Cheap PSU for GTS 250 Graphics Card

dan_eire

Hey all,

I'm currently in the process of upgrading the aul fella's pc. He has a Dell Inspiron 530, which has an nvidia 8600gt graphics card. I've ordered an nvidia GTS 250 card, but i'm afraid the PSU won't be enough to handle it.

nvidia's website states that the card requires a 450w psu (i think he has a 250-300w currently). can anyone suggest a cheap psu that can handle this? i'm on a very tight budget, so any suggestions of where i could pick one up on the cheap would be greatly appreciated!

cheers!

Cuddlesworth

does the auld fellow need a graphics card upgrade?

yoyo

Most Dells dont use standardised PSUs, by that I mean you may find it difficult if not impossible to secure a standard ATX PSU inside the case,

Nick

dan_eire

ye, he's plays all the new first-person-shooters, so he's starting to notice that he has to drop the graphics settings in most games to have them running smoothly. after checking systemrequirementslab.com, the only thing they suggested to be upgraded is his graphics card

dan_eire

yoyo wrote: »

Most Dells dont use standardised PSUs, by that I mean you may find it difficult if not impossible to secure a standard ATX PSU inside the case,

Nick

don't say that nick! is there a mini-atx psu i could get??

Lu Tze

I have a dell inspiron 530 as well, just changed the PSU recently, it was a standard ATX size unit.

Replaced with this

Fit in fine so it did.

marco_polo

Having investigated on the dell forums I think you are in luck as it appears that the 530 will take a standard ATX PSU.

I would reccomend the the corsair CX 400W as it has a 30a 12V rail and will be comfortably able for the 250GTS. Can be had for about 40-45 euros

yoyo

Lu Tze wrote: »

I have a dell inspiron 530 as well, just changed the PSU recently, it was a standard ATX size unit.

Replaced with this

Fit in fine so it did.

Would be great if Dell and others have finally started allowing standard upgrades, remember someone I knew needing to take a hack saw to a older dell case as the power switch on the atx psu he got to replace the Dell one wouldnt fit as dell had a small metal cover that prevented it fitting

Nick

Lu Tze

yoyo wrote: »

Would be great if Dell and others have finally started allowing standard upgrades, remember someone I knew needing to take a hack saw to a older dell case as the power switch on the atx psu he got to replace the Dell one wouldnt fit as dell had a small metal cover that prevented it fitting

Nick

I queried it here first, and Soltaire set me on the right path before i bought anything! He said dell switched to ATX a few years ago

marco_polo

yoyo wrote: »

Would be great if Dell and others have finally started allowing standard upgrades, remember someone I knew needing to take a hack saw to a older dell case as the power switch on the atx psu he got to replace the Dell one wouldnt fit as dell had a small metal cover that prevented it fitting

Nick

Things were even worse when they were using non standard pinouts while using a standard ATX connector years ago. Can be summed up by the following formula.

ATX PSU + Dell Motherboard = BOOM! :pac:

dan_eire

nvidia's website states that minimum system power for the gts 250 is 450w. can the corsair CX 400W definitely handle it?

yoyo

dan_eire wrote: »

nvidia's website states that minimum system power for the gts 250 is 450w. can the corsair CX 400W definitely handle it?

Should do perfectly, the 450W min Nvidia reccomends is high because there are some cheap rubbish 500W psus out there that would be far worse than a Corsair 400W, youll be fine

Nick

dan_eire

ok, cheers guys, i'll let ye's know how i get on

marco_polo

dan_eire wrote: »

nvidia's website states that minimum system power for the gts 250 is 450w. can the corsair CX 400W definitely handle it?

They reccomend a 450W PSU with a 24A 12V rail, the CX400W has a 30A 12V rail so most definately no problems.

The max possible draw for the 250 GTS (which it will never ever hit even while gaming) is 150W / 12V = 12.5 amps