Which pulls more power, one GTX260-216 or two 8800GS?

[SparkyJJO]

Just curious which would pull more power. Trying to make sure I don't overload the PSUs I have.

Basically I'm running an A64 3500+ @2.5GHz with dual 8800GS cards from a 500W Antec Smartpower 2 PSU (recapped). I have a system with a Phenom 9600BE and a single 9600GSO on a Smartpower 2 400W. I'm thinking the 400W might be a tad small to put the GTX260 in that rig to replace the 9600GSO. I thought maybe I could swap the 500W into there and put the 400W running the two 8800GS cards, but I want to make sure that it would be enough.

*edit* check post 36 for results

 

[a_ump]

amps on the 12v for each PSU?

 

[SparkyJJO]

SP400 has 10A on +12V1, 15A on +12V2. Only combined info is " +5V, +12V1, 12V2 and +3.3V maximum output: 390 Watts max " which is a tad frustrating not having the +12V combined alone.

SP500 has 17A on 12V1, 19A on 12V2. Again, only info on combined is " +5V, +12V1, 12V2 and +3.3V maxload: 480Watts "

I suppose I could just stick it in there and if the PSU blows up I know I need a bigger one

 

[a_ump]

eh 35amps on the 12v is a minimum according to nvidia requirements for the GTX 260, so "maybe" you could run the GTX 260 on the 500watt as long as you didn't overclock it any. and for 8800GS SLI its 24amps recommended on the 12v, so you should be ok with 8800GS SLI on the 400watt, though your cutting it closer than i would feel comfortable with. also what brand are these power supplies? as close as your cutting it to the minimum requirements i'd want an 80%+ efficient PSU.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Mentioned they are Antec Smartpower 2 PSUs.

I don't know why they say 35A on the 12V because that is 420W - no way the 260 takes that much considering my whole main rig (Q6600 @ 3.2, 4870, 3 drives, etc) pulls 360W from the wall under load. That's why I was asking here to see what the real world power usage numbers are (tried googling but wasn't coming up with a whole lot).

 

[a_ump]

recommendations are simply that. they are spec'd higher than required so that if someone has a shit ton of hardware(5 HDD, 2 DVD, 1`BR Burner, 8gb ram, i7 965, etc) that the power requirements they list will still be ample. at least that is my thinking . You should be fine, but just watch overclocking.

 

[killian1701]

I am running a Phenom II 940, 8gb ram, 5x 500 gb hd's, geforce 285 and sound blaster audigy 2 zs. In game, according to my UPS, (who would know better what im drawing) im pulling 335 watts. that includes my 26" lcd monitor hooked up to the same circuit on the UPS. you could *EASILY* run a geforce 260 on a 400 watt psu. i mean crap, I could run my system on a 400 watt psu.

 

[a_ump]

it always amazes me how people come with the claims that their system requires very little power but it's really beefed up with hardware. lol i mean there seriously needs to be a huge review with like 20 different system configurations. From the highest end PC with the most hardware a man can plug into a system, to the simplest 1gb ram, igp, low end cpu, etc build, just to see actual system power draws. If you report that is your system draw, why in the hell do we have 1200w PSU? it just amazes me, i mean i plan to keep my 700w OCZ Gamextreme for like 1-2 more yrs since i keep reading that power requirements are quite low.

 

[SparkyJJO]

If you report that is your system draw, why in the hell do we have 1200w PSU?

Marketing


Well truthfully it's best to run the PSU somewhere in the 50-75% load range because that's where most PSUs are most efficient. Running at 85-95% makes the PSU run hotter as well.

But generally most people won't ever need a 1000W+ unit.

Get a Kill-A-Watt, cheap, easy way to see power usage from the wall. Previously I wouldn't have even considered a 400W being remotely capable of powering a GTX260 and I used to run a 430W PSU for my A64 2800+ and a radeon 9800 pro Now after reading more and measuring my PC for myself I realize that there was a possibility of the 400W being enough, but wanted to get other opinions.

 

[r9]

That minimum has safety factor in it and it is meant for one rail. If you dedicate one PSU just for GTX 260 I think you should be fine.

 

[Kenshai]

I am running a Phenom II 940, 8gb ram, 5x 500 gb hd's, geforce 285 and sound blaster audigy 2 zs. In game, according to my UPS, (who would know better what im drawing) im pulling 335 watts. that includes my 26" lcd monitor hooked up to the same circuit on the UPS. you could *EASILY* run a geforce 260 on a 400 watt psu. i mean crap, I could run my system on a 400 watt psu.

That can't be full load my rig, pulls ~360 System alone, running the occt power supply test.

 

[alexp999]

Oh god not an Antec SP-500w, get rid of that thing now!

I wouldnt run a single fan on one of those.

As for power draw, they are probably quite close, but I would have thougt the 8800s would pull a little more.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Oh god not an Antec SP-500w, get rid of that thing now!

I wouldnt run a single fan on one of those.

As for power draw, they are probably quite close, but I would have thougt the 8800s would pull a little more.

Bad caps in the smartpower series aren't a concern anymore, I replaced those in both units a little while ago before I put them to use.

 

[alexp999]

Really?

Hmm, I still wouldnt use them

 

[SparkyJJO]

What's sad is they are the best quality units I have except for the HX620 in my main rig

Most of my crunchers run off of random no-name PSUs from case bundles and such (though not the cheapest ones, I use ones that have at least some guts to them and so far over a year with only a few cap replacements).

 

[killian1701]

It always amazes ME how everyone thinks they know everything. heres a tip. Keep an open mind. If you think you've learned everything, then you can learn nothing else. Heres proof that a phenom II 940, 8gb ram, with 5 internal drives, and a geforce 295 (upgraded from 285 yesterday) can run with little power. (my 285 topped my power requirements around 425 with my monitor and such, (subtract 75 watts for my monitor, the pc used around 350 watts during 3dmark vantage testing. heres proof of what i have, and the watt draw.

 

[killian1701]

and, the 295, with monitor off, was bouncing between 379 watts to a max of about 440.
I dont want to have to make a video to prove this crap. ive been building computers for 20 damn years. just believe me

 

[Kenshai]

It always amazes ME how everyone thinks they know everything. heres a tip. Keep an open mind. If you think you've learned everything, then you can learn nothing else. Heres proof that a phenom II 940, 8gb ram, with 5 internal drives, and a geforce 295 (upgraded from 285 yesterday) can run with little power. (my 285 topped my power requirements around 425 with my monitor and such, (subtract 75 watts for my monitor, the pc used around 350 watts during 3dmark vantage testing. heres proof of what i have, and the watt draw.

You're telling me...Your GTX295 and phenom II not even going to hard drives or anything along those lines, is pulling less than my GTX 260 and my E6750? I think you need to give occt a shot on the power supply test. I don't act like I know everything, but I do know how to compare two systems and realize that yours should be pulling quite a bit more power than mine.

We are talking about peak power, 440w is a whole lot more than 350.



Edit: Also to the OP, When my friend gets back from out of town I'll see the power difference of the 260 vs 8800gs. My gs is currently in his rig

 

[a_ump]

and, the 295, with monitor off, was bouncing between 379 watts to a max of about 440.
I dont want to have to make a video to prove this crap. ive been building computers for 20 damn years. just believe me

lol, I BEN DOIN DIS SHIT FA YEARZ!!!!. lol well that picture just proves you have a monitor, a computer tower, and that you have a kilo watt thing to measure power suage. i didn't see it plugged into your whole system

lol i'm jk i believe ya, and i've heard such things before as well so it's not that hard to believe.

 

[killian1701]

You're telling me...Your GTX295 and phenom II not even going to hard drives or anything along those lines, is pulling less than my GTX 260 and my E6750? I think you need to give occt a shot on the power supply test. I don't act like I know everything, but I do know how to compare two systems and realize that yours should be pulling quite a bit more power than mine.

We are talking about peak power, 440w is a whole lot more than 350.

Yes. yours pulls more power than mine for some reason. my system when equipped with the 285 maxed at 385 watts pulled (according to my ups log)(port M1 (monitor) not included). the 295 pulls about 75 more watts at peak than the 295, but its a HUGE difference from what is printed on the 295 box "requires 680 watt psu!"

we'd have to sit our components side by side and figure out what in your system is yanking so much more amperage than mine. i dont have any exotic cooling systems, ive just got 5 fans + the fan on the 295, a m4a79 motherboard, a mix of maxtor and segate hard drives.

i dont know why your pulling more power than me. what is the power draw on your cpu? as in, processor in your system. not your whole rig. and do you have any kind of water cooling, or active peltier cooling systems on it?

 

[Tatty_Two]

You're telling me...Your GTX295 and phenom II not even going to hard drives or anything along those lines, is pulling less than my GTX 260 and my E6750? I think you need to give occt a shot on the power supply test. I don't act like I know everything, but I do know how to compare two systems and realize that yours should be pulling quite a bit more power than mine.

We are talking about peak power, 440w is a whole lot more than 350.



Edit: Also to the OP, When my friend gets back from out of town I'll see the power difference of the 260 vs 8800gs. My gs is currently in his rig

Add to that 440W the efficiency rating, lets say 80% then that would mean that a 500W PSU would not suffice for long term usage.

If you look at the link here, the test system had a total power draw of just 329W with a 295 running 3D Mark 2006 at load...... that test system has considerably less power draw than the examples in this thread however it is fairly safe to say that noone in their right mind would only use a 400W PSU taking into account the efficiency rating but certainly you wouldnt need the recommended 680W PSU that in this case BFG are recommending.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/bfggtx295/14.html

 

[Kenshai]

So decided to run vantage, my system pulls ~260 while running vantage, so really it's not stressing his or my hardware enough for an actual full load test. Killian try a program called, Occt and run the power supply test to show what your system would actual pull at full load.

 

[El Fiendo]

I thought I read somewhere that the video card supplied recommended amperage was taking into account the rest of the system as well. Simply because, as mentioned, there is no way a GTX 260 draws that much by itself.

 

[alexp999]

Hey Tatty, seeing as you are from the UK and all, do you know any cheap places to get multi meters and power meters. They are all so expensive where I look compared to say the US.

I'd like to see what my rig pulls from the wall with my GTX 260 under load.

 

[killian1701]

exactly. it depends on the quality of the ups your using.. and frankly, how brave you are, LOL. a system im building for a client right now, is a phenom II 940, 1tb hd, geforce 285, 8gb ram (yadda yadda) and im putting a 650 watt bfg psu in it. mainly because i know the system will draw about half of it. and i want to leave him some room to grow. it COULD work with a safty margin on a 450 watt psu, but, again, safety margin.