Can my PSU handle this?

[sdwinder]

I just upgraded some stuff on my system, The PSU I have that came with the case is a coolermaster 550watt PSU with 2 12Volt Rails that have 18 Amps on each rail..

Currently im running an e6600 with an 8800gt, and im wondering if the PSU would be able to handle a future upgrade to an e8400 and a GTX260 or possibly even an 285..


And just wondering, but if i have an e6600 right now, and an 8800gt, which one is the bottlecap on my system, can i get like a gtx260 and still use the e6600 or is the e6600 gonna bottleneck the system?

 

[WR2]

There will be no bottlecaps on your system.
I don't believe the E6600 -> E8400 is a good value upgrade. Can you overclock your E6600?

You best option would get a GTX 260/216 video card and keep the E6600 (with or without overclocking) and CM PSU.

 

[sdwinder]

wow so the e6600 is actually good? i thought the e8400 would be a huge upgrade


I did overclock my e6600, its running at 3.0 ghz now instead of 2.4, I can theoretically take it up to 3.6, but with 3.0 my load temps reach around 65C as it is, and the ide is around 40. I dont want to push it anymore, but once i get better fans and cooling i can prob push it to 3.4 atleast. Would that be a better idea than getting an e8400?


So can the PSU handle the gtx260/285 stuff?

 

[notty22]

Your psu rating (according to you) has 36*12=432 watts available on the 12v rails.
GTX 285 requires 210 watts, the GTX 260 184watts. http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_285_us.html
Nvidia says a quality psu at 500/550 respectively.
GTX 260 with a dual core. Without any gpu o/c.= ok ?
Forget the GTX 285 or adding a quad core unless you upgrade to a higher performance PSU.

 

[coozie7]

With better cooling the E6600 can run a good deal faster-I had mine at 3.2 GHz with a small voltage increase using the Coolermaster Hyper 212 with load temps under 50C, but then again, I live in cold, damp England
If you are worried about power, the HD5770 uses less than the GTX260 for slightly lower performance, but I think the current PSU will easily run the GTX260 anyway.
Given the choice between a new CPU and overclocking, I'd go for the overclock, I see no reason to swap one dual core for another.

 

[hotroderx]

Looked around and seems like

"Minimum of a
500 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 36 Amps.) "

is the standard for the newer GTX 260 (found some older sites that recommend minimal 650watt but the 500watt is taken from EVGA link below

http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=896-P3-1255-AR&family=GeForce 200 Series Family )

I would personal recommend a PSU upgrade to run that card from personal experience having a barely adequate name brand power supply is playing with fire when it comes to high end components due to power supplies lose power as they age and are used Not to mention your current power supply is only 32amps not having the required 36+ could cause stability issues depending on how your system is setup.

 

[WR2]

Which model of CM 550W PSU do you have - and how old is it?
Since you're already at a respectable 3Ghz Im not sure you need to go to 3.4 or 3.6Ghz.
In most games when you've cranked up the graphics and image quality that extra .5Ghz or so for the CPU doesn't make a lot of difference in overall performance.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Pick a card and then let this 'do the math" for you:

http://www.antec.outervision.com/PSUEngine

 

[sdwinder]

I just used that link to check my system, and according to it, my current system uses like 340 watts with an 8800gt and overclocked (no voltage changes)

and according to it, i can go all the way up to a gtx285 PSU and would one be using like 520 watts...so ya, im not sure how accurate it is but it seems a bit off, i didnt think ide be able to run a gtx285 with a 550wat PSU