Interesting Toms article on mid range (less then $150) VC's

[humble]

The page I linked is to the 9800GT, this goes back to earlier threads on power consumption. This is an overclocked 9800 so its certainly a bit higher then normal...but toms has it pulling 173W in 2D and 292W at full load in a gaming environment. This is right on the 24@ number a lot of us threw out for a single rail minimum. While others 9800's would be less at stock when you consider any OC or potential efficiency issues with a PS this is a good minimum in my mind.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-radeon-geforce,2364-8.html       

[Fulmar]

I read part of that article the other day.  And IIRC, according to another article the way they measured the wattage draw wasn't 100% accurate.  The last article I read was about a year ago and they were reading the Wattage differences from the electrical socket with something like the P3 Kill A Watt, then they would calculate in the Efficiency Rating of the PSU to gather a wattage of a certain part.  I'm sure those numbers are really close to what the actual wattage is, but I wouldn't push a wattage of a PSU up against that number (none of us should in any case).

[Getback]

Do not trust them! Your best bet is to speak to a builder or go by the experience of several users.

[Dragon]

Do not trust them! Your best bet is to speak to a builder or go by the experience of several users.

+ 1

[Denholm]

You also have to remember, different manufacturers build their video cards a little bit differently. While the card being reviewed may have actually consumed a low amount of power, the same card from a different manufacturer could consume up to 20% more.

Don't risk it, get yourself a Power Supply with plenty of overhead.