Is a 550W PSU good enough for a GT 240?

[gravysauce13]

hey guys.

i've been planning on buying a GeForce GT 240 (512MB GDDR3 version) just so i could move on from onboard graphics. and an X4500 onboard can only do so much.

oh, the GT 240 would only be temporary until i can get the money for a major upgrade.
(a GTX 460 1GB, CM M600 600W modular, AeroCool RS-9 Devil Red Midtower, a Tt Contac 29 120mm cooler and some Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 800 RAM).


anyway, here is what is making me think. my current PSU (an offbrand iMAX 550W PSU) has 27 amps on the +12v rail (single rail) this good enough to run that card?

my rig's specs:

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5400 Wolfdale OC'ed to 3.31 GHz ( 245 x 13.5, stock voltages, stock cooler, effective FSB is 980.1 MHz, FSB-DRAM ratio is 2.66C)

GIGABYTE GA-G41M-ES2L (revision 1.1, BIOS F6)

OCZ Gold Series 2GB DDR2 800 Dual-Channel

x1 WD Caviar Blue 160GB SATA 3/Gbs

x1 120mm LED fan as exhaust

x1 92mm LED fan as side intake (blows directly into where the PCIe slot and the NB is)

will be adding 3 more 80mm LED fans later (two at the front for intake, one more at the side to blow directly onto the CPU heatsink)

this odd iMAX 550 PSU <- LOL

and finally, some random, old midtower case with clear sidepanel.


even with the somewhat odd PSU i have, this rig has been running nice and stable for the past 3 1/2 months with no problems and has gone though several power outages without even breaking a sweat. oh, and i just upgraded the RAM a few weeks ago.

cheers.

 

[Rustyy117]

If your correct about the amperage on the +12V rail(s) then your PSU can deliver 324W on the +12V rail(S) which is low for a 550W PSU but should still be enough to power your rig + a GT 240.

 

[gravysauce13]

well, it's stated on the PSU's box and on it's casing. and the fact that i'm not going to do any further OCing until i do that full-blown upgrade i mentioned isn't probably going to matter....yet.

it's single rail, btw. oh, and the 5v rail has 30 amps.

 

[Rustyy117]

Lol 30A on a 5V... modern PC's use the +12V and use hardly anything on the 5V rail.. I think my Corsair HX850W has about 840W on the +12V rail, hardly anything on the others.
Like I said before it should be fine, obviously don't go nuts with overclocking.

 

[gravysauce13]

lol i know right? that's why i called my PSU "odd". haha

anyway, thanks for the help. i'll update when i finally get my hands on that card.

EDIT: here's a link to that iMAX PSU i have. it looks exactly like this.

http://www.getamarket.com/en/Offers/70405/imax_power_supplystanza.html

 

[Rustyy117]

Ok, good luck, hope it all goes well (sure it will )

 

[gravysauce13]

one last post.

HOLY CRAP MY PSU ONLY COSTS $6 USD?! (link on my other post)

 

[Rustyy117]

wow... 6 USD, thats errr.....Worrying, Makes you wonder what components they used to make this PSU and be able to sell it at 6 USD and still make a profit.

 

[gravysauce13]

yeah. my uncle bought it from Saudi so yeah..it's worrying indeed.
but then again, it doesn't smell like burning PCB yet so i'm still safe.
but now,
i really want to replace the PSU as soon as possible.

 

[Rustyy117]

Agreed, Replace that PSU as soon as you can.

Let me know if you need any help on choosing a new PSU, here's a great review site for PSU's http://www.jonnyguru.com/

 

[gravysauce13]

hmmm, interesting site bookmarked too.
so far, the PSU brands i've looked at are Corsair, Cooler Master, Thermaltake and AcBel Polytech (popular around this part of the world) and actually, as another stopgap, i'm considering a AcBel AB-R811 550W 80PLUS ATX12v 2.3 compliant PSU.

in fact, a 650W version of that unit is powering my friend's Core i5 gaming build amazingly well. (assembled by ME )
http://www.pcx.com.ph/index.php/review/product/list/id/1974/
that's the review i put up for the 650W unit. and that's the site of the retailer from where i usually buy all my PC components.

also, a AcBel 900W unit received a pretty good review from that site you gave me.

anyway, since the PSU i have right now came from the middle east, i think jihadists assembled it and sell it for cheap so that they could act as miniature timebombs in PCs. LOL

 

[Rustyy117]

Can't say I've heard of ACBel before but if jonnyguru gave it the thumbs up then it must be good
I really like Corsair's quality, although a bit pricey I think its important to buy a good quality PSU, comes with a 7 year warranty too.

I think it would be wise to invest in a good quality PSU as soon as you can, It would put your mind at rest knowing that your PC isn't going to be damaged by a poor quality, cheap and unreliable PSU.

 

[gravysauce13]

that AcBel R9 unit reviewed in jonnyguru was given a 8.5.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=210

and since it's christmas season, i'm gonna ask for a good PSU as a gift. probably a Cooler Master Silent Pro M600 Modular or a Corsair 650TX

 

[Rustyy117]

Wow that ACBel is 80Plus Gold Impressive.

 

[gravysauce13]

yes indeed.

http://www.acbel.com/ProductFile/80PLUS/ACBEL_PC9025_ECOS1540_500W_Report.pdf

here's a .pdf of the AcBel R8-II's performance sheet.

pretty impressive figures for a $77 80PLUS PSU, IMO.

..and we went off-topic. HAHA :lol:

 

[jjb8675309]

I def shoot for the gddr5 version of the 240 I have used both and the gddr3 seems to be significantly slower, imo

 

[gravysauce13]

i'm considering that too, provided my budget allows me this month. and besides, it's just going to be a temporary stopgap anyway.
ever tried playing TF2 with an X4500? it's excruciating, but playable depending on how large the map is. :lol:

..but then again, Christmas discounts on the retailer i usually to go? mmmYES. and they keep dropping prices every month as well

 

[Avro Arrow]

I don't think I'd want that card. The GT 430 is about the same price and actually uses 2W less under load. It's also a more powerful card. I know this is a stopgap measure but you may as well get the most you can for your money.

 

[gravysauce13]

hmm. it does have higher clocks than the GT 240. puny widdle card too
http://www.pcx.com.ph/index.php/inno3d-gt430-1gb-ddr3-128b-hdmi.html
that's the available GT 430 here on my part of the world.
http://www.pcx.com.ph/index.php/inno3d-gt240-512ddr3-128bit-hdmi.html
that there's the GT 240 512MB GDDR3 i was considering. the GDDR5 version costs a bit more than that.
also for reference: $1.00 = Php. 43.00 (yay philippines.) you do the math.


also, i might consider it. hopefully, by christmas, prices would go wayyy down. :lol:

and since i'm not that familiar with DX11 cards yet i've got another question:
will XP SP3 32-bit recognize the card? i think it will but i needz some clarifying.

 

[jjb8675309]

my 8600 gts runs valve games at max that doesnt mean jack, it leaves you with unplayable frames in almost all current games

 

[gravysauce13]

Best answer selected by gravysauce13.