Termaltake TR2 420w

[brag288]

I've got a TERMALTAKE TR2 420w power supply ....and i am planning on getting a gtx 460 768 mb
Will my power supply be able to run this video card?
http://www.thermaltake.com/product_info.aspx?PARENT_CID=C_00001022&id=C_00001023&name=TR2+420W&ov=n&ovid=
this is the power supply
My configuration is
athlon II x2 245 2.9 ghz 65w TDP
asrock k10n78
ata/ide 80 gb hard drive (will be replaced soon)
sorry if i have writing mistakes i'm from romania

 

[randomizer]

Er... no. I couldn't even run a 9600GT on this thing. I would get constant reboots and it started to smell foul after a few months. The TR2 series is garbage. If you give us a budget as well as what PSUs are available in your country we can suggest a replacement.

 

[nforce4max]

Thermaltake psu are mainly crap while the good ones are expensive. I like their heatsinks and got one of their cases that being the Xaser V. I suggest going with a less power hungry card or upgrade.

 

[brag288]

Er... no. I couldn't even run a 9600GT on this thing. I would get constant reboots and it started to smell foul after a few months. The TR2 series is garbage. If you give us a budget as well as what PSUs are available in your country we can suggest a replacement.

i had a 9600gt...and i could run it very well actually

 

[randomizer]

I probably had a less-than-stellar PSU. Looking at the one you linked now I can see it is indeed different to what mine was. Mine was the 430W which has a very poor output for the 12V rail. Yours may or may not output more, but since at least one of your 12V rails will trip OCP at 10A there's a mighty good chance that this card could push it too far. The rest of your system is fairly light on power consumption so you might get away with it. I'd keep an eye out for instability though, and replace the PSU at the first sign that it can't handle the load.

 

[brag288]

What do you think of the SPIRE ROCKETEER IV 600w?
At 60 $ it's quite a good deal
Don't you think?
i don't want to spend more than 70$ on a power supply because i also want to buy a new case

 

[brag288]

ok i won't upgrade right now with the power supply
i search on the internet and I saw a core i7 980gx and a gtx 460 sucking only 350w..
what do you think of the raidmax smilodon?

 

[nforce4max]

Ewwww Raidmax

 

[randomizer]

ok i won't upgrade right now with the power supply
i search on the internet and I saw a core i7 980gx and a gtx 460 sucking only 350w..
what do you think of the raidmax smilodon?

It may only be sucking 350W, but the key question is: on what rail is most of that power being drawn? These days the +12V rail provides the system with most of its power. Low-power components like RAM often still use the 5V rail but not much else does. Your 420W PSU has its +12V rail partitioned into two current-limited circuits; one with a 10A limit and one with a 15A limit. It would be nice if we could simply add the two together and say that the combined maximum output is 25A (or 300W) but this is never the case. The over-current protection will trip if either of the two current-limited rails goes over its limit or if the combined current drawn is too high. This is because both rails are really one rail that branches into two, so the power is being drawn from the same source which has its own limits.

At best, you're probably looking at a combined maximum output of 20A (240W) for the +12V rail. If the PSU is not brand new then this output will have decreased over time as the capacitors age. This is just a somewhat-educated guess of course. There's no real way of knowing exactly how much power it the PSU can supply on the combined +12V rail unless the manufacturer specifies it on the label or if someone has put the PSU through proper testing.

 

[nforce4max]

It may only be sucking 350W, but the key question is: on what rail is most of that power being drawn? These days the +12V rail provides the system with most of its power. Low-power components like RAM often still use the 5V rail but not much else does. Your 420W PSU has its +12V rail partitioned into two current-limited circuits; one with a 10A limit and one with a 15A limit. It would be nice if we could simply add the two together and say that the combined maximum output is 25A (or 300W) but this is never the case. The over-current protection will trip if either of the two current-limited rails goes over its limit or if the combined current drawn is too high. This is because both rails are really one rail that branches into two, so the power is being drawn from the same source which has its own limits.

At best, you're probably looking at a combined maximum output of 20A (240W) for the +12V rail. If the PSU is not brand new then this output will have decreased over time as the capacitors age. This is just a somewhat-educated guess of course. There's no real way of knowing exactly how much power it the PSU can supply on the combined +12V rail unless the manufacturer specifies it on the label or if someone has put the PSU through proper testing.

I agree with this but to any one who is skilled in electronics repair (I have done work on TVs) that caps are easily replaced. Black Gates are the worst caps once they begin to age. Caps that are still made in the US/EU, and Japan are typically the best if they command a decent price. Caps made in China have a very wide range in quality from one that will last 20-30 years before decaying below rated output to one that fails with in a few months of use. The old American caps that were of high quality in the 50s on up outlast most that one finds today. The worst caps ever were the old paper caps before electrolytics became standard. Those caps rotted away literally.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

I have a 470w-tr2 which is a bit more powerful than what you have, but similar design. It has been running an 8800GTS 640mb OC's and 3ghz core 2 duo e6600 since 2007 without a glitch. I know someone with the 420w TR2 thats running a core 2 quad with a 7600gt video card, however I would not expect to be able to run a GTX460 from it. When I run furmark with my current setup the 12v drops from 12.1 to 11.8v, suggesting that it has quite some strain on it already. The gtx460 would draw more power than my 8800gts I would think. Get a better PSU or return the card for an ati 5770, that should run ok.

 

[jyjjy]

You definitely need a new PSU for that card. The 420w rating is meaningless. What matters is the total power output on the +12v rails and that unit is simply not good enough.

 

[brag288]

but will be able to run this card only on video playback without making problems?no games only music and videos till i get a new power supply?
I am planning to get the spire rocketeer iv 600w .is it good enough?

 

[jyjjy]

It's possible you'll be able to use it in non-gaming situations but I wouldn't depend on that to be honest. There will likely be no real benefit over what you are using now except for in gaming anyway so you might as well hold off on installing it until you replace the PSU.
I've never heard of the spire rocketeer but even a poor 600w should do the job. If at all possible though I would recommend a PSU from a good brand like Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, ect. even if it is lower rated. One of those of 450w or above should more than suffice.

 

[jaguarskx]

To the OP,

Since you are on a budget I would get the following OCZ 550w PSU. It is average quality, which means it is better than the PSUs you have been looking at. But, you need to deal with a $20 mail-in rebate to get the price down to $45 + $2 shipping.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

 

[brag288]

wow...very nice power supply i think i this is what i will buy
thanks

 

[brag288]

but...there is problem..in my country i can't find that power supply but i found this power supply OCZ GameXStream GXS600 what do you think of this?i found it at 55$

 

[jyjjy]

That should be more than fine.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

yes, most reputable brands like ocz, corsair, silverstone, antec, in the 550w+ range should be ok.

 

[brag288]

i changed my plans...i want to buy a hd 5770 1 gb or 512 ...don't know for sure...how much difference is it beetween these two..and a new processor phenom II x4 810 95wTDP will my tr2 420w be enough?

 

[brag288]

is it worth to upgrade from a hd 5770 to a gtx 460?or should i upgrade my processor (athlon II x2 )?