Nvidia 1GB 460 GTX Super OC Edition - Power supply help please

[Chrisev910]

Hi All,

I wonder if someone can put my mind at rest???

I'm a bit new round here, so apologies if I am doing the wrong thing by posting my question here!!

I am about to purchase a Nvidia GTX 460 1GB Super OC Graphics card to add to my system. I am currently running:

- AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor 2.80 Ghz
- 4GB DDR 3 RAM
- 1 500 GB SATA HDD
- 3 x Fans with LED lighting
- 1 x 120mm (non LED fan)
- External DVD writer

I have a 600watt PSU, and the label on the side states it has 30A on the +12v rail.

However, I am concerned that the PSU may not cope with the addition of the new graphics card.

Can anyone advise whether or not they think it will cope? or even better, tell me how I might be able to check/calculate?

Thanks in advance of your help

Cheers

[cptwhite_uk]

30A is a little low for a 600W PSU, but it should run it without issue.

[nibbler]

What brand PSU is it? If it's not a good manufacturer it's likely to not even deliver the rated specs, or even worse go pop...

[Chrisev910]

Hi guys,

Thanks for responding.

The PSU is a COLOURS-IT 600U power supply. Had it a couple of years now and not had any issues with it, but was just wanting to make sure it would support the card on the 12v rail.

I have used some of the online calculators, and they say I only need around a 500 watt supply, I know this isn't all there is to consider, so I would appreciate your advice.

Cheers,
Chris

[Domestic_Ginger]

The 460 will need two 6 pin PCIe plugs which your PSU may not have.

I think you have it in a nutshell in your opeining post; the card needs current at 12V. It should be able to supply 360W.

Hexus review states thier system (with an i7) pulls 311W at the wall using furmark. Assuming 80% efficiency thats ~249W without taxing the CPU that the PSU is actually rated to supply.

I suppose it all boils down to whether you trust your PSU and back to square one!

[Chrisev910]

Hi All,

Thanks for your advice above.....but my fears have been realised...

I took delivery of my new graphics card and installed it. I started to play Black Ops and noticed some quite poor performance considering the specs of the card...

Further into the ordeal my computer started to crash out....with a rather funny smell emenating from my PC. The power supply was burning up.....very hot to touch.

Ive whipped it out now and have borrowed a 450 watt off a mate (which works fine now).

So....I am in the market for a new PSU and was wondering if you guys had any advice for me. I want to spend as little as possible, but on the other hand, I don't want to skimp on this important piece of kit.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

[Domestic_Ginger]

Glad to hear your system still works. I guess coloursit are to be avoided!

CtV posted this linki a while back.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page447.htm

If you see a decent offr try and find a review on there; most if not all 'branded' models are on there. You'll find you're suddenly an expert!

Try the scan today only thread. They usually have a few deals; as a very general rule 10W/£ is the norm for a PSU. 20 posts will net you free postage.

[Chrisev910]

Hi Guys,

I am just shopping around to get a new PSU, and have been looking at loads of them. I was wondering if someone can explain this 12v rail thing.

Ok....I'm looking at something like the Corsair CX 500W PSU which apparently has 34 A on the single 12v Rail. My Graphics card apparently needs 36 A. Does that mean this PSU is not suitable?

Then I looked at the OCZ StealthXStream 2 500W, which has two 12v rails, each with 18 A, does this mean it totals 36 A and this will be fine?

Is 36 a lot? or am I just looking at poor power supplies??

Any help to finalise this saga would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Chris

[Domestic_Ginger]

There is no way your GPU needs 36A. That would be 36x12=432W! That should be for your entire system. You GPU will pull a absoloute max 180w iirc so 15A should be fine to cover it.

The corsair CX if the builders models are not so great as I have not seen many reviews for them. They generally are upto 80% efficient which is okay but not great.

The 34A total should be okay but as its 408W/500w in total at 12V it does not sound too great. the better PSUs will supply closer to 90% of thier total power at 12V.

The rails tie up with which cables come out of your PSU. ie one 12V rail supplying 18A will be drawn by a select few cables. and the other rail will feed some other cables. The 18A is pretty common as this is down to some EU directive from a few years back. Many times the rails are all drawing power form a single larger rail inside the PSU anyway and have a shunt put in place to cut out if load is exceeded.

2x 18A rails should be more than fine. In theory one will power your GPU and the other your system. Without knowing exactly which rail supplies what though I can't be certain.

Apologies if I have just confused you! Keep posting though and someone will help you out. With that review guide you're as much an expert as anyone else.

The today only offers will change for the weekend so maybe something good will come up then....

[tturgay]

I would say don`t take risk now and go with quality corsair, OCZ, coolermaster, antec, silverstone makes and get at least 550W to make sure everything goes nicely even under heavy load.

Hope this helps

[shaithis]

I have almost the same card in the media centre in my sig, with a OCZ600SXS. I have even replaced the fan in it with a quieter one and added a resistor to further slow it down to the point where it is now in-audible. Even after 5 hours of gaming, the PSU is still cool to the touch. It is also rated at 18A per rail.

It's damn overkill (was lying around so I used it) and the 500W will supply the same 18A on the same 2 rails fine.

Nvidia err on the cautious side and say it needs 24A, even at that draw, thats 288W from the potential 481W that the 500W OCZ can supply from those rails.

As long as all your drives, fans, etc don't use 200W, you should be fine......and I would bet my lifes savings on the fact they total no-where near 200W!

[crossy]

Wow - this is spooky chrisev910 - just took delivery of my SuperOC edition yesterday and then came across this thread.
Although I'm pairing mine with an X6-1090T.

I would say don`t take risk now and go with quality corsair, OCZ, coolermaster, antec, silverstone makes and get at least 550W to make sure everything goes nicely even under heavy load.

Couldn't agree more - from my experience trying to save a few quid on the PSU is false economy. Far, far better to spend a couple of quid extra and get something with a bit of headroom. I bought a Seasonic S12 (600W) a couple of years ago and it's still good enough to keep up with the hunt.

Brands I look favourably on are: Seasonic (of course), Corsair (good warranty - and a lot are made by Seasonic anyway) and Enermax. CustomPC magazine (used to be good, but less so these day) reckons in this months issue that the 650W Antec TruPower is worth a go - and that's less than £70, (£62 on Scan's current TodayOnly). I've just passed my old faithful Seasonic onto a family member and it's being replaced with a Corsair AX - but that's no reflection on the Seasonic. Reviewers seem to like the Seasonic S12 (although it's a bit elderly now) and the Corsair HX's get a good rep too. I'd skip the 550W - go for the extra headroom and get a 650W or better.

The other decision you'll have to make is whether you want to go modular or not - if you've got a tight case then modular is definitely worth the extra expenditure. Parting shot - cheap PSU's are also (generally speaking) less efficient, so they'll actually end up costing you more - more power converted to heat, and then you'll need more powerful airflow to get rid of that heat.