GTX 460 SSC+ and my humble power supply

[fendershredder]

Hi folks who know more about this than I do

I have the opportunity of a great deal on this GPU (£100)

EVGA Nvidia GTX460 SSC+ 1GB 256-Bit DDR5 Graphics Card


I have this power supply, and matching the spec is making my bloody head spin
*goes dizzy*

eXtreme Power Plus 500W - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply

Going beyond that, I currently have a lovely Sapphire HD5770 which works great but I would love more horses under the hood, mostly so I can pimp skyrim's nutts off. Will it be worth the investment both financially and increase in performance?

I was looking at a Nvidia 560ti for £169 which is over my budget (making it the card I want, as opposed to the card I should buy) and I think I would most likely need a new PSU for that one.

Any opinions are more than welcome before my brain explodes and the deal passes me by

Thank you.

 

[paulktreg]

Going from a HD5770 to a GTX560ti will net you an across the board increase in performance of approximately 60% so it's not too shabby. I can't see any average gaming rig pulling anymore than 350W with this card installed so will your power supply be OK? Probably yes but looking at its specification its a very dated design, switchable voltage selection, passive or no PF correction (model dependant) and only 70% efficiency all point to an older design. You'll also need two 6 pin PCI-E connectors which you don't have and I'm personally not a fan of adapters. You'll probably be OK with the Coolermaster 500W and an adapter for the second 6 pin PCI-E connector but if it was me I'd be looking for a better quality power supply. The Corsair CX500 would be a good budget choice if funds permit or something like the Corsair TX650V2 would be better. If you take the jump in efficiency from 70% to 85% into account along with how long you use your PC it will save money on the electricity bill but I'll let you do the maths.

 

[fendershredder]

That's a super informative reply, thank you Paulktreg

I'm guessing if my PSU can handle the 560ti even if that's by the skin of it's knuckles then I should be just dandy with the 460 SSC+, what are your opinions of the 460, if you have any that is, especially since I could get this at £70 cheaper than the 560ti.

I will look into upgrading my PSU next year, most likely around March - April time anyway, just to make sure everything is upto date.

If it saves me a reply later also, my pc specs are as follows;
AMD 955 BE x4 3.2 QUAD CPU
ASUS M4N68T-M LE V2 Mobo
4GB DDR3 1600 Corsair ram (2x2gb)
Sapphire HD 5770

I've ran into trouble when I got the 5770 and my pc kept turning off because of the PSU being under powered, wouldn't want that to happen again.

Why are you not a fan of adaptors though, obviously having something designed for the job makes more sense, but are they not just the same thing, surely I'm only changing the connector anyway.

Thanks again

 

[paulktreg]

I run two GTX460's myself and they are great cards. I got the 768MB version because they are primarily for folding but with SLI enabled they play most games at 1680 x 1050 on fairly high settings. The one you're looking at is 1GB I believe which is better for gaming. Your not going to get the same performance increase over the HD5770 but if you like the sound of 30~40% then go for it!

I'm not a fan of adapters because to my mind if a power supplies capable of running more 6 pin PCI connectors then they'd be fitted. I've seen cheap 700W units with only one 6 pin PCI-E connector which is ridiculous but the manufacturers of these units overstate their actual power and I'm sure would rather you didn't load them too much.

I've also seen problems with multi 12V rail power supplies in that 12V1 is usually for the processor, motherboard & peripherals and 12V2 for PCI-E. Use an adapter, the 4 pin peripheral type, and you're loading 12V1 up even more which sometimes causes problems.

 

[fendershredder]

You make a fair point about the rails, just to be sure though find attached a little pic of the sticker on my PSU.

http://guitarse.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/pict0084.jpg

I think I'll go ahead with the deal on the lower price card, unless someone drops £70 in my hand tonight, haha not gonna happen.

At least I have learned something about PSU's today.

 

[paulktreg]

Couldn't help but notice "+3V3 & +5V & +12V1 & +12V2 combined power shall not exceed 431.1W", add to that 6W (-12V) and 12.5W (5VSB) and you get only 450W. Typical of low quality units but I'm sure you'll be fine but power supply upgrade next!

 

[fendershredder]

Thanks again Paul, will invest in a good PSU in the new year, worked out a good deal for my self on the SSC+ 460.

Can sell my 5770 for £65 on eBay, Girlfriend is putting in 20 quid as a stocking filler for Christmas and talked my mate down to £110 for the card, which is a bargain seeing as it's around £170-210 online, seems I've made the right choice.

You have been most helpful

Might add you as a friend on here and hit you up for advice when I come to buying a PSU ;-)