Can anyone help me connect my GTX 460 to power supply?

pcornall

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Hi there - sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm struggling to connect a gtx460 card to my power supply. I just bought a new pc and the graphics card seperately. I've got the card into the PCI slot fine, but the only spare connector coming out of my PSU is this one:

IMG_0195.jpg


From the poorly written installation guide that came with the card it seems that the card needs to be connected to a 6-pin or 8-pin connector coming from the PSU. I'm therefore guessing that the only spare connector I have (in the photo) isn't sufficient. The only cable the graphics card came with was this one:

IMG_0198.jpg


I can connect the black end to the graphics card and one of the white ends to my spare connector, but it seems from the info that both white ends need to be connected to the PSU, but obviously I only have one spare connection to my PSU. Therefore, would it be risky to just connect it to one 4-pin connector, or do I need to buy a new PSU with more connectors (or maybe is there some kind of adapter I can connect to the 4-pin to double it? Any ideas or advice greatfully accepted!
 

vartok

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Most PSUs with enough wattage to handle video cards that need the 6 or 8 pin plugs, have them.... so my first question is what is the wattage of the PSU?
 

vartok

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ok, i think that a 450 is just barely in the requirements for a 460 card... there are molex (the connection in the 1st pic) to 6 pin or 8 pin adapters.... but if it was ME, i would get a higher wattage PSU

i usually ask for help when picking out PSUs though (or just buy way over what is needed) so i would wait for others posts before doing anything

EDIT.. ok, took a closer look at the 2nd pic (was kind of hard to see for me) and that is the adapter i was talking about.... with out both molexes connected, i dont think all of the pins will get power... seeing how you only have 1 free molex... looks like you are getting a new PSU
 

pcornall

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Okay - thanks a lot for the advice. I'll maybe try getting an adapter as I think I can pick one up pretty cheap and see if it works okay, and if not I won't have spent much and can then upgrade the PSU.
 

pcornall

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Oh - just saw your edit - I can get a molex splitter that will convert my 4-pin to 2x2-pins and then connect those to the cable in the 2nd photo (and then connect the black end of the cable to the graphics card. Do you think that might work?
 

pcornall

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Thanks - that's a really useful link and reply! Seems it should be okay if I've entered everything in correctly - I'll give it a try with the splitter and if it doesn't work just cut my losses and get a meaty new PSU! Thanks a lot for your help - I appreciate it!
 

Dominaz1

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SO 14 A in 12V1 and 16 in 12V2.

It should be barely enough for the GTX 460, you will have to balance really well the 2 rails.

The GTX 460 requires 155 w at its own, it means arround 13 Amps at maximum (you would never hit that maximun since it´s calculated in extreme conditions with Furmark), and arround 10 Amps while gaming(119 W).

Here you can find an adapter for 2 molex to 1 pci e 6 pin

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812887001&cm_re=molex_pcie-_-12-887-001-_-Product

Anyway maybe you should buy a new psu, with higher wattage and one 12 V rail with at least 30 A.
 

pcornall

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Thanks for the reply. I've just been out and bought a splitter - my 4-pin coming out of the PSU now plugs into a slitter so I now have 2x4pins coming out of the PSU. I have then connected those to the other splitter that came with the graphics card (photo 2 of the original post). The black 6-pin I have now plugged into one of the 6-pin inputs on the graphics card. The card powers up because the fan is going, but for some reason my pc isn't recognising it or registering it. I've unplugged the pc and ensured the card is pushed into the PCI slot properly, but it still doesn't seem to be picking it up and it won't let me install the drivers because the NVIDEA software says I don't have a card connected. I bought the graphics card 2nd hand off ebay so now I'm wondering if I've been ripped off with a faulty card; however, if you have any suggestions as to what else the problem might be, let me know. Thanks a lot!
 

pcornall

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Sorry - I think I have been very naive regarding how to power this card (as you can probably tell from my previous posts). Ignore my last post - I've now ordered a 750w PSU with 12A rails that total 40A and has a PCI-E 6-pin connector and plenty of molex connectors. Hopefully hooking the card up to that will get it working and if not, I'll return it to the seller as faulty. Thanks a lot for all the help today.
 
IF the video card is not getting enough Amperage through that single wire that you split it will cause the card to not work --- So you probably need a new PSU that has the needed connectors --- One other option that you might try is find what other things you are using the other MOlex connectors for -- you might find that you have one that is just running a fan which could be split off of say the HDD or DVD drive ( or you coud use the splitter to run both your HDD and DVD drive from one molex and then use the second spare Molex that results to use 2 molex connectors for the Video card connection as it was designed instead of splitting a single molex to run the video card which might not provide enough Amperage (otherwise why wold they use 2 molex into the single 6 pin for the video card in the first place if a single molex would suffice ?? ) -- Doing it that way might get it to work but in the long run getting a new PSU for stability would be the best option !
 

Dominaz1

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What was the feedback of your ebay supplier 100 % ?,

Anyway I would take off all the devices (hdd, cdrom,usbs,etc) and try to start the computer to know if at least you can see some BIOS image.

Maybe your problem is related to your psu that has not enough power for the gpu.

If you can you should test the gpu in a PC with a better PSU, if not you should buy a new one and try.(Try to find a well known PSU, like Seasonic, Antec, etc..)

Cheapest PSU that I would buy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029


 



Was correct until the end -- He is already having problems with a 450W unit and you suggest buying a 400W :non: --- If ordering today they have a good deal on a 550W Antec Truepower which has 45Amps on the +12v rails and all the connections you need for $64.99 with the Promo code and a $25 MIR also so final price of $40 with free shipping. (550W is plenty for your needs and this is a continuous 550W unit not a cheaper 550W max output and is also 80+ Bronze certified so is a quality unit that will work well for the $40)
 

Dominaz1

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I said that was the cheapest PSU to buy... Since it has 30 A in one single 12V rail, and it´s a well known brand... It should be much better than the psu that he currently owns, and having in mind that the GTX 460 will require arround 10 AMPS at maximum, it leaves arround 20 A for the rest of the system, and that is enough.
Of course It would be better to spend more money and buy a more powerful psu(like the one you said), but the GTX 460 would work correctly in that 45 $ psu.