lazybone

Hello guys, my name is lazybone and I have a question about gtx 260. At first, the requirement states that I have to have more than 500W. My current computer is Dimension 9200.(It's power supply is 375W) I'm planning to buy PK 600W Computer POWER SUPPLY FAN 20/24 pin SATA P4. It have 600W and I'm thinking that it would be enough. But I want to ask can it really handle everything? Like would it be enough for Motherboard,harddrive,CPU Fan,Gtx260,and ram slot?

makinu1der2

Hello,

You will need a quality PSU for this card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...corsair%2b650w

ebackhus

That PSU is trash. I wouldn't use it for anything.

lazybone

So as soon as I get a PSU greater than 500 its all good?

lazybone

Sorry I don't know how to delete posts yea >> I have to get 650? I can't get 600?

Phædrus2401

It's not so much the wattage as the brand. There are a lot of iffy power supplies out there. A cheap PSU might deliver less than its rated power, have a lot of noise resulting in random crashes and bugs, be very inefficient thus costing you more on your electric bill, and might catastrophically fail, possibly taking the rest of your computer with it.

The Corsair power supplies are all very nice, high quality, relatively inexpensive, and come with good warranties. You could get away with a Corsair 550vx, but using the 650tx will give you more headroom for future upgrades and overclocking. I would NOT use the PK power supply, it's complete junk. The power supply is the one part of your system you don't want to skimp on. You might not want to pay $100 for a good PSU, but that crappy $50 might end up costing you $500 when it fails and fries all your components (happened on an old EMachines of mine once).

dai

with a 260 you will be in the quality 80+ 750+ range

lazybone

ohhhhs thanks phaedrus2401 =] I get it now.

lazybone

Sorry >> but I have one more question. I'm about to buy this power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148022 which consist 680W. I'm not actually looking at the watts but the brand as well. I guess things that newegg sells is good quality. So I'm just wondering is this power supply any good in my dimension 9200?

ebackhus

Avoid that thing like the PLAGUE!! Apevia makes garbage power supplies.

dai

they sell a range of psu's some good some not so good

Power Supply Information and Selection

ebackhus

I lost a PC to an Apevia. My trust is 0% for them. It's like a rebadged Okai.

lazybone

ohhhs :[ R.I.P Ebackhus's pc lol Thanks ebackhus now I won't believe in them. I don't really want to spend that much on PSU >> I just need one that is 520+ and is pretty good and inexpensive :T

dai

you don't skimp on psu's,it can end up being a very expensive exercise

ebackhus

I spent about $170 for mine and don't regret it. The PSU is the heart. Nothing can live without it.

Mcninjaguy

I spent $200 on my PSU since its more expensive in Canada. I don't regret it either, especially since its overclocked by around 19%.

lazybone

Ohhhs I thought motherboard is the heart hehe =] I guess spending a lot o PSU are worth it. I'll try Corsair. Uhm Mcninjaguy what is overclocking or superclocked?

Mcninjaguy

Overclocking is when you take the cores and up the megahertz they are running at.

Overclocking a video is a lot like overclocking a CPU. You need to take many factors into affect.

-Is the PSU strong enough for the extra power the GPU needs
-Can the GPU stay cool enough?
-What is the maximum overclock you can do before the GPU is unstable?
-How do I test it for stability?
-Do I want to overclock using a program or mod the bios?
-Wil lthis shorten the lifespan of the card considerably?

Basically The GPU has a set factory clock speed it runs on and with Nvidia they have 3 separate clocks

CoreClock
Shader Clock
Memory Clock

I would refer you to wikipedia if you want a detailed explanation of the clock's functions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader#Pixel_shaders

So What I did was this for my GTX 260. I modded the bios using nibitor and changed the 3d clocks, temperature limits when the fan increases speed and the default fan speed.

Original 3d clocks

Core Clock: 575mhz
SHader Clock: 1200mhz
memory clock: 999mhz

Overclocked settings

Core clock: 720mhz
shader clock: 1520mhz
memory clock: 1220mhz

Basically I increased my memory bandwidth on the card from 116.6gb/s to 136.6gb/s

Another good thing about the GTX 200 series cards is when they are idle they automatically downclock and only use around 30 watts of power. This goes up automatically when you play a video (not all the way) or play a game)

Settings for auto downclock

Core Clock: 300mhz
Shader Clock: 600mhz
Memory Clock: 100mhz

I hope this helps.

lazybone

Yesh it definitely helped me alot =] wows now I know what is overclocked. but how I check is my PSU able to support gtx260 and what is the limit? Erm Mcninjaguy do you have AIM or anything to contact you? Because Incase if I really need help while installing things I might need your help

dai

all help has to be in the thread