260 gtx oc max core underpowered or faulty?

[kamikaze205]

So I just got a new BFG 260 gtx oc max core and it's been performing about the same as my old 8800 gt oc which is really weird. At first i thought it was being underpowered but everything seemed to be fine when i booted it up. No weird noises and games were running fine too with no sound from the psu. So this is the procedure i went through.

1. Uninstalled drivers from device manager. Shut down
2. Removed old card and put in the new one.
3. Windows auto installer started up so i (tried)canceled it.
4. Rebooted and installed the latest drivers.
5. Rebooted once again to test out the card.

Everything seemed extremely stable but the only problem was the card was underperforming my old 8800! Temps were idling around 44 degrees at 80% fan so i don't think it's a temp issue. I'm also skeptical about it being underpowered since i have the bare minimum in that case since i was on a tight budget. Just 1HDD, DVD-r, and 2 80mm fans. Oh and when i was installing the new drivers, windows kept auto installing some old drivers for me and there was no way to cancel it. So i just rebooted and installed over the old ones which always worked fine for my 8800. Could this be a faulty card? I got it from best buy yesterday and they have great customer support so i can pretty much go in there right now and ask for another one 😛

Specs
I'm not really computer savy so i had a friend build it for me but i made sure he used parts that were pretty new but i still don't know what most of them are >.<
Antec Earthwatts 500w
BFG 260 gtx oc max core
AMD phenom 9550 2.2ghz
Motherboard asas M2N68-LA

Sorry that's all i know =(

 

[coozie7]

Just to kill any driver issues:

Download the latest drivers, do not install yet.
Download and install Driver Cleaner or Driver Sweeper and install.
Reboot.
Set a Restore Point.
Uninstall all existing drivers, Nvidia and ATI alike, do not delete any folders yet, and reboot into Safe Mode.
In Safe Mode, run the driver cleaner software but examine every item it is going to delete. This software is not foolproof so deselect any items that look wrong then finish the cleaning process.
Boot normally.
Install the new drivers.

 

[kamikaze205]

Still the same. Performance is still worse than my old 8800. I'm starting to think it's a faulty card since i reinstalled my 8800 and its working just fine.

 

[lostandwandering]

I think it may be your PSU. It is recommended for the GTX260 to have 36 amps on the +12v rails. The Earthwatts 500 only supplies 34 amps max. I know that it is just a recommendation, but it is worth looking into. Do you have another, more powerful PSU that you can test in your system? Maybe your friends?

 

[kamikaze205]

Unfortunately none of my friends are gamers so their psu's are most likely lower than mine. The reason I'm doubtful about it being my psu is because there are a lot of people on this and other forums that are running a gtx 260 or equivalent just fine and their psu is about the same as mine. I've had this psu for 11 months so age isn't that much of an issue right?

What are the signs that would suggest that it's being underpowered? If it's my psu then i'll gladly go buy a better one but i don't want to be wasting money away. Well i could always return the psu if it's still the same result and in the process return the gtx 260 for a new one or just keep my cash and stick with the 8800 😛

Oh and the new drivers (190.38) are just horrible so i thought it might have just been this driver acting up with the gtx 260 but it's still the same when i reverted to the latest 186.xx release

 

[bob101111]

i would like to say i have a PPC&C 420watt 30amp single rail powering a AMD x2, GTX 260 and 9600gso without any issues, both are oced to the max. i did a trail by removing my 9600gso and changing it to a 27amp 370watt PPC&C and it still runs just fine. if you have a good quality psu you don't nee more than 27amp 12v rail and that is a FACT.

and those earthwatt are good PSUs


edit: i couldn't think of a problem, maybe ram untill i noticed you said 44c @80% fan. your card is bunk, yes heat is not the problem but the fan should not be running at 80% unless its over 75c of course you could have set it to that in riva tuner but you said your not very tech savy.


edit 2: well before i jump to a bunk card you do know only SLI can really handle crysis so saying it underperforming your 8800 may be pointless statment because the lack of information. what game and whats the fps? maybe you have AA and AF turnned on in the control panel.

 

[kamikaze205]

Oh sorry about that but i basically meant in the hardware department. Anything software related i can handle pretty well and that was what i set it to in riva tuner. I'm fairly sure my ram is ok since my old 8800 works perfectly fine. Thanks for the input on the power though. I guess i'll go switch out this card and ask for a new one. I'll post back to see how it goes. Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[kamikaze205]

Crysis was not the only game i tested the card on but the result was still the same. I was getting around 22 fps with no aa or af (made sure both ingame and control panel) with a lvl 2 config which is basically medium/high. My res is 1400 x 900 so i was expecting MUCH more.

Oblivion was even more shocking averaging 17-28 fps. 28 indoors and 17 out

Far cry 2 stayed about the same with 28-30+ in the jungle and 45+ outside of the jungle. This is with max aa/af

Fallout 3 was around 45+ indoors and 28 outdoors

My old 8800 could match or beat the performance of this gtx 260.

COD4 maxed out at 60fps but i was expecting that since my old 8800 went way above when uncapped.

 

[invisik]

At that resolution your cpu is more active. You should overclock your cpu.

 

[kamikaze205]

Right now my cpu is sitting at 48 degrees idle so would it be dangerous to overclock it?

 

[kamikaze205]

Ok so i got a new gtx 260 oc max core and it's working just fine but the increase in performance from 8800 to 260 seems to be pretty small. I'm talking about 5-10 more frames on most games. Is this normal? Could my cpu be bottlenecking my gtx 260? The performance im getting seems to be lower than some of the benchmarks i have seen but i have to admit that gameplay overall is much smoother even for games that my old 8800 max out.

Once again i am running at 1400x900 resolution. AMD phenom 9550 2.2ghz at 42 degress idle.
I would also like to add that my gpu temp is 44 degrees idle. I'm glad that its at a nice temp but the case i have is small without a front fan taking in air. Kinda strange but could this be a sign that the gpu is not being fully utilized? Is there any software that could measure how the card is being used? The reason im finding this strange is because my old 8800 would idle around 60-66 degrees.