Feedback on the nVidia 460 GTX

(Jimmy James) #1

I finally got my hands on a nVidia 460 GTX and went to install it only to find both my power supply and my wife’s (newer computer) can’t handle it. So now I got a $180 paper weight. Oh well, maybe I will get a new computer someday and dust it off and see what Brink is like when my FPS goes above 20.

Just a warning to people looking to upgrade their video cards, the newest nVidia cards require a ridiculous amount of power. There aren’t even enough power cables coming from my power supply to fit all the plugs in this new card!

-JJ

(DarkangelUK) #2

What PSU are you using? I have a 600w and doing well. I made sure it had the 2x PCI-E power connectors before purchasing.

(Fatfool) #3

That happens when you use pre built PCs. Anyone who built their own rig would have chosen a multi PCI-E connector PSU. I’m pretty sure some jokers here are even running multiple graphics card setups. btw, 2 6 pin plugs? I had that for my 4 year old 8800GTX.

TS, if your box uses a standard sized ATX PSU, a replacement shouldn’t be a problem. Or post the rig here so we can see if it uses some other uncommon form factor which you may still be able to find a PSU for.

(Jimmy James) #4

[QUOTE=Fatfool;335942]That happens when you use pre built PCs. Anyone who built their own rig would have chosen a multi PCI-E connector PSU. I’m pretty sure some jokers here are even running multiple graphics card setups. btw, 2 6 pin plugs? I had that for my 4 year old 8800GTX.

TS, if your box uses a standard sized ATX PSU, a replacement shouldn’t be a problem. Or post the rig here so we can see if it uses some other uncommon form factor which you may still be able to find a PSU for.[/QUOTE]

I fully agree with this statement. I thought I’d save some money by buying a couple Dell computers then installing Sound Blaster and nVidia cards that I bought locally. Works up to a point, it’s been fine for a few years. I think it’s time for me to start building my computers from scratch again.

Thanks for the input,
JJ

(Nail) #5

for pre-made PCs, I like Gateway, standard form PSUs and they come with 600w that allows for upgrades, bit mote money than DEll, but better quality parts imo

(kilL_888) #6

this is a generell tip for people who dont know what the inside of their pc looks like. it has nothing to do with brink…

btw. current mid to highend graphic cards, 470 or 560ti for instance use ~200 watts at max. there are very very rare occasions where a card needs that much power. there is no game that demands 100% gpu load that would require the 200 watts.

anyways. i would recommend a decent 500 watts psu for the newer cards with 2 pci-e power connectors. the better ones have 1 8 (6+2) pin pci-e and 1 6 pin pci-e connector.

dont be cheap on the psu. if you only spend like 50 bucks on a 500 watts psu theres a good chance it will literally blow up or make your pc shut down when playing high demand games. in germany we call them bad psu’s “china böller” which means basicly “china firecrackers”.

(Smoochy) #7

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;335931]I finally got my hands on a nVidia 460 GTX and went to install it only to find both my power supply and my wife’s (newer computer) can’t handle it. So now I got a $180 paper weight. Oh well, maybe I will get a new computer someday and dust it off and see what Brink is like when my FPS goes above 20.

Just a warning to people looking to upgrade their video cards, the newest nVidia cards require a ridiculous amount of power. There aren’t even enough power cables coming from my power supply to fit all the plugs in this new card!

-JJ[/QUOTE]

my 5 year old PSU can handle anything. did you buy a cheapo dell machine or something?

you know most suppliers will give refund? they might charge a restock fee

you also know a PSU isnt that expensive? you also know that you can get adaptor cables that will sort this for you?

(Smoochy) #8

[QUOTE=kilL_888;336018]this is a generell tip for people who dont know what the inside of their pc looks like. it has nothing to do with brink…

btw. current mid to highend graphic cards, 470 or 560ti for instance use ~200 watts at max. there are very very rare occasions where a card needs that much power. there is no game that demands 100% gpu load that would require the 200 watts.

anyways. i would recommend a decent 500 watts psu for the newer cards with 2 pci-e power connectors. the better ones have 1 8 (6+2) pin pci-e and 1 6 pin pci-e connector.

dont be cheap on the psu. if you only spend like 50 bucks on a 500 watts psu theres a good chance it will literally blow up or make your pc shut down when playing high demand games. in germany we call them bad psu’s “china böller” which means basicly “china firecrackers”.[/QUOTE]

better get a 650w to future proof yourself.

(Fatfool) #9

[QUOTE=Smoochy;336034]my 5 year old PSU can handle anything. did you buy a cheapo dell machine or something?

[/QUOTE]

So could my Seasonic Energy+ 650W. But no branded manufacturer is going to use a 200 bucks PSU in their ranges.

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;335976]I fully agree with this statement. I thought I’d save some money by buying a couple Dell computers then installing Sound Blaster and nVidia cards that I bought locally. Works up to a point, it’s been fine for a few years. I think it’s time for me to start building my computers from scratch again.

Thanks for the input,
JJ[/QUOTE]

Dell - proprietary PSUs. No go. I hated how mine died thrice when I had one of those dell desktops.

(phoen1x) #10

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;335931]Just a warning to people looking to upgrade their video cards, the newest nVidia cards require a ridiculous amount of power. There aren’t even enough power cables coming from my power supply to fit all the plugs in this new card!

-JJ[/QUOTE]
I just LOL’ed :smiley: . Next time use google and check recommended psu for gtx 460 (btw http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gtx-460-us.html). U can check your psu buy opening pc case if u didn’t know… god bless americans :smiley: Oh and cheap 450 w is not the same as known brand 450w psu.

(Jimmy James) #11

[QUOTE=Fatfool;336115]

Dell - proprietary PSUs. No go. I hated how mine died thrice when I had one of those dell desktops.[/QUOTE]
This is the main problem. When I built my own computers I could just switch out any piece of hardware but the Dell power supplies have all kinds of bizarre connections that I have never seen. Even if I did by a new power supply I doubt I could get one with the proper connections for the hard drive, mother board, and CPU.

My computer is a few years old, an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz and I’ve been thinking about getting a quad core anyway since my system barely meets the minimum system requirements for Brink and it’s not like I’m going to stop buying new computer games.

-JJ

EDIT: I know it was stupid of me not to check the power supply before I bought the card but because these Dells were the XPS line (my wife’s being the Alienware case) I figured Dell would have put in a decent gaming power supply. I’ve learned my lesson. It won’t be the first time laziness cost me a few hundred dollars.

(neks) #12

I second that. I bought a 650W Antec PSU for my gtx460 a month ago, thinking I’ll probably add another one in 6 months, hopefully cheap by that time :slight_smile:

(FireWorks) #13

Isnt the 460 of the series with the rediculous high power consumption and heat?

(neks) #14

Mmm you must have it confused with something else, it’s more like the best bang for the bucks if you get the right model

(dlux) #15

460 doesn’t even require that much, the 470 and 480 do.
A 450 watt psu is more than enough for a 460.

(Jimmy James) #16

OK, I find that the labels on Dell power supplies to be kind of cryptic but here is what I think (please correct me if I’m wrong) the max output on my computer is 150 W which sounds ridiculously low to me and I can’t believe my power supply is supporting my current hardware setup.

My wife’s computer with the Dell “Alienware” case has a 750W power supply and yet lacks the necessary cables/plugs to actually supply the video card with power.

I’ll be building a new custom (ie non-Dell) computer in the next week or so and report my findings here.

-JJ

(Fatfool) #17

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;336570]OK, I find that the labels on Dell power supplies to be kind of cryptic but here is what I think (please correct me if I’m wrong) the max output on my computer is 150 W which sounds ridiculously low to me and I can’t believe my power supply is supporting my current hardware setup.

My wife’s computer with the Dell “Alienware” case has a 750W power supply and yet lacks the necessary cables/plugs to actually supply the video card with power.

I’ll be building a new custom (ie non-Dell) computer in the next week or so and report my findings here.

-JJ[/QUOTE]
They just skirt the requirements, putting in the lowest possible.

You can try to use an adapter with the molex connectors in the Alienware though.

(Ark_peasant) #18

If you buy expensive parts (like a graphic card) the PSU is NOT something you buy with a Dell/HP or with a ‘cheap’ case !

By buying through Dell/HP/cheap-case, you “save” 50 bucks max. And out of these 50 bucks, at least $30 are made from cheaper components.

Give your components the power they need : stable, protected and enough wattage.

Who is making your PSU ? (= know the factories behind the models)
=> Rule of thumb : Seasonic/Delta = good ; CWT (Channel Well Team)/some FSP = not really good

*** Fact *** More “WATTS” rarely mean more quality/stability/life expectancy. A good 400W is always better than a bad (or “fake”) 500W. Don’t overshoot too much, especially if you don’t have the budget for that.

How many watts do you really need ? (several examples listed)
=> Rule of thumb : 500/600W is enough for a modern “1 CPU + 1 GPU” rig w/o much overclocking.

“So, I determined how many watts I really need, but I don’t know which model to choose ?” Here’s a list of recommended models
=> As you can see, Antec, Corsair and Seasonic are often in the list. There’s a good reason : they’ve made several good products recently*.

  • Seasonic has always made high-quality (but expensive) products,
    Corsair is kinda new in the sector and needs to make its name.
    While Antec had several bad products in the past and needs to get back on the scene with a new reputation.

. . .

A good PSU lasts 3 to 5 years, without causing any problem.

Paying $80-$90 instead of $40-$50 for it is not wasting your money, it’s securing your components.

(Jimmy James) #19

[QUOTE=Fatfool;336629]
You can try to use an adapter with the molex connectors in the Alienware though.[/QUOTE]
You mean like a splitter?

The other problem is that if I put the new card into my wife’s computer I would want to switch out my 8600 GT for her old 9800 GTX but now I don’t think my computer’s power supply could even handle that card.

I think I’ll just play it safe and build a new custom rig that I know will be upgradeable in the future.

-JJ

(neks) #20

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;336882]You mean like a splitter?
[/QUOTE]

no no like an adapter:

you can build a fairly decent rig for $300/$350, (probably less depending on what you’ll be keeping from your current machine) with SLI-ready mobo and PSU, given you have all the accessories already (monitor,OS, kb and mouse…).