Vista super slow running a GTX 260, but fast on an 8800GT

[toyota]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: JimiP
Sorry to hijack this thread but I have a question for you. A friend of mine is wanting to upgrade to a GTX260 (MSI OC edition). Below are his current specs.

AMD X2 2.8GHz, 1mb L2 Cache
2gb DDR2 800? I think it's 800.
Some VIA chipset-havin motherboard/maybe a Biostar or something.
ATI Radeon X1950GT 256MB GDDR3, has 2 connectors.
WD 500GB SATA
WD 250GB some kind of IDE
LiteOn Dual Layer DVDRW.

Now, he is powering this system with a 480w Antec True Power PSU. I believe the True Powers have three +12v rails @ 16A each. I would like to know if that PSU is adequate enough for a GTX260. I believe it is considering NVIDIA recommends a 500w PSU (when using a more "high-end" system).

So will a 480w Antec True Power have enough juice to power up a GTX260? I have a pretty good idea on the answer but I want to make sure I'm giving him the correct advice.

I don't think it'll be enough, the TrueBlue 480W wasn't enough to power a bare bones C2D system with a G80 8800 GTS on a backup rig. The GTX 260 uses considerably more power. It doesn't hurt to try but you'll know what is most likely the trouble part if you run into any problems.

well that psu is either a piece of crap and is lying about its specs or it was defective then. any core 2 system with an 8800gts would not even draw half of the power at the wall the 480 watt psu could deliver.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: toyota
well that psu is either a piece of crap and is lying about its specs or it was defective then. any core 2 system with an 8800gts would not even draw half of the power at the wall the 480 watt psu could deliver.

Well its about 5 years old and was one of the best PSUs available when I got it new. Like I said, doesn't hurt to try and fire it up, but he'll know where to start troubleshooting if he runs into problems.

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: toyota
well that psu is either a piece of crap and is lying about its specs or it was defective then. any core 2 system with an 8800gts would not even draw half of the power at the wall the 480 watt psu could deliver.

Well its about 5 years old and was one of the best PSUs available when I got it new. Like I said, doesn't hurt to try and fire it up, but he'll know where to start troubleshooting if he runs into problems.

yeah being 5 years old definitely takes a toll.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Sonamabitch is still slow :|

 

[timbarna]

Hi, i too recently bought, a gtx260 and blew my mobo with a 500 watt psu, you need a 750w OR MORE PSU to run a gtx260!....

 

[Indus]

Hi, i too recently bought, a gtx260 and blew my mobo with a 500 watt psu, you need a 750w OR MORE PSU to run a gtx260!....

Actually it depends on your power supply. I have a GTX 260 and I'm running it with a 485W enermax noisetaker II. However I do believe mine's at its limit and mine does give 44 Amps on the 12V rails so that was just above specifications for the card of 40A required.

 

[JTsyo]

Sonamabitch is still slow :|

Anywhere you can put the card to test it to make sure that that's not the issue? I have a EVGA 260 on 750W

 

[sticks435]

Hi, i too recently bought, a gtx260 and blew my mobo with a 500 watt psu, you need a 750w OR MORE PSU to run a gtx260!....

Don't by shitty cheap power supply's. I have the one in my sig, and haven't had a single issue.

 

[yh125d]

Hi, i too recently bought, a gtx260 and blew my mobo with a 500 watt psu, you need a 750w OR MORE PSU to run a gtx260!....

Don't bump year old threads with a brand new account, and don't post stupid false crap like this.

 

[taltamir]

well they are selling them now plus being 2 years old doesnt have anything to do with the point I was trying to make. the point again was that the 430 watt rating is misleading because it doesnt even have the 12v amps of a typical 300 watt psu. more than half of the people that write reviews on newegg are clueless especially for something like power supplies. a lot of people buy these power supplies because they "think"they need a powerful one for even a card like an 8600gt. lol. those people never run into problems of course and would have been fine with pretty much any power supply. now some people with good systems have those Thermaltake power supplies and until something goes wrong(like in the your case) they are blissfully ignorant to the fact that they have a sub par power supply.

toyota is right... besides, this kind of amperage was atrocious even two years ago. Even if it was 5 years old it is still misadvertised. They should have called it a 300 watt PSU, its age is irrelevant to that fact.

Don't shop by brand and do a little research on every component. It is time consuming but that is what you have to do.