Can an 8500 GT run on 250W?

2009-01-13 14:48:30

#1

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

So...I have a really old comp that I just got an upgrade for. These are the specs:

AMD Sempron 3400+ @ 2.0 GHz
MSI RS480M2 mATX Motherboard
512 MB RAM - Reads at 468ish b/c of integrated graphics.
Generic 250W Power supply with 14A on the 12v.

Should I be able to run the 8500 GT on that? Yes I know its a crappy card but I got it for free from my friend. It's also a big upgrade from this ATI Xpress 200.

Also, IF its possible that I can run the card, I need to know how to install the drivers and stuff. I have a general idea that goes like this.
1. Uninstall drivers for ATI Xpress 200
2. Turn off computer
3. Plug in graphics card and connect VGA to it.
4. Turn on and insert driver CD
5. Install new drivers?

Also, this is my first upgrade. I want to build a computer but my parents wont let me.

2009-01-13 14:50:04

#2

CrazeD: Member; +368|6935|Maine

It will run on 250W, yes.

However if it's a generic PSU it is probably not actually 250W, and is probably of very little quality. Chances are, you will be nearly maxing its output which might lead to boomy.

2009-01-13 14:58:31

#3

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

That's no fun. But can that take out the hard drive and everything in it?

But the power supply is a Hipro. I have no idea what that brand is. Doesnt sound reputable.

2009-01-13 14:58:47

#4

Brasso: member; +1,549|6893

CrazeD wrote:
It will run on 250W, yes.

However if it's a generic PSU it is probably not actually 250W, and is probably of very little quality. Chances are, you will be nearly maxing its output which might lead to boomy.

boomy and/or depriving other components of power, killing them. along with the PSU dying of such a high strain 24/7.

"people in ny have a general idea of how to drive. one of the pedals goes forward the other one prevents you from dying"

2009-01-13 15:05:07

#5

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6460|Winland

14A is sufficient for an 8500GT in that setup.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2009-01-13 15:08:47

#6

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

Oh yeah...a Samsung spinpoint 160 GB hard drive. Dont know if they pull up that much power from the 12v rail...but just to be sure.

Anyways are the steps for installing drivers right?

2009-01-13 15:10:26

#7

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6830|NYC / Hamburg

It should be enough. You don't have very power hungry components and the 8500GT is low end card. Download drivers from the internet. The ones on the CD are guaranteed to be several versions old

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2009-01-13 15:11:36

#8

CrazeD: Member; +368|6935|Maine

pirate7474 wrote:
That's no fun. But can that take out the hard drive and everything in it?

But the power supply is a Hipro. I have no idea what that brand is. Doesnt sound reputable.

If it decides to surge your PC, pretty much every component that is plugged into it is in danger.

2009-01-13 15:16:49

#9

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

So I'm downloading the nvidia 181.2 drivers now.

I would uninstall ATI integrated drivers, plug in 8500 GT, boot up to windows and run the drivers from my desktop?

2009-01-13 15:17:21

#10

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6830|NYC / Hamburg

bingo

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2009-01-13 15:22:49

#11

Kurazoo: Pheasant Plucker; +440|6947|West Yorkshire, U.K

Get an Antec 425w if you really don't want to break the bank.

2009-01-13 15:43:52

#12

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

Kurazoo wrote:
Get an Antec 425w if you really don't want to break the bank.

My parents just dont really want to get a computer right now. I even typed a 5 page essay that had various parts, their costs, and debated how good they were. I also sorta included cheaper options. I just got a flat "no". But I guess my convincing was sorta off...I just ranted about how our computer is old and obsolete.

Anyways I am going to install the card after I eat.

2009-01-13 15:52:29

#13

TopHat01: Limitless; +117|6167|CA

^Heh, wait around birthday/christmas, usually people are in a better mood then. Although, a decent PSU is pretty cheap, you can usually pick up a 400W PSU for around $60 or so, and can be found at your local electronics store. (I don't think chains like Best Buy or Circuit City have them, but still worth a look)

If you live near a Fry's Electronics, go there. As weird as the people are there, they sell some good stuff.

Check out my YouTube channel

2009-01-13 16:27:05

#14

CrazeD: Member; +368|6935|Maine

TopHat01 wrote:
(I don't think chains like Best Buy or Circuit City have them, but still worth a look)

They do, but they're either propriety stuff (like Dynex for Best Buy), generic/poor quality, or seriously over priced.

2009-01-13 17:12:41

#15

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

It's alive! Only took about 10 mins to install and put the card in. It took me longer to find the screwdriver to unscrew the backplates. First time the computer didn't post because I didn't push the card in the slot enough. A slight push and a reboot did the trick and I'm all good.

I haven't done any serious gaming, but I shouldn't be able to because I only have a measly 512 MB RAM. Oh yeah...it's nice not having lag while I watch high quality youtube videos. Yes...that's how crappy my old integrated graphics were.

Also, I live in Michigan...and there arent any local computer stores that I know of. I would say my only choice is Newegg because Tigerdirect is usually more expensive. Hopefully my parents will be a bit more open from this. My dad ordered a 16 GB flash drive for me from Newegg so there is a bit of progress.

EDIT: How could I forget? Thanks for all the help guys.

Last edited by pirate7474 (2009-01-13 17:29:36)

2009-01-13 17:51:13

#16

CrazeD: Member; +368|6935|Maine

You're not going to be doing much gaming at all with 512MB RAM and an 8500GT, and especially not with a Sempron.

2009-01-13 18:17:30

#17

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6830|NYC / Hamburg

It can run Transport Tycoon. That's all the gaming I need

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2009-01-13 18:53:26

#18

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

Not today's games. Maybe...some battlefield (maybe not b/c of loading times), bf heroes, maybe some source games(hopefully). I can always find some ok ones.

But you have a point there. What good low spec games are out there?

2009-01-13 23:34:17

#19

TopHat01: Limitless; +117|6167|CA

pirate7474 wrote:
Not today's games. Maybe...some battlefield (maybe not b/c of loading times), bf heroes, maybe some source games(hopefully). I can always find some ok ones.

But you have a point there. What good low spec games are out there?

Anything from the early 2000's and earlier. The card will handle it nicely, the RAM, not so much. I'd be worried about your PSU there too, because when/if it goes, you're out of a computer until you can build another one. (Which might make a good excuse to build something, but probably isn't the brightest idea. )

I'm sure there has to be a computer shop in the part of Michigan you're in, look in the phone book or newspaper.

Forgot to add:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oregon … uter_game)

Last edited by TopHat01 (2009-01-13 23:35:17)

Check out my YouTube channel

2009-01-14 12:47:07

#20

DUnlimited: got any popo lolo intersting?; +1,160|6726|cuntshitlake

Source games should run the best with little amount of ram. BF2 will run too, but loading a map will take 2 minutes.

main battle tank karthus medikopter 117 megamegapowershot gg

2009-01-14 13:05:13

#21

CrazeD: Member; +368|6935|Maine

I seriously don't recommend BF2 with 512mb of RAM. By the time the startup lag gets over, the map will change and you'll have to do it again.

Very very unfun.

2009-01-14 15:29:01

#22

TopHat01: Limitless; +117|6167|CA

CrazeD wrote:
I seriously don't recommend BF2 with 512mb of RAM. By the time the startup lag gets over, the map will change and you'll have to do it again.

Very very unfun.

I remember this, I tryed running BF2 on an IBM T42, it worked fine (64MB integrated GFX), 1.8Ghz Pentium D, 1GB of RAM. After I got the map to begin loading, I'd go watch TV for a bit.

And when the map would switch right after I was done loading...

Last edited by TopHat01 (2009-01-14 15:29:50)

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2009-01-14 15:40:11

#23

CrazeD: Member; +368|6935|Maine

TopHat01 wrote:
CrazeD wrote:
I seriously don't recommend BF2 with 512mb of RAM. By the time the startup lag gets over, the map will change and you'll have to do it again.

Very very unfun.
I remember this, I tryed running BF2 on an IBM T42, it worked fine (64MB integrated GFX), 1.8Ghz Pentium D, 1GB of RAM. After I got the map to begin loading, I'd go watch TV for a bit.

And when the map would switch right after I was done loading...

Nah, I mean startup lag.

Back when BF2 first came out, I played it with my old AMD XP 2000+, 512MB RAM, and a Radeon 9600 Pro. The map would load in maybe two minutes, but after the map loaded there was 5-10 minutes of "startup lag", where the RAM hasn't yet recovered from the map loading and everything is just ridiculously laggy. It took a good 15 minutes before the startup lag would be gone and things were smooth, but by that point the map was nearly over.

After I upgraded to 1GB of RAM, there was a WORLD of difference.

2009-01-14 15:58:01

#24

pirate7474: Oh noes!; +11|6262|USA

I was thinking about getting the Oregon Trail. I remember playing it in elementary school but never finishing it.

Also, my sister tried turning on the computer earlier today but it didn't POST. Nothing showed up on the screen. I wasnt there at the time so I didnt know...but now my mom is blaming me for "breaking" the computer. I turned it on a couple of times, it didnt POST, but now its working fine. Do you guys have any idea what is causing this?

2009-01-14 16:09:44

#25

TopHat01: Limitless; +117|6167|CA

^PSU could be maxing out/dieing...

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BF2S Forums Can an 8500 GT run on 250W?

CrazeD wrote:

pirate7474 wrote:

Kurazoo wrote:

TopHat01 wrote:

pirate7474 wrote:

CrazeD wrote:

TopHat01 wrote:

CrazeD wrote:

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