GTS 250 trouble and upgrading

[Knazoo]

Hello everyone. On my current system i have a GTS 250 installed, and lately I had a lot of trouble with it. My computer just shuts down when i play something with more demanding graphics. I did a Prime95 test for the cpu and ram, had no trouble, but when i ran FuMark, it didn't even last 5 seconds and it shut down. What do you think could cause this? I think its either the video card either the PSU but..who knows. Some good tips would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, I'm also thinking of upgrading my graphics, while also getting a bigger monitor (im on 1280x1024 now).
I just need sufficient power to play WoW Cataclysm at 1680x1050 or 1920x1080. What do you recommend?

Current system specs:
Cpu: Core 2 Quad 9400 2.66ghz
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP31-DS3L
Ram: 4 GB DDR2 dual channel 800mhz
Graphics: Nvidia GTS 250
PSU: Honestly i have no idea where the PSU is from. It only says 580W on it, but i don't belive it.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[mrjericho1991]

A Gtx 460 will be great for those both resolution.it will run everygame fine.as much as i have concerned.and however overclock your cpu to 3.00ghz for sure.

 

[purple stain]

^he is trying to say he is concerened your CPU might get bottlenecked by the GPU,overclocking your prossesor to 3.0ghz should keep it fomr bottlenecking it.

^i would agree a 460gtx is perfect for that resolution and WoW.Also consider the 5770 on the AMD side.But the 460gtx is better.

Have you tryed opening your case?no numbers or letters on it?read off of the chart;how many amps are listed on the 12/v line.

 

[Knazoo]

Yeah it looks like it has 23 amps on the 12v line, which seems to be not enough for the GTS 250. I was thinking about a GTX 460 (also upgrading my monitor to 1080p one) and a Corsair CX600 PSU . The graphics card i think its the best choice for me, but about the PSU..I'm not sure, i just like Corsair and that one seemed to be good.

If you could recommend anything in the same price range that would be better please do so(sadly im in Romania and will buy from pcgarage.ro).

Also, will I have any compatibility issues with my MB and the GTX 460? (MB is Gigabyte EP31-DS3L, look at first post for full specs)

Thanks a lot for all the help!

EDIT: I'm leaning more towards the VX550. That one has 80+ certification, and its not much more expensive.

 

[Embra]

What is your budget?

I agree with the 460GTX.

 

[Knazoo]

Well my budged for the psu is around 100 USD, give or take 20USD. Thing is I'm buying from romania, so prices may differ...

 

[al360ex]

Well, if I were you, I'd go with this one : http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/corsair/cmpsu-650hx/
Or, if you're go for something better : http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/corsair/cmpsu-750hx/
And even better : http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/corsair/cmpsu-750ax/

The first one is a little bit over your budget, but the quality is there. Corsair makes the best power supplies IMO. You won't regret it.
And don't forget, if your PSU breaks, and you've got a cheap one, your whole PC could be broken. It is the component that is the most often overlooked, but if you were to ask me, I'd go with a better PSU and with the money that's left, I'd buy a video card. Plus, if you're likely to go with a GTX 460, I'd wait for the price drop, because when Nvidia will release its GTX 560, you can be certain that the 460 will become a lot less expensive. The estimated release date for the 560 is in Q1 2011.

 

[Knazoo]

Well those PSU are kinda expensive for me TBH..i was thinking something in the 250-350 RON range..
Anyway..will the GTX 460 work on my MB? I'm sorry i know this is a stupid question, just wanna be sure
Thank you!

 

[al360ex]

Yes it will work.
You said 100-120 usd, which equals 325-390 RON no ? At least that's what google is saying.

 

[Knazoo]

Well i tought it would be like 350 I'm sorry you are right.
But the cheapest you recommended is 549,99 so..way above

 

[al360ex]

It equals to 170 USD, which is not a very expensive power supply considering the hardware you already have. Plus if you go with a GTX 460, which for the cheapest one is 200 usd (680 RON) and that's the not very good 768MB version (http://www.pcgarage.ro/placi-video/palit/geforce-gtx-460-768mb-ddr5-192-bit/), having a good power supply is even more important. Well, that's my opinion, at least.

 

[purple stain]

I can't find it on that mobo page,is your pci-xpressx16 slot 1.0 or 2.0?I think any of those PSU's are fine they are all major name brand even the cheapest corsair is a good quality brand company.

Anything else that might concern you?

 

[Knazoo]

Well..the same thing that you said, how can i find out what kind of pci x16 slot it is?

Anyway, finally I'm thinking about this power supply: http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/corsair/cmpsu-550vx/
And this graphics card:
http://www.pcgarage.ro/placi-video/palit/geforce-gtx-460-sonic-1gb-ddr5-256-bit/

And thats all I can spend tbh..

EDIT: I see the gts 250 also runs on pci 2.0 and thats what i have now so..it shouldn't be any problem right?

 

[rockyjohn]

PCIe 1.0 and 2.0 are compatible with one anotther - both mobos and cards. For more information about PCIe I suggest you look at:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/pcie.html

Other tabs have more info about upgrading video cards. You might find them helpful as well, particularly the "Criteria" page about PSUS.

Are you shopping from an online catalog? Can you provide a link to one? Preferably in English for all us language challenged souls that only speak one language. However, if we can see the pics of familiar models and the prices, that might be enough even if we can't read it.

I just checked and your motherboard has a PCIe 1.0 slot but it should still do fine with a GTX 460 or slower card and not limit its speed.

 

[purple stain]

My only concern is i've heard their are some problems with 1.0 and 2.1 pci-express although i do know they are compatible.Since the 460 is 2.0 then you should have no problem with it.

Here is his PSU over at newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=Corsair%20CMPSU-550VX
^
Really good looking i don't think you will have any problems at all.

So it looks like set i would say go ahead and buy it,everything seems to check out well.
Are you a fan of O.C.?I have heard the 460's O.C. very well

 

[Knazoo]

Well to be honest it's not really for me, its for a friend who only cares to play wow on max details so..no, no OCing

Thanks again for all the help, this is a lovely community!

 

[purple stain]

Welcome