Can my Antec 450w SmartPower support a GTX295?

[Nebor]

System is:
Nvidia 650i Ultra Motherboard
E4400 Processor
4GB PC3200 Memory
1 Seagate 1TB HD
Nvidia 8600 GT
Antec 450w Smartpower PSU

My video card is the only thing holding me back in games, so I wanted to upgrade it, and being a loyal Nvidia fan, I went for the GTX295, since it was the best I could get. I didn't even think about my power supply. So will it work? Will it even turn the fans on?

I have a Coolermaster 500w PSU in my HTPC that uses virtually no power, but I think I'd just as soon order a new PSU as swap them for only a 50w difference.

 

[Stefan Payne]

I doubt it.
How old is it?

5 years +?`

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Return the GTX295 and pick up a GTX260.

 

[Nebor]

I doubt it.
How old is it?

5 years +?`

No, maybe 2 or 3 years.

 

[Nebor]

Return the GTX295 and pick up a GTX260.

I'd rather just get a new power supply rather than take a 50% performance decrease.

 

[Magusigne]

System is:
Nvidia 650i Ultra Motherboard
E4400 Processor
4GB PC3200 Memory
1 Seagate 1TB HD
Nvidia 8600 GT
Antec 450w Smartpower PSU

My video card is the only thing holding me back in games,

That won't be the only thing!

Here's the short answer to your question - No.

Long Answer. You got a GTX295 of all things? a $400 dollar graphic card. Tossed it into a system that has an E4400 and a PC3200 memory? Really?. That was a very strange notion. For your system that GTX 295 is overkill...a lot of wasted potential there. I'd honestly take the advice and get a 5770 or something. Pocket 225$+ Get like a world difference from your 8600GT...

You choice of course..now you have alot of bottlenecks.

 

[Nebor]

I don't really think platform-wise that the system is really obsolete. The only thing holding it back is the video card in all the games I want to play.

I was planning on buying an E8400 but was advised on the FS forum that I could just OC my E4400 to the same levels of performance.

But I do acknowledge that the video card alone is worth more than the rest of the system components combined.

 

[Nebor]

Double tap.

 

[Stefan Payne]

No, maybe 2 or 3 years.

I looked for the PSU on the internet, didn't change my mind...
Its some old thing, you should think about replacing it in the not so far future, maybe there are Fuhjyyu caps in it as well...

Besides that: why a GTX295 and not a HD5870??

 

[notposting]

Check your 12V rails on the PSU and see what the demand of the 295 plus other components are. Simple calculation.

 

[johnnydrinkawater]

Besides that: why a GTX295 and not a HD5870??

I agree, brand loyalty doesn't help tech innovation through competition. But really, why hurt your performance and your pocketbook just to stay loyal to a brand? nVidia is keeping the price point high on an inferior card hoping to utilize the same business principle as Monster Cable.

To answer OP's question, that PSU probably won't support two high end cards in SLI or crossfire.

 

[Nebor]

I looked for the PSU on the internet, didn't change my mind...
Its some old thing, you should think about replacing it in the not so far future, maybe there are Fuhjyyu caps in it as well...

Besides that: why a GTX295 and not a HD5870??

Alright, I'll grab a new 750w power supply.

And benchmarks are neck and neck for the gtx295 and the hd5870, the 5870 is hard to find, and the gtx295 only costs a little more. I don't have to worry about driver conflicts because I won't even need to change drivers. And I have an Nvidia motherboard, so I don't want to risk any incompatibility. Plus I have an nvidia mousepad, so you can see how there might be problems.

 

[Stefan Payne]

Why 750W?!
You don't need that, just a good, new 550W PSU and everyhting should be fine.

And why bother with the old, loud and power hungry GTX295?!
Why buy a dual card when there is absolutely no need!

Remember the disadvantages of multi GPU cards such as asymetric frame times, 1 frame lag more than a single and it doesn't scale very well.

 

[johnnydrinkawater]

Plus I have an nvidia mousepad, so you can see how there might be problems.

Why didn't you say so sooner...

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Plus I have an nvidia mousepad, so you can see how there might be problems.

It's certainly a concern.

 

[Nebor]

Why 750W?!
You don't need that, just a good, new 550W PSU and everyhting should be fine.

And why bother with the old, loud and power hungry GTX295?!
Why buy a dual card when there is absolutely no need!

Remember the disadvantages of multi GPU cards such as asymetric frame times, 1 frame lag more than a single and it doesn't scale very well.

Well I was originally planning on a GTX 285, but decided that I'd rather have the future proofness provided by the GTX 295. It'll certainly outlive the rest of this machine. I wasn't aware of any disadvantages of multi-gpu cards. My monitor is 1920x1200 so I need the memory and horsepower provided by the 295. Plus it'll let me crank all the eye candy up to max on every game.

Like I said, I'm an nvidia fanboi at heart. My only experience with ATI was a 9800 pro that died a quick and inexplicable death. I've never had any problems with Nvidia.

My card should be here today, so I'll give it a try and see if it gives me the "your card isn't getting enough power" message.

ETA: I've got a huge backlog of games on Steam that I've been waiting to play once I had a video card that could do them justice. I'm excited to try Star Wars: Dark Forces II Jedi Academy.

 

[Stefan Payne]

Don't buy to much 'future', you'll just end up wasting money...
The more you think about the future, the more money you waste, just take what you need now...
The GTX295 doesn't have 2GiB memory but 2x 1GiB, for each GPU, so you'll have 1GiB memory total usable.

And sorry, I can't understand those vendor fanatics, what does it bring you, if you'll stick with one vendor??
You'll never get the best possible things, especially now, where nVidia is pretty much busted.
They can't compete with AMD at the moment, the HD5xxx series is the best you can buy, there is no reason to take an nVidia chip at the moment.
But if you'll need to, stick with a GTX275 or even a 260², something that's not too expansive like the GTX285 or even 295!

 

[Nebor]

They need my dollars to finish the GTX 3xx and get it to market. I'm really helping you guys out.

 

[TJCS]

The reliability of SmartPower series is quite low, good luck.

plug-in 295gtx > power on > boom

 

[TJCS]

I believe antec earthwatts is the successor of smartpower series. Look at what happened to this dude: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=29006759

 

[Nebor]

The reliability of SmartPower series is quite low, good luck.

plug-in 295gtx > power on > boom

Which part goes boom?

 

[pendulum79]

Look at what happened to this dude: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=29006759

Look at the pictures, the marks on the PSU are much more consistent with the scenario of something underneath the PSU burning than the unit itself catching fire.

 

[Nebor]

Look at the pictures, the marks on the PSU are much more consistent with the scenario of something underneath the PSU burning than the unit itself catching fire.

That's what I gathered from the thread. That the video card caught fire. So by replacing my 8600GT with a GTX 295, I should be decreasing my chances of catstrophic fire.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I ran cards with similar power requirements on a 400W piece of shit PSU for years (plus 3 HDDs, 2 opticals, etc). You'll be fine.

 

[Zap]

GTX 295 with Antec SmartPower 450W = NO

I agree, brand loyalty doesn't help tech innovation through competition. But really, why hurt your performance and your pocketbook just to stay loyal to a brand?

If he wants to spend money on it, then let him. Seriously, people bought Radeon X1800 cards and they weren't the best. People bought Pentium 4 instead of A64 and they weren't the best. People bought domestic cars... doh, low blow!