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Can I upgrade my power supply?

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Post #1
I have a Sony pcv-rs630g computer and recently bought a better video card for it. The video card manufacturer recommends that you have a 350 watt power supply. My power supply is only 295.4 watts. Would this card be too much for my power supply? I was on with a Sony tech on Sony's help chat and the guy I talked to is telling me that I can't put a higher wattage power supply in it because it could damage the motherboard. Is this true? I don't understand that. I would think that the computer would only use as much wattage as it needs. Is this tech telling me the truth or is he just busting my chops so I don't use 3rd party hardware? Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
Post #2 last edited
Hi keffers_summit,

The video card manufacturer recommends that you have a 350 watt power supply. My power supply is only 295.4 watts.
Would this card be too much for my power supply?


Yes, you'll need to upgrade to a larger power supply.

Sony tech on Sony's help chat and the guy I talked to is telling me that I can't put a higher wattage power supply in it because it could damage the motherboard. Is this true?


No. The opposite is true. Your machine will have more overheating and component failure with an inadequate power supply.

Is this tech telling me the truth or is he just busting my chops so I don't use 3rd party hardware?


I have no idea why a supposedly qualified tech would give you that advice.

Is your machine still under warranty? Maybe they require that you send them the machine for their warranty techs to make the replacement so that the warranty will stay in effect?

Best Regards

EDIT: If you're upgrading your Video Card, seriously consider upgrading your RAM at the same time.
Post #3
Thanks, I decided to try the video card. On the cards website it recommends 350 watt but in the owners manual it recommends 300. It works great without any overheating or problems so far. I'm gonna look into a bigger power supply though to be safe. I've already added more memory. I have 1 gig. I really don't know why that tech told me I couldn't upgrade my power supply. The PC isn't under warrenty. I thought he was wrong but wanted to be sure.

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