What budget graphic card would you recommend?

[Feuer Frei!]

Velero, try this website, put your data in and it will output a suggested PSU requirement, for your system:

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Also i recommend my PSU Guide in the PC Hardware/Software forum here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=182356

Edit: A too low a wattage psu can cause all sorts of trouble for you, loss of data, fried hardware, the list goes on.

[Velero]

Thank you guys for all your informative advice, an absolute tour the force of information. Nice to go back to using measurements such as volts and amps which I haven't revisited since my school days. Who can forget those circuit boards. I see now the importance that a good power supply is in today´s PC setup.

Well after some careful reading (thank you Freil for the link) I'm beginning to understand the label on the PSU, which in itself is great.

In the photo above the 500W PS's +12V " rail can supply 16A. I don't know what the spec is for the 460 card. Plugging in multiple connectors doubles the amperage. i.e.: for my 590 card it requires 50+ amps of current and my +12V rails can supply 35A (1.2kW PS) thus it has two 6 pin connectors plugged into the card to meet this requirement.

So if understand this rightly using "Amps multiplied by Voltage equals Watts" equation, then a single 12v rail @ 16a has a 192 Watt capacity, that box can then be ticked, I now have to add all the different components and add the combined usage while taking care of the rail limitations. Using the PSUcalculator website gives me a recommended PSU of 430 watts (This figure seems low so I will need to double check). I note that Darkwraiths 12v rails @ 35a combined gives a 840 watt capacity! Impressive stuff.

With this new perspective I decided to open her up again. Now I am a little perplexed, as there isn't a 2x2 4 cable plugged directly to the GT 9500, it seems connected directly to the motherboard as per the picture below. So does this mean that the 12v rail feeds the motherboard directly by-passing the card? Which cable corresponds to which rail? Perhaps I´m getting a bit ahead of myself, as there is no need for this much detail, but one question seems to always lead to another.




As you can see, this thread has now morphed to a completely new beast, not so much now about budget card but more about specification requirements. It´s slowly becoming apparent that it might be worth spending more on a decent setup.

Here below is what Is the PSU that I believe will meet all the requirements, for only 80 euros it should hopefully avoid any pitfalls.

OCZ PC StealthXStream II 700 W

• 700W Configurations
• 150 x 140 x 86mm (W x L x H)
• ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V
• Main connector: 20+ 4-pin ATX
• Non-Modular
• High efficiency:
• 83% @ 115V (Typical load)
• 85% @ 230V (Typical load)
• 80+ Certified
• Overvoltage/Overcurrent/Short-Circuit protection
• Active PFC
• MTBF:100,000 hours
• OCZ PowerWhisper Technology
• 120mm ball-bearing fan
• 3 year warranty backed by OCZ's exclusive
• PowerSwap Warranty replacement program.
• 700W Connectors
• 20+4-pin ATX
• 4+4-pin CPU
• 6-pin PCI-E
• 6+2-pin PCI-E
• 6 x Peripheral
• 2 x Floppy
• 6 x SATA
• Output: +3.3V@25A,+5V@25A,+12V1@18A, +12V2@18A, ,+12V3@18A, +12V4@18A- 12V@0.8A,+5VSB @ 3.0A

[TheDarkWraith]

As the 460SE needs 25A of current and your +12V rails are 18A each you have that covered (you'll be plugging in 2 X 6 pin connectors into the video card - ensure each 6 pin connector comes from a different +12V rail).

The power connecter connected to your motherboard (the 4 pin one in the picture) is additional power for the CPU. The Crosshair V Formula has another 4 pin molex connector for even more additional power to the GPUs

The power supply you have chosen looks more than adequate

[Arclight]

What resolution are you running?

Originally Posted by Velero

With this new perspective I decided to open her up again. Now I am a little perplexed, as there isn't a 2x2 4 cable plugged directly to the GT 9500, it seems connected directly to the motherboard as per the picture below. So does this mean that the 12v rail feeds the motherboard directly by-passing the card?

9500 isn't much of a card, it can draw all the power it needs from the board. Those PCI-E connectors deliver extra power to cards that need it.

Which cable corresponds to which rail?

Should be marked on the unit, perhaps a manual with it. Mine has a non modular cable from 1 rail and 2 modular connectors each supplied by a dedicated rail. Think it's a safe bet that every cable with PCI-E connectors leads off from a separate rail.

It´s slowly becoming apparent that it might be worth spending more on a decent setup.

Always is, gaming PC is a high-performance machine. Cut corners and it comes back to bite you later.


1GB 460 is an excellent card btw, but you might consider stretching a little for a 560. At the same clock speeds, it still beats a 460 by some 10-15% since it has access to the full core.

[BigBANGtheory]

I upgraded today from a DX10.1 ATI 4890 1GB to a DX11 6950 2GB, almost got the Nvidia 570 GTX but I wasnt convinced it was worth the extra £30 given the 6950 has more vram and I can overclock it to near 580 performance.

IMHO Nvidia have a great GPU in the pipe in the form of 'Kepler', promised to double++ the performance that of 'Fermi'! The only downside is that it's due out Q1/Q2 next year but it could be a card to wipe the floor if priced correctly.

I think thats bad timing for Nvidia because mass market PC gamers are eying up Battlefield3 due out Q4 2011, that is the killer app for the GPU market atm.

You can't beat the performance value of the ATI 6950 atm, but I do think the next round will favour Nvidia in 9 months time. The main question though is will we have the games that use that much GPU power short of users with 3+ screens?

im moving this to the right forum since its about hardware and not the game

[Velero]

Thank you all for your comments, and after much deliberation I've ordered the following:

OCZ PC StealthXStream II 700 W

GeForce GTX 560 - 1 GB GDDR5 -

The combination came in under 250 Euros which includes tax and P&P. This is above the initial budget I set myself , but as I've learned here it pays to spend a little bit more. The PSU should be good to go even if I decide to upgrade at a later stage, and the GTX 560 should be more than adequate for most games out now and in the near future.

Thanks once again for all the enlightening information about the ins and outs of upgrading a PC, as with most things the journey can in itself be rewarding.




Good Hunting

[Arclight]

Think that will serve you well. Went to a 460 myself from a 8800gts. As far as demanding games go, it runs things like Crysis, Metro 2033 and Witcher 2 admirably.

[Castout]

Get GTX 560 instead.

Edit: Ah I see you already decided to get GTX 560. Good choice for value.

[Arclight]

Still kinda wish I'd waited a bit, got a 560 as well... ah well, got nothing to complain about.

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by Velero

Thank you all for your comments, and after much deliberation I've ordered the following:

OCZ PC StealthXStream II 700 W

GeForce GTX 560 - 1 GB GDDR5 -

The combination came in under 250 Euros which includes tax and P&P. This is above the initial budget I set myself , but as I've learned here it pays to spend a little bit more. The PSU should be good to go even if I decide to upgrade at a later stage, and the GTX 560 should be more than adequate for most games out now and in the near future.

Thanks once again for all the enlightening information about the ins and outs of upgrading a PC, as with most things the journey can in itself be rewarding.




Good Hunting

Your first post and final post is why I don't believe them when, they say, "On a BUDGET" I wait untill the others here talk them up. I see the 100lb budget found enough for a PSU too.

[gammaphialpha]

Go for EVGA GTX 580 and get a higher watts PSU