New psu maybe?

[Osiris5217]

So I be upgradin' to a 260 GTX from a 9800 GTX using the EVGA step-up program and I want to know if I'll need a new power supply to go along with it. Here's my current specs:

550W PSU
One 10,000 RPM HDD
9800 GTX
One DVD drive
An asus MOBO that was $180 (I forget the model atm, will update later.)
And two sticks of ram, 1 GB each.

yep

[I SNAKED YOU]

As long as you don't overclock or sli, I think you'll be fine but its better to read the manufacturer's recommendation in the card's specs.

[handsock]

PSU as in Phantasy Star Universe?

[The_Canadian]

You don't need that much power to play Phantasy Star Universe

[Osiris5217]

As long as you don't overclock or sli, I think you'll be fine but its better to read the manufacturer's recommendation in the card's specs.

The specs read a minimum of 500W, and I was wondering if I needed more overhead than just 50W. I plan to overclock a small amount, not like a 40% increase though, 10%-15%.

[usefulidiot316]

So I be upgradin' to a 260 GTX from a 9800 GTX using the EVGA step-up program and I want to know if I'll need a new power supply to go along with it. Here's my current specs:

550W PSU
One 10,000 RPM HDD
9800 GTX
One DVD drive
An asus MOBO that was $180 (I forget the model atm, will update later.)
And two sticks of ram, 1 GB each.

yep

Figures, you'd have to get a new video card on a day when nVidia just released a newer model of the one you're getting. http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3408

But to answer your question, both cards use about the same Watts, so a new PSU won't be necessary.

[Osiris5217]

Figures, you'd have to get a new video card on a day when nVidia just released a newer model of the one you're getting. http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3408

But to answer your question, both cards use about the same Watts, so a new PSU won't be necessary.

The 260 216 is the one I'm stepping up to.

[diablo234]

i would go at least 600W, just to make sure you dont run out of juice

[yamahadrummer]

i just upgraded from to a gtx 260 from a 8800ultra, what a difference!
you should be good if that is a quality 550watt psu. if it is some shit brand i would chuck it and get a good brand.
i use a 850 watt thermaltake toughpower.

[usefulidiot316]

Looks like a really common misconception with power supplies is that every newer video card needs a much more powerful PSU. Really, the 8800gtx uses more power than the GTX 260. Depending on what the rest of your system is, the entire computer with a GTX 260 should only use between 250 and 350 Watts under full load. The only problem with that is you need a power supply of at least 400W to be running at 80% all the time to be able to keep up with a higher end system. 550W should be more than enough for a system with that card if it's 80+ certified and you never SLI it.

[Osiris5217]

Looks like a really common misconception with power supplies is that every newer video card needs a much more powerful PSU. Really, the 8800gtx uses more power than the GTX 260. Depending on what the rest of your system is, the entire computer with a GTX 260 should only use between 250 and 350 Watts under full load. The only problem with that is you need a power supply of at least 400W to be running at 80% all the time to be able to keep up with a higher end system. 550W should be more than enough for a system with that card if it's 80+ certified and you never SLI it.

Thank you, I do have one more question though, nvidia recommends 38amperage on 12v but that seems like a crazy high amount for just 182W TDP. The reason I ask is because I only have two rails with add up to 33amps.

If my findings are right then my 9800GTX uses just 20 watts under a 260GTX (full load) and has a minimum of 24 amps.

[yamahadrummer]

my toughpower has 4 12v rails adding up to 96amps
i use 4 hd's and tons of usb devices but thats still overkill.

[usefulidiot316]

Thank you, I do have one more question though, nvidia recommends 38amperage on 12v but that seems like a crazy high amount for just 182W TDP. The reason I ask is because I only have two rails with add up to 33amps.

If my findings are right then my 9800GTX uses just 20 watts under a 260GTX (full load) and has a minimum of 24 amps.

I'm just going by what review sites are saying. Most of them say between 250 and 350W under full load. Nvidias recommendations are based on PCs with two quad core extreme CPUs overclocked, 4 10,000 rpm harddrives, and 4 sticks of memory. It's really a just in case. But for your system, I'd say it would turn out more like this http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/gtx260core216_091508220645/17390.png . That's with an extreme quad core processor, 1 7200rpm HDD, and 4 sticks of memory.

[Osiris5217]

I'm just going by what review sites are saying. Most of them say between 250 and 350W under full load. Nvidias recommendations are based on PCs with two quad core extreme CPUs overclocked, 4 10,000 rpm harddrives, and 4 sticks of memory. It's really a just in case. But for your system, I'd say it would turn out more like this http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/gtx260core216_091508220645/17390.png . That's with an extreme quad core processor, 1 7200rpm HDD, and 4 sticks of memory.

To determine the amps needed isn't it watts/12=amperage? If so then I should probably be able to run it, but I think I might just buy a new power supply whenever. That or just stick with my 9800gtx OC'd to 825/2001/1200

[usefulidiot316]

To determine the amps needed isn't it watts/12=amperage? If so then I should probably be able to run it, but I think I might just buy a new power supply whenever. That or just stick with my 9800gtx OC'd to 825/2001/1200

If you can run an overclocked 9800gtx on that psu, then you can run a non overclocked gtx 260 no problem.

You're right about finding the amperage, though. You won't need to upgrade your PSU, but if you ever do, you'll at least be able to SLI it, then.

[Osiris5217]

If you can run an overclocked 9800gtx on that psu, then you can run a non overclocked gtx 260 no problem.

You're right about finding the amperage, though. You won't need to upgrade your PSU, but if you ever do, you'll at least be able to SLI it, then.

You're so useful, I love you.