I have a Fortron 350w PSU with what appears to be 19.5A on the 12V rail.

I've been trying to find out if this would be enough for one of the new 8800GT (256mb) which are due out next week for around £125.

I'm currently running a 7600GT with no problems but thought I'd better ask about the 8800GT just in case. Thanks.

Very much doubt it, your looking at a true power PSU for them, atleast a 550watt if you have a decent cpu/number of CD/DVD/HDD drives.

More you PC has bigger the PSU has to be.

Thanks Gus.  Does the 8800GT really eat up that much more power than the 7600gt?

If that really is the case I don't think I'll bother upgrading at this point.  I'll probably wait another year then just buy a new PC.

I'd say it's less power than any other model of 8800

Good look on finding one. scan.co.uk advertises the 256mb model for £99+vat

If you have a low power CPU like the Core 2 Duo you might just make it I heard it uses 90w

In reply the original question, it's not necessarily the overall wattage of a PSU that's important. It's the 12v rail rating that matters when powering graphics cards. I have seen many lowish wattage PSUs with beefier 12v rails than higher wattage models.

PSUs have at least 3 rails: One delivers 3.3v, one 5v and at least one delivers 12v. Each rail has a limit to the number of amps it can deliver, and all this adds up to the total wattage of the PSU (details of each rail's capability is usually found on a sticker on the side of the PSU, look for +3.3v, +5v, +12v).

For a 8800GT, it's recommended to have a PSU with a 12v railcapable of delivering at least 24amps.

If you're buying on a budget, Google for a "colors 600w psu". They have a 30amp single 12v rail and can be found for about £20 with free delivery from a well known online book store. I can't vouch for these personally but they seem to do the job judging by the reviews.

If you want to spend a bit more and have the assurance of a quality brand, the Corsair HX PSUs are highly recommended. They have multiple 12v rails but are capable of spreading the load between them if one becomes overloaded so in effect they behave like a PSU with a nice & beefy single 12v rail.

Im running a p4 with a 8600gts and with a 500watt supply i'm pushing it.

You will need at least 500 more if possible.