GameSpot: What are the reasons behind the 480W power supply recommendation for the GeForce 6800 Ultra?

Ujesh Desai: We have to spec our products for the absolute worst case, not the best. Marginal power supplies and poorly ventilated cases must be taken in to account. We are traditionally over-cautious about our minimum specifications, and this is no exception. Now that we have had more time with the GPU we are getting a better feel for its capabilities, tolerances and resource requirements.

The reason we initially spec'ed out 480W was because the GeForce 6800 Ultra was targeted at the Enthusiast. These folks tend to push their systems to the max. That means overclocking the GPU, using the fastest CPU on the market, and also typically using multiple peripherals. For these folks a 480 Watt power supply and a second power dongle on the graphics card provide an ideal overclocking solution. For people that do not want to overclock, the 480W power supply and second power connector combination is overkill.

GS: Since a 480W power supply is "overkill," what kind of sub-480W power supply can support a GeForce 6800 Ultra running at normal clock speeds?

UD: A good quality 350 Watt power supply with a sufficient 12V rail pull can support the 6800 Ultra standard clocks of 400/550. A lot of reviewers have already shown that they are running on 350 Watt power supplies with no problems. Overclockers will still want the big power supply and will want to connect both molex connectors. We are putting production tests in our manufacturing line to ensure this [new 350W requirement] is the case and will be lowering the spec.