[ChristianM]

Hi, my graphic card xfx 9600gso just died and I'm planning to buy a couple of years old xfx gtx260 black edition 896MB, but can someone guide me if my Cooler Master PSU "EXTREME POWER 500W RS-500-PCAR-A3" can provide enough fuel to burn this baby? i also have xfx hd4850 512MB in mind. please also suggest a decent $100 to $120 graphic card but only XFX. I have:

Intel Pentium E6300 2.8GHz
Asus P5P43TD
2GB Kingston DDR3 1333MHz
Thanks.

[yeshuas]

that power supply is the bare minimum for what you want, not having enough power is hard on a graphics card, I have a similar graphics card in my machine and I am using a 750w power supply, in my opinion you are asking for trouble.

[augie]

that power supply is the bare minimum for what you want, not having enough power is hard on a graphics card, I have a similar graphics card in my machine and I am using a 750w power supply, in my opinion you are asking for trouble.

I'd agree with that one being borderline.

A GeForce GTX 260 requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 38 Amps available on the 12 volts rails.

That is a good PSU but the margins are so close that I wouldn't risk my machine wishing that the power supply won't die today. With all due respect to yeshuas, I think a 750W would be overkill but will last forever like my Corsair TX750W but go for a PSU that easily clears the 38A minimum requirement. A 600W quality unit should suffice.(If you will never go SLI with a pair of 260's)

It's refreshing to see a proactive thread about PSUs as most folks never think how power thirsty these cards can be until the 'uh-oh moment'. I can't recommend any XFX products as I'm an eVGA man.

[yeshuas]

i wasn't reccomending he get a 750w, that is just what I have, simply because sometimes I connect other drives and graphics cards to test

[augie]

'nuff said I think. From Guru3d

[augie]

i wasn't reccomending he get a 750w, that is just what I have, simply because sometimes I connect other drives and graphics cards to test

Sorry about that, a slight misunderstanding on my part.

[yeshuas]

no problem Algis,

Hey whats that graph represent by the way?

[augie]

no problem Algis,

Hey whats that graph represent by the way?

Just relative GPU performances using the same game as a benchmark. The article explains it all if you're interested or bored.

[ChristianM]

well guys thanks for your replies, i understand that i need atleast 600w PSU for gtx260, ok i upgrade my PSU to 600w but what about my pentium E6300? is it enough? or should i go with xfx hd4850? also,augie, can you recommend me any eVGA GPU for around $120 please, i want nvidia and i like xfx but as we know xfx done with nvidia. i have NO plans for SLI nor OC. thanks.

[yeshuas]

you should be able to get at least a gtx 400 series maybe a low 500 for that price