If you're not getting enough power, you could see stability problems. But I can't think of any way that not enough power would physically damage anything. The only thing really is that if your system is crashing, you could corrupt/lose data.
 
So if I were in your case, I would just run with your existing supply for now, and if you seem to have any trouble you can upgrade it.

Well I can see how it *possibly* could damage something, this will depend on the PS and the voltage regulators on the motherboard however.
 
If said PS has a problem outputting enough current on the power rail that is drawing more then the rating of the PS, then the voltage can drop. This in turn could cause the regulator on the motherboard to fluctuate and this in turn could cause spikes and dips in the output. The dips are not the issue, only the spikes. These usually get filtered out by good vaoltage regulator circuitry in both the PS and on the motherboard however if there are any marginal components this could be an issue.
 
OK, having said this your supply could be just fine however if it's a generic brand PS I would consider getting a replacement and keeping this one as a spare or emergency PS.
 
I recommend Enermax or Antec as they seem to both have very good PS's and are rated highly, well at least by me

I would always recomend just getting a 500W and not worrying about it and just using it when u uprade. 500w would last u a while. Otherwise..... you wanna add up how much power you are using on the page provided and u want to be between 30%-70% for maximum PC performance. Otherwise i donno, you could be damaging ur system. 8)
 
 
 
http://plynch.sphere.org/power_requirements.html

btw i am using a 430w with my system. Didnt go with a 500 because the 430 was a real good price with the purchase of my clear acrylic case and he 500 wasnt an option.

thx for the answers, since i dont wana risk anything ill buy a 500w, i think i can get one for about 20 bucks, anyway thx again

If you want to be sure calculate the wattage your components need. If it's more than your psu then you know you're living on the edege
 
Except for the graphics theese aren't any hardcore components you're running. If you had an athlon XP system or a P4 3.2EE you would see almost certanly see issues.
 
 
Search the previous posts for psu power...
 
http://plynch.sphere.org/power_requirements.html
http://www.howstuffworks.com/power-supply3.htm
 
Do the math and deicide for yourself.

wow thx for the info, that helpd alot, i did the math(poorly) and i think tha its definetly taking up to 80/85% of the ps capacity, and i believ thats not good : ), i instaled the card and didnt esperienced any problems so far, but just in case ive ordered a 500w ps,
just one more supernoob question, theres no way the cooler of the card stop rigth? because of power shortage? and theres any way i can see the heating of the card, i know that the 9600xt came with a diod to measure that, but how to use it?btw, im using the CATS 3.8 that came together with the card

Quote:wow thx for the info, that helpd alot, i did the math(poorly) and i think tha its definetly taking up to 80/85% of the ps capacity, and i believ thats not good : ), i instaled the card and didnt esperienced any problems so far, but just in case ive ordered a 500w ps,
just one more supernoob question, theres no way the cooler of the card stop rigth? because of power shortage? and theres any way i can see the heating of the card, i know that the 9600xt came with a diod to measure that, but how to use it?btw, im using the CATS 3.8 that came together with the card

I ran my computers past the 110% and they were stable.

Power shortage will crash your system, but I doubt that your gpu fan will stop 'cos of that.

Download the latest 3.10 CATS.

k dude, thx again, you were a major help

Quote:thx for the answers, since i dont wana risk anything ill buy a 500w, i think i can get one for about 20 bucks, anyway thx again

Good god! That's not a good way to go about getting the PSU. Spend some money on one. If you've got the cash to drop on the video card, pay a little more for a quality PSU. Not all PSU's are equal. The cheper ones are cheaper for a reason. Buy an Antec, Sparkle/Fortron...something good.

yeah well, i had ordered one but i canceled it, the card is working like a dream, no problems at all, if i start speriencing some problem ill buy one and then ill consider spending a litle more money : )

250W is kinda low, but then again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Quote:Quote:thx for the answers, since i dont wana risk anything ill buy a 500w, i think i can get one for about 20 bucks, anyway thx again

Good god! That's not a good way to go about getting the PSU. Spend some money on one. If you've got the cash to drop on the video card, pay a little more for a quality PSU. Not all PSU's are equal. The cheper ones are cheaper for a reason. Buy an Antec, Sparkle/Fortron...something good.

I wouldn't pay anything under $50. Even that's a little low.