Voltages and currents for graphics cards

[Hans L]

I am looking for voltage and current requirements for geForce 7600 GT KO and 7600 GS graphics cards. Let me tell you -- the are not easy to find. They are not (as far as I can see) on the eVGA (the manufacturer's) website! It only says that you need a minimum of a 350 Watt power supply (minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Ampere). How the hell do they know what I will have in my computer?

Then there is the question of which way the power goes. What goes via the AGP port or what goes via separate connectors? Does the little tiny, puny, minuscule manual that comes with the cards say anything about it. Noooo!

So, what does a novice do? He asks on Hexus!

Where can I find the required information? Please!

[charleski]

Well they tell you what you need in terms of PSU, that's all that matters. It needs 12V @ 18A. Most of the power will be drawn by the auxiliary connector that plugs straight into the card, this must be plugged into your PSU. The PCIe bus itself allows a maximum draw of 5A @ 12V, though most manufacturers only draw 4A from the bus for safety.

[Hans L]

Well, Charleski, thanks. But let me ask you (since I am not so experienced), how can the graphics card people tell me what I need when it comes to PSU? They don't know what else I have (what CPU, home many hard drives, how many graphics cards, how many optical drives, overclocking – not an issue here, but in principle –, etc.?

And, since I have two graphics cards, don't I have to make sure that the PSU has two connectors, one for each graphics card?

I am at this point not sure where the power enters - through the AGP port or the little port on the other side of the card (looks like a small AGP port; it has 13 tongues, if I counted correctly), or both. Can you shed any light on this?

Sorry if these question are rudimentary, but when the documentation is so lacking, it is not easy to educate oneself.

[dave87]

Its based on an assessment of an average system - what they would need + a bit to account for crap PSUs. If you have a more developed system than that you would need a better PSU - but I've always worked on the principal get the best you can afford, which, in my case was a Seasonic S12 500w.

Depending on the power requirements of the card, and whether it is AGP or PCI-e, there will be a difference in how it gets its power. PCIe graphics cards often have 6 pin aux connectors for supplying power, where as AGP ones are powered off a single molex.

Hope this helps a bit,

Dave

[g8ina]

I had probs with a 7600 recently. It beat me, but I think I have since sussed it.... It was an Xpertvision 7600GS.

The small 2x6 way power conn needs to be fed from two *different* Molex blocks, feeding it from a single split block doesnt work (I suspect). You should have an adaptor with two Molex receptacles, if not, feed whatever system it offers from two separate sources. hth.

[DanceswithUnix]

I am suprised no-one has linked to our favourite PSU calculator yet.

Looks from that like a 7600GS should take about 32W, 7600GT takes 57W.

[Hans L]

I posted a response here yesterday, but god only knows where it went.

What I said was basically that I was badly mistaken about the AGP ports -- both cards fit into PCIe ports. Sorry about that!

I have found out that there are no additional power connectors on the cards, only an SLI connector, which I will not use.

And I actually used "our favourite PSU calculator" about a week ago. I also arrived at about 90 watts for both cards.

I'll check out Seasonic S12, but if it has the fan in he ceiling or side wall, I cannot use it. I need a PSU with a fan pointing backwards. And I want a silent power supply.

Thank you all for your kind assistance!