Isonic 600W PSU with GTX260

kner515

kner515

New member
Hi - looking to upgrade graphics card from Biostar 8800GT to a GTX260. I have a 600W Isonic PSU and was wondering if anyone has a similar config that is working.
I am not really keen to spend extra cash on new PSU when I could be spending it on new games :).
 
My one mate had an Isonic 600W PSU, upgraded from a 9600GT to a GTX260 Black edition, and it kept on rebooting the pc, he had to buy a more decent PSU (GIGABYTE ODIN 575) The amps on the 12v rails are not sufficient on that Isonic
 
kner515 said:
Hi - looking to upgrade graphics card from Biostar 8800GT to a GTX260. I have a 600W Isonic PSU and was wondering if anyone has a similar config that is working.
I am not really keen to spend extra cash on new PSU when I could be spending it on new games :).
Click to expand...

Do you know how to check the amperage on the 12v rail Kner?

Have a look at the side of the PSU, on the sticker, you will have all the specs, it should give you either the total amps on the 12v rail (others are the 5v and the 3.3v rails) or you should be able to add up the figures on the 12v rail which should then give you the total.

Once you know the figures on your +12v rail, then just google the amps required on the GTX260 - in fact, i've done it for ya (note though that they make no mention of a "black edition" - click click or probably safer thing to do is check the official power requirement, if under powered, you could do permanent damage to your existing hardware. So saving a few could cost you alot, as they say, something 'bout penny wise and pound foolish.

Also, try this as a "2nd opinion" to confirm that of your first findings - PSU Calculator

Just capture all the relevant hardware info, i.e. CPU/HDD/Memory/MB/FANS etc, using the "lite" version and you should get a very good idea of your existing load what the estimate of what it would be with any upgrades. Check that figure against the specs on the sticker on the side of the PSU.

All the best.
 
Definately not enough power from that one, get a Corsair that rates the 12V for wattage:

eg: http://www.take2.co.za/electronics-corsair-tx650w-power-supply-650w-3689201.html

The above 650W powersupply is rated at 624W on the 12V alone with 80plus effieciency etc etc blah blah.

Thats crazy amps, see calculation below:
Watts / Volts = Amps
624 / 12 = 52
That means that at 80 Efficiency you get at least 41.6 amps just on the 12V line.

the GTX 260 needs about 23Amps or so at full load, with all your hard drives and power lines to the motherboard, the above PSU should work out Perfectly.
 
Soz for the doublepost, but I thought I'd answer the question in the back of your mind (something that I was asking when 1st encountering the same problem with an upgrade).

MOST power supplies (very few exceptions like the Corsair ones), rate the power consumption over all the lines totalling up to the final wattage. This is not false in any way, just a bit misleading, since a lot of power (wattage) is wasted on the 5V and 3.3V lines. Some power supplies also have Dual-rail systems, while this was good in teh past, to power hard drives and components separately from gfx cards and what not, it doesnt hold true to todays standards as the GFX card power requirements have litterly exploded in the last few years. Most significantly, the dual-rail system fails because, while the total (combining both 12V rails) may result in 40Amps, the split of 20Amps per rail at what was previously a shocking efficiency rate (old PSU systems had ratings as low as 50% efficiency) result in an inadequate Amp rating even when combining the rails;

Above case in point, 2 X 12V rails with 20Amps each, combined to get 40Amps @ 50% efficiency = only actually getting 20Amps on the Combined rails - very bad.

Anyway, hope you kinda understand all this technical mumbo jumbo.
These days - SINGLE RAIL guys n girls, with MAX rating on the 12V rail.
 
Thanks to all the replies & good info.

I had a look at the PSU and it specifies 12v1 - 16amps and 12v2 - 17 amps = 33amps. I was looking at the Inno3d http://www.inno3d.com/products/graphic_card/gtx200/gtx260.html.
The spec for this card is "Minimum 400W or greater system power supply (with 12V current rating of 25A)". So I guess the question is at what efficiency the PSU is running. Is there a way of determine this? Probably better to bite the bullet and get a new PSU.

I am using a Intel Q6600 (not overclocked) CPU, ASUS P5B-VM DO motherboard, 1 x SATA HD, 1 X DVD and 2G DDR2 ram.
 
System Type: 1 physical CPU
Motherboard: High End - Desktop
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 B3 2400 MHz Kentsfield
CPU Utilization (TDP): 90% TDP
RAM: 2 Sticks DDR2 SDRAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
Video Type: Single Card
Regular SATA: 1 HDD
DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 1 Drive
Sound Blaster - All Models: Yes
Fans
LED: 2 Fans 80mm; 1 Fan 120mm;
Keyboard and mouse: Yes
System Load: 90 %

Recommended Wattage: 326 Watts
 
If it doesnt have the 80% certified logo on it, you should replace the power supply.

If you're REALLY lucky it could theoretically reach 70% efficiency, which just squeeks enough ampage. Unlikely though, so I would look at a new power supply mate.
 
You could, of course, try it with the current power supply, but this is what you will get when you do:

Machine starts up fine and works fine normally, but, when you play a game it plays for about 5 minutes then the whole machine reboots - no blue screen, just a full reboot.
 
kner515 said:
Thank you Slipperyduck - I'l take your advise and go look for new PSU - cheers
Click to expand...
you could try first with your current PSU and if/when it reboots then go out and get a new/larger one?

I'm gonna be facing a similar dilemna. Wanna upgrade but if i get anything faster than a GTs 250 i will also have to get a larger PSU. My current PSU is only 500W however.
 
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Will do - good luck with your upgrade. Sometimes I think I should just make the switch to console....
... but then I sober up in time and upgrade...:D
 
Guess what!! I am getting a new power supply anyway... some bastards broke into my house and stole my freakin PC :mad::mad::mad: ... there goes 35hrs of dragon age :(
 
kner515 said:
Guess what!! I am getting a new power supply anyway... some bastards broke into my house and stole my freakin PC :mad::mad: ... there goes 35hrs of dragon age :(
Click to expand...
Dude, that is messed up, seriously!
Hope no one got hurt and you didn't lose too much and that the Police will be of some help to try and catch the rat-bastards.

May the robbers genitals be infested with flesh-eating fleas and maggots for hundreds of years and ... and may their drinking water be contaminated with DDT, for generations to come. :mad:
 
lilDeath said:
May the robbers genitals be infested with flesh-eating fleas and maggots for hundreds of years and ... and may their drinking water be contaminated with DDT, for generations to come. :mad:
Click to expand...

Ahmen dude!! Lucky nobody was at home at the time.
 
Ouch..

Just a note: I'm currently running a 260 216oc on an Isonic 500w with a 965be and 2 hard drives, plus fan controllers and lights. Had no problems so far.
 
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