Upgrade to GTX 480?

samuelspark

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Sep 12, 2011
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Hey guys, it's me and I wanted to upgrade my system that I built about 6 months ago.

Here are the specs:
i5 2500k 4.2GHz 1.36Vcore
MSI G43 (G3) Z68
Gigabyte Radeon HD 6850
8GB DDR3 1600 MHz G.Skill
Antec 300 Illusion, 4 fans
OCZ Fatal1ty 550w Modular PSU

Now, what I really wanted to do is upgrade my graphics hardware. My point is, my friend is making a computer for the first time and I'm selling him a monitor and my GPU for $200 total. I was thinking of getting a GTX 480. It's currently on newegg for only $210! Pretty big bang for the buck, but the thing I'm worried about is that my PSU won't be adequate. My PSU is quality stuff but it's only 550w and the 480 is power hungry.

What do you guys think I should do? Thanks!
 

samuelspark

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Sep 12, 2011
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Well, I used a PSU calculator and it said that I needed 553w at 90% load. I think my PSU can go above 550w, but I'm not sure how long it'll last in the long run if it does that.

Also, what can I do about the heat? The cooler design is that it blows it out of my case right?