If a PCI card needs a 250W power supply...

I am looking at 128MB PCI graphics cards. All of them say you need a 250W power subbly. Does that mean you need a special wire to plug into the card (if so PLEASE give me a picture), or is it just the thing you plug into the outlet?

 

You would plug the card in with a Molex Connector. Molex Connectors are standard on every power supply. They're usually semi-clear plastic and have four holes in then that plug into four pins on a hard drive, CD-ROM, or other computer things. You can look at the Y-Adaptor below to get an idea of it.

If your power supply happens to be out of these Molex Connectors (they're all plugged into something), you can buy a Y-Cable which simply splits one molex connector you have into two.

They're cheap. $2 even. You can buy them from many places, such as here. I've got a ton of them myself and could send one to you for whatever shipping costs me.

¤Night

 

Thanks, I ahve one of those, but O only thought they wer for HDDs and stuff like that, not cards. Now I'm OK. By the way, my system only has 2 RAM slots, one has 256, the other is open. If installed a 512 in the second slot and booted up the system with 768 (so software would install it). Could I then shut down the system, remove the 256, and put in another 512?

 

It probably means your PC needs a minimum of a 250 W power source.

Typically PCI cards draw power from the motherboard, which is connected to the power supply.

 

Kevin could be right. You might not have to plug the actual card in. Some higher end cards do, my Video and Sound cards both need to be plugged in with a molex, but many cards do not.

And yes, in reference to the RAM, you could do that, but make sure you buy the type of RAM you need. RAM comes in many different speeds, sizes and types.

¤Night