Upgrading video - do i need to change my PSU?

[martinesko36]

Hello i want to upgrade my video. Now i have GTS 250 1GB. My PSU is the one that came with the box - 400W, max 450W.
I want to change my video card with HD6850 - it's power is 18W lower than the GTS 250. Does that mean that i'll play games with my video just fine with my current PSU or i need to change it? I need a professional opinion, because i don't want to have problems if i buy it. Thank you.

 

[Wildcard]

Hi,

I checked on AMD's website and they recommend a power supply of 500w or higher. A lot of power supplies that come with cases are not made with the highest quality components and so they may not be able to produce the voltage needed across the different rails. You might be able to get away with using this power supply with the card, but if it were me, I would invest in a quality power supply to go with the card. This is a list of power supplies that AMD has rated to go with the card (I have used thermaltake toughpower and pc power and cooling units and they have been stable for several years. The PC power and cooling one is running 2 8800gtx cards in sli with no issues to date and is maybe 4 years old):

http://support.amd.com/us/certified/power-supplies/Pages/listing.aspx