I have 300 Watt... AMD recommends 400 Watt?

yeah, wattage is the power supply. if you have a 300W PSU, nice (mines only 180 :P)
most mid-range new graphics cards have a 300W minimum, so if you're wanting to overclock it I guess it's just saying you need more power. I'm afraid the only fix is getting a new PSU (i'd recommend a 450W one just to be on the safe side). considering that your computer is a dell and not built by you, you may not have been inside it yet. if not, i'll try to guide you through it if you do choose to get a new PSU :)

oh yeah, with the fan noise, when i put a good graphics card in my machine that didn't have anywhere close to the power requirements for it, the fan didn't spin at all, so yeah, again that's the PSU.

linux731 said:

Help please. I recently contacted AMD about my XFX RADEON HD 4650 card that I was having some problems overclocking it on CCC. When I click Apply settings, nothing seems to happen, like if it didn't work. I also have this little Windows Sidebar thing that tells me info about my card. It says that the GPU is clocked to 600MHz, which I on CCC selected 700MHz. I also can't seem to change the fan speed. I put it to 100% and the sound of the card is still the same. Could this Watt thing be a problem in the future?

Are you using the latest driver from the AMD site. AMD Graphics Drivers & Software

running a graphics card like that with just a 300W PSU is rather risky. I would recommend that you do get a new 450W at least PSU.

linux731 said:

Thanks guys fot the help. Yes, I have the most recent AMD drivers. (I get them from the XFX website since it is specific for my card). My PSU is 300Watt. But, I just noticed something. I opened iTunes and did the little Visualizer and then I looked at my sidebar gadget. It says that the Clock increased to the level I put it in the CCC program. So I guess now it's working. But my main question is that since I have a 300 Watt and XFX recommends a 400 Watt, do I have any problems?

The recommended wattage is usually based on a specific set of specifications. For general usage you might be okay, but playing games where you start stressing the card more might cause some problems.

Using a power calculator, you should exceed 300 watts, even with the most basic components.
Thermaltake Power Supply Calculator