Will my computer support a GTX 760 or 660?

Solution


For a system using a single GeForce GTX 660 (non-Ti) graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 450 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 24 Amps or greater and that has at least one 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Sufficient Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) rated at 45°C - 50°C ambient...

Maxime506

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It' s hard to tell. U didn't give us your PSU, plus your CPU will bottleneck GTX 760.

But IMO your rig will support HD 7790 or GTX 650 ti boost 'cause they have similar power consumption as GTS 250.It's all known that GT 250 is obsolete now. What's your thought?
 

AzureNinja99

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Thank you. I know my CPU is a bit weak, but I will upgrade it (eventually). Main reason I am upgrading my GPU is because it's getting very old and causes weird things to happen, like colors inverting and green squares appear on the screen when playing high end games. But anyway, what is the performance difference between a 650 and 760, and the 650 and my 250?
 

AzureNinja99

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Sorry about that, I assumed the screenshot included that. I don't know that model of the power supply, but I am pretty sure it is 500 watt.
 

Maxime506

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Better check out the label of your PSU and take a picture of it and upload so we could help. Also the brand of your PSU plays an important part too.

GTX 760 is a very powerful card. It outperforms GTX 660 ti, so u could image how powerful it is. If u wanna further upgrade your CPU, u may need to change your mobo too.
 

AzureNinja99

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It is an ATX 12V Ball Bearing 12cm Fan P4/P6. How work with a GeForce GTX 660 2GB?
 

Maxime506

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Still u didn't give us the vital information. Could u find out how many pcie 6-pin conductors your rig have and how many amps does the 12V rail output. The 12V rail is critical for power supply of your mobo, CPU and gfx and other parts.
 

AzureNinja99

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I have 3 (maybe 4) of the 6 pin things. I'm not sure what you mean by the 12V, how do I find that?

 

Maxime506

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OMG your 12V Rail output only has 25 amps! It's far from enough for HD 7850. Because GTX 760 has 170W TDP and it draws at least 15-16 amps, and the rest is not enough for mobo, CPU and other components.

U should change PSU and choose the brands like XFX, corsair or seasonic. And at least get 600W PSU if u wanna update your gfx first, then a FX-6300/8350 CPU and a 970 chipset mobo.
 

AzureNinja99

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I'm asking if it would power GTX 660.
 

AzureNinja99

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How many amps is my gts 250 taking? And what is the difference between and amp and a watt. And would you also please recommend a cheap power supply?
 

Maxime506

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It's about physics. Watt=Voltage*Amps(*efficiency). Typically in Physics or science class u don't need to consider efficiency but in real world, every electric-powered stuff is not 100% powered. For computer PSU, the power efficiency is around 80%, meaning that if u have a 500W PSU, the final output, positively, will be 500*80%=400W, and if the PSU in full load and the heat goes up, a brand new PSU may rest only sub-80% and as time goes by, the efficiency will decrease while the heat is slowly damaging the components.

So technically, u should consider your rig takes 60-70% of your PSU's capacity, which is the best way to protect the PSU and your whole rig. U know sudden PSU failure and the rig's power-off while in full load HARMS your rig a lot. So never be too scarce w/ your PSU and leave it some space.

As new CPUs and gfxs' power consumption goes up, nowadays manufacturers using 12V rail to supply such components, e.g your CPU Athlon II 240 has roughly 65W TDP, by using 12V rail the current output is 6-7 amps if efficiency is considered, plus CPU is using 1.3-1.4V low power voltage there is conversion between 12V and 1.3-1.4V and in such process some power has lost. gfx is using the 12V voltage so there isn't such loss of conversion but only max 80% power could be used by the gfx (the rest 20%-30% power is lost by heat, u would learn in physics)

GTS 250, based on the old architecture, has a 130W TDP, it's enough your 6-pin PCIE conductor (75W) and your PCI-E slot (75W) provide the power. But since GTX 760 has 170W, it needs another 6-pin to supply.
 

AzureNinja99

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Alright. What power supply would you recommend?
 


Maxime506 is correct. Your system is way underpowered. The GTS250 requires a minimum of 24amps on the 12V output rail, and min. of 450 watts. Your PSU was/is only capable of 25amps IF it can produce full power; and again Maxime points out that 80% is probably the best you could expect, and that would be from a cold, not warm or hot PSU.
This PSU will NOT support any upgrade, and is probably the source of the artifacts etc.
 

AzureNinja99

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So you suggest upgrading my power to fix my graphics issues? Of course, I would still want to upgrade as GTS 250 is becoming obsolete. How would this power supply work? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092ML1SC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0092ML1SC&linkCode=as2&tag=c09_11-20
 

AzureNinja99

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Would this work? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092ML1SC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0092ML1SC&linkCode=as2&tag=c09_11-20
 


For a system using a single GeForce GTX 660 (non-Ti) graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 450 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 24 Amps or greater and that has at least one 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Sufficient Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) rated at 45°C - 50°C ambient temperature, is the most critical factor.

Overclocking of the CPU and/or GPU(s) may require an additional increase to the maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current ratings, recommended above, to meet the increase in power required for the overclock. The additional amount required will depend on the magnitude of the overclock being attempted.

The Corsair CX430 (SKU# 75-001666 / CP-9020046), with its maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 32 Amps and with one (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is sufficient to power your system configuration with a single GeForce GTX 660 (non-Ti) graphics card.

At Newegg.com there is a mail in rebate for that model ($19.99 after $20.00 rebate card):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
 
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AzureNinja99

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Great, thanks! I will probably order that! But do I need to upgrade my motherboard?
 

Maxime506

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For mobo? Only if u wanna upgrade your CPU to FX- series or utilize intel i5 CPUs instead. But soon u would find out your obsolete, archaic Athlon II CPU starts to bottleneck. If u don't have sufficient fund to afford a new CPU and mobo, u could wait, just don't adjust the settings too high in gaming right now.

And IMO, 430W still a little bit on the edge if u have plan upgrading your CPU. Plus although official GTX 660 claims it needs one 6-pin conductor but since the TDP is 150W, some manufacturer may asks customer to have PSU which has two 6-pin connections. And if u go for CPU like FX-6350/8350 for upgrade the TDP will reach 125 (CPU)+150(GPU)+100 (for other parts)=375W, but 430W PSU only can provide 430*80%=344-350W power, so u would make the PSU full or over load if u'r playing games. I know u wanna save money but not to exchange for the stability of the whole system. If u wanna use i5 CPUs which has 77-84W TDP your PSU is barely enough but not for FX- CPUs. I sincerely recommend u to take pain using at least a 500W, better 550-600W good brand PSU. How about this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m
 

AzureNinja99

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I'm not planning to upgrade my CPU quite yet, but would a 430 Watt power this cpu? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009O412AU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2NG4HB43UEDVL