How good a graphics card can i get?

[Quadacon]

Hi I currently have a thermaltake 500 Watt PSU, I was wondering what the best Nvidia graphics card I could get that will work with 500 Watts or less, also take in mind the rest of my specs, (my specs are under my name, click more info and then click my specs) thanks, I just want an estimate of how much you can do with 500 Watts.

 

[djangoringo]

Which is thermaltake brand and model ?

 

[Quadacon]

Which is thermaltake brand and model ?

Im not quite sure it comes standerd with some of the cases (mine is the v4 black addition)

DC OUTPUT +3.3V +5V1 +12V1 +12V2 -12V +5VSB
Max Output Current 25A 28A 14A 15A 0.3A 2.0A
Min Output Current 0.5A 0.3A 1.0A 1.0A 0A 0A

 

[djangoringo]

It's a terrible psu, it has a dual rail +12V with 14A and 15A, i recommend getting a new psu with the card if possible depending on your budget.

 

[C12Friedman]

DC OUTPUT +3.3V +5V1 +12V1 +12V2 -12V +5VSB
Max Output Current 25A 28A 14A 15A 0.3A 2.0A
Min Output Current 0.5A 0.3A 1.0A 1.0A 0A 0A

Ouch, those are some 'old skool' specs, gives you a MAX of 348W on the 12v rails - note that that is max (they can say that if it mantains power for 1/10 of a second at that draw - seriously). You will want to replace that PSU or look at a GPU that does not need additional power to it, a GT640 or something.
I personally would not plug that into an expensive graphics card

 

[Quadacon]

Ouch, those are some 'old skool' specs, gives you a MAX of 348W on the 12v rails - note that that is max (they can say that if it mantains power for 1/10 of a second at that draw - seriously). You will want to replace that PSU or look at a GPU that does not need additional power to it, a GT640 or something.
I personally would not plug that into an expensive graphics card

thank you, I recently upgraded to the 640, so are you saying that I cant go any higher than the 640??

 

[djangoringo]

I wouldn't recommend anything higher, not because of the wattage, but because of the amps and the quality of the psu, which is none.
That psu doesn't have 500W, it might have 300W at the best.
If you have the budget for a 660 or 660 ti and a new psu, it will be better.

 

[C12Friedman]

... are you saying that I cant go any higher than the 640??

I wouldn't recommend it until the PSU is replaced with one of newer design and higher quality. This link is excellent (IMO) for finding PSU reviews (and generally learning what makes a 'good' PSU) http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page541.htm
As an FYI here, 99% of the time we will not recommend getting a PSU/Case combo. What usually happens is the older designed (seems to be the case here) and or cheaper built models get put in those cases - there are rare exceptions and they're gems when found. But that is very rare and exceptional
Because your PSU's design is old we're pushing for replacement with a quality PSU and is why the PSU review link is included

 

[Quadacon]

I wouldn't recommend anything higher, not because of the wattage, but because of the amps and the quality of the psu, which is none.
That psu doesn't have 500W, it might have 300W at the best.
If you have the budget for a 660 or 660 ti and a new psu, it will be better.

So what would happen if I did upgrade graphics card it said its a 500 WATT psu, i dont understand about the amps and why they matter please explain

 

[djangoringo]

Because it's on the +12v rail that it will feed the cpu and gpu, the two most important things, if a psu only has 14A, it means it can only deliver 168W for those, meaning a cpu within 70W and a 140W gpu will be above the minimum required, it's a better factor then just to look for the fake total wattage in some cheap psus.

 

[Quadacon]

Because it's on the +12v rail that it will feed the cpu and gpu, the two most important things, if a psu only has 14A, it means it can only deliver 168W for those, meaning a cpu within 70W and a 140W gpu will be above the minimum required, it's a better factor then just to look for the fake total wattage in some cheap psus.

So your saying that it can only deliver a certain amount to certain parts, also how hard is it to get a new PSU and install it? Thanks

 

[djangoringo]

It's easy, the new psu will have all the connectors necessary for your system, in fact a quality one will have even more sata connectors and two pcie connectors.

 

[Quadacon]

It's easy, the new psu will have all the connectors necessary for your system, in fact a quality one will have even more sata connectors and two pcie connectors.

Wow ok then, thanks for your help

 

[Quadacon]

Best answer selected by Quadacon.