Power supply

[rasheeq]

hey guys i have bought an XFX gtx 260.i have a 17" crt monitor n i run 1280 X 1024 resolution.my motherboard is intel 945gcnl,which has pci-e 1.0 port.so if i use d gtx 260,will i lose any significant performance to notice???.......n also i have 250 gb sata hard disk,intel dual core 2.2 GHz processor,2 gb ddr2 ram.how much power supply shud i buy??...i live in bangladesh,so pc stuffs n power supplies r really expensive here.d gtx 260 cost me around usd 400.. so pls tell me the minimum power supply i can do with.thnx

 

[photonboy]

1) You can't fit a video card in a x1 PCIe slot. There are four different sizes: PCIe x1, PCIe x4 and PCIe x8/x16.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

2) You CAN fit a PCIe x1 card in either a x4 or x8/x16 slot.

3) CRT's are all 4:3 ratio. You should be using 1280x960, not 1280x1024.

4) I assume you want to game. You need a different motherboard.

5) The CPU will also limit the graphics card you can get. You need a really good dual-core CPU to take advantage of the GTX260. A 2.2GHz CPU will not take advantage of this card.

I think you need to do some more research.

 

[bildo123]

hey guys i have bought an XFX gtx 260.i have a 17" crt monitor n i run 1280 X 1024 resolution.my motherboard is intel 945gcnl,which has pci-e 1.0 port.so if i use d gtx 260,will i lose any significant performance to notice???.......n also i have 250 gb sata hard disk,intel dual core 2.2 GHz processor,2 gb ddr2 ram.how much power supply shud i buy??...i live in bangladesh,so pc stuffs n power supplies r really expensive here.d gtx 260 cost me around usd 400.. so pls tell me the minimum power supply i can do with.thnx

Personally, I believe your CPU @ 2.2GHz is going to be the biggest bottleneck, especially since you running at a lower resolution with a decently powerful GPU. As far as PSU goes, I would guess around 36Aish on the 12V rails should be good.(According to EVGA on their core 216. Do you know if you have the 'core 216' 260? They recommend a min of 500W as a ballpark, but that can be misleading. I personally have a 500W PSU that only has a 14A and 15A rail (dual rails) and it runs my 4870 with a OC CPU, 1HH, 1 Optical just fine. I had to use an adapter that came with the card since my PSU only came with one PCI-E power connector. Basically a quality 500W should be a bare miniumum. Since your in the mid-upgrade process I would recommend getting a PSU that can handle two 260's so you can still pack a punch a couple years from now when you get a SLI mobo.

 

[rasheeq]

1) You can't fit a video card in a x1 PCIe slot. There are four different sizes: PCIe x1, PCIe x4 and PCIe x8/x16.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

2) You CAN fit a PCIe x1 card in either a x4 or x8/x16 slot.

3) CRT's are all 4:3 ratio. You should be using 1280x960, not 1280x1024.

4) I assume you want to game. You need a different motherboard.

5) The CPU will also limit the graphics card you can get. You need a really good dual-core CPU to take advantage of the GTX260. A 2.2GHz CPU will not take advantage of this card.

I think you need to do some more research.

1,2)umm sorry i misunderstood :$ the 945gcnl has a pci-e x16 graphics connector.

3)i dunno i run 1280x1024.dis is d highest resolution my monitor (samsung syncmaster 793df) supports.

4)ya i kno but i'm kinda low on budget.so i'm taking it one at a time.n ya gaming is d priority.i got plans to change my motherboard. btw can u suggest a good motherboard that supports sli???it's next on my upgrade list after processor.jus need to save enough money now

 

[amnotanoobie]

As bildo said, a good 500W should do it.

Looking at the review of the 260 (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-gtx-280,1953-25.html), it appears to consume 270W as a whole. Considering that yours is an old Pentium Dual-core even adding around 50W to the 270W seems that you are safe with a 500W good one. You could try a good 450W, but it better be a really good unit.

 

[coozie7]

@ Rasheeq: Ignore the Watts, look for the +12 volt amps, for that card you'll need a supply with 36A on the 12 volt output or outputs and a lot more if you want to use it for SLI later.

Look at the specs for this unit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

Click on the 'specifications' tab and scroll down to 'output'. See how it has 3 12v lines of 18A each? Also notice the 3.3 volt and
5 volt outputs are fairly low, just 24A each. This is a good unit and you should look for a similar spec when searching: Low 3.3 volt and 5 volt outputs and a high 12 volt output. Also make sure it has two 6 pin PCI-E connectors if possible. A single powerful 12 volt output is generally considered better that 2 or more with the same combined output.


This is how not to do it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339001

Notice the high 3.3 and 5 volt outputs and the lower 12 volt lines, do not get one like this!

 

[bildo123]

This is how not to do it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339001

Notice the high 3.3 and 5 volt outputs and the lower 12 volt lines, do not get one like this!

That PSU has two 12V rails, 19A and 20A each. My PSU, a 500W TT PurePower has two 12V rails 14A and 15A. It actually is able to run a 4870 1GB, overclocked Intel E2180 @ 3Ghz, 4 sticks of memory, and 1 ODD, 1 HDD. Of course the 260 requires more juice than the 4870 as shown here, but by only 25W, under load, idle is the same just about. So although that PSU is cheap and scary, I think it would actually work, I still agree with you on staying away from it, but it would work.

 

[coozie7]

OOPS! Wrong link!

This is the type of outputs I meant and the link I thought I posted:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817162013

Again: High outputs on the +3.3 and 5 volt lines and a fairly weak 12 volt rail.
Sorry about the confusion, guys, the intention was to show the difference between a high quality and moderate PSU, some are far worse than the one I linked to above, with even more on the low rails and less where it really counts- the +12v rail/s.
Please accept my grovelling, abject apologies.

 

[rasheeq]

lol it's ok...forgiven

 

[bildo123]

The second example (the crazy blue PSU) is a good example of where wattage can be deceiving. But at least you get the message, check the 12V rails.