Nvidia 480GTX Vid Card

[Sonshyne]

Hi, I'm trying to bid on this card on ebay and it says "no manual or adapters are included ." I'm afraid I don't know what this means. I will be taking it to a local techie to install. Does it matter if I have the adapters or not? Thanks!

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Maybe a power connector adapter ( molex or something ? ) or a sli bridge or the cable between gpu and monitor ?. Anyway, don't think they are crucial, always can find some new ones if needed probably.

 

[Sonshyne]

OK, thanks!

 

[Sonshyne]

i have another real quick question. If I have an Nvidia 440 right now, will a 480 still fit on my mb? Thanks!

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

It will fit in your Pci-E2 slot but make sure that you have the place for two slots, because of the big ventilator casing of the card.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Oh, and make sure you have the proper psu for it.

 

[Sonshyne]

What is the proper PSU? I'm a total techie illiterate, lol

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Well, the 480 is power hungry, it uses more than 200W by itself i believe. Nvidea advices a 600W psu i think. Make sure it is a good brand with realiable volt and watt output. The best is to get a 80+ certified from Antec, Corsair, XFX, Seasonic with preferably one single 12V rail with at least 42A.

 

[Sonshyne]

Ok, I have a 400W PSU right now. I'm looking at a 600W right now. Is there a way I can know if it will fit my mb? Thanks!

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

And what is your mobo ? It will fit anyway i think.

 

[Sonshyne]

My mb is

Motherboard ID <DMI>
Motherboard Name Intel Corporation D945GTP

Front Side Bus Properties

Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit (I operate on 32 bit Win XP)
Real Clock 200 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 800 MHz
Bandwidth 6400 MB/s

Motherboard Manufacturer

Company Name Intel Corporation
Product Information http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/index.htm
BIOS Download http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/genbios.htm


That's the main info. If you need more, I can copy more. Just tell me what I need to copy.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Wow, i think there will be a great botlleneck with that system, the 480 is overkill in the double. Save your money for a whole system upgrade imo.

 

[Sonshyne]

Well, I already have the video card, or will be receiving it soon. According to your instructions, I will need a bigger power supply, up to 600. Can't afford a whole new comp right now. The vid card only cost $255 and I saw a PSU for about $10. I'll be trading in my 440 so that will prob put the price of installing it down to 0 or close to it. Is it possible to get a 600W PSU in this system?

 

[Rancid504]

I would be cautious about purchasing a PSU for $10. As stated earlier make sure it is a quality unit from Corsair, Antec or Seasonic. If you put a cheap PSU in your system, there is a very good chance of you damaging your components if it decides to fail.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Oke, you were trying to bid on it yesterday and now you allready have it or get it soon ? You paid for it yesterday then ? I think you have a "cooling down" period of 48 hours when you can cancel your order even with private payments. ( in Holland anyway, don't know about your country )
Maybe you should have started this thread if it was wise to buy this one anyway.
And 10 bucks for a good psu is the same as paying 1000 bucks for a Ferrari ; just not possible. ( it might look like a ferrari but under the hood there is a coffee grinder as engine )

 

[Sonshyne]

Ok, what video card would you suggest then? I have to have a minimum of a GeForce 460. Even that is borderline. Here are the specs for the psu: 600 650 Watt Power Supply for HP BESTEC ATX-250-12E. What is your advice?

 

[warhead0]

Don't go cheap on your PSU, the last thing you want to do is completely destroy your entire system!

Your GPU is not going to be able to perform at it's full potential with your current system.

You should really save up and buy even a $500 system would be a HUGE upgrade for you.
I know it's hard to save sometimes but I can honestly say DO NOT! spend any more money on your system, it's just not worth it.

Your current GPU (The 460) would also not even be able to perform at full speed in your system.

 

[Sonshyne]

Ok, we really can't afford a new system right now. We're possibly looking at some major expenses right now although we don't know how much (surgery of which we don't know how much we will be responsible for). I'm doing this b/c of The Sims 3 and all of the expansion packs up to date. Right now, the game locks and freezes up every min or so. I was told that it was b/c my vid card was not powerful enough for it. When I only had 2 exp packs, the 440 was fine and the game ran smoothly, but w/the additon of 2 more exp packs and some stuff packs in addition to d/l's plus another exp pack coming next month, the current card just doesn't cut it. Is it possible to even run this system temporarily on the new card and a 600W PSU? We'll know more in a couple of months or so what we're up against and if we can afford a new system.

 

[warhead0]

I have no reason to believe its your GPU causing the lockups.

It could be your CPU or RAM. but it is hard to say for certain.

 

[Sonshyne]

I have 3.5 gigs RAM, and a 3.6 CPU. I've been told by other geeks who also play the sims that it is power hungry and takes a LOT (minimum of a 460) to run the game w/all the exp packs. There is one pack coming out next month, and prob 2 more after that and then there's prob a few stuff packs in between.