm thinking i need a new psu, and a cable to hook up to the card. Would a 400w be enough do you think? And do you reckon i would need any additional cooling?

[danrok]

If your PSU doesn't have a spare connector you would need to use a molex Y splitter cable. But, you would still need a good PSU. A good quality PSU would most likely have enough spare 12v connectors, anyhow.

[Pitch]

What you need is a spare one of these. Open the case and root around. Sometimes they're bundled together above your CD/DVD drives.

http://images.google.com/images?q=tb...-pwm-molex.jpg

[madfukr]

Well thanks a lot folks, got a new psu, hooked up the card and my pc is purring like a kitten again.

Cheers for the help!