GTX 660 Compatibility

[ThroughTheGame]

Hi guys, will a GTX 660 (Non Ti) work on my P35 NEO ? And if yes , will it work for at least 20 minutes without the power connector for a little test until i will afford an adaptor for the molex too.
The thing is I am buying it from the balck market so it will not come with the adaptor , I don't have any 6 pin on my PSU so I will need the adaptor but i can't afford that too right now , I just want to know if the GPU is functional .

For those who need here are my PC's Specs :

CPU: Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5 GHz (OC 3.0 GHz)
Motherboard : MSI P35 NEO(BIOS updated to 1.9)
PSU: Inter-Tech SPS-520 Booster 520W
RAM: 2x1GB Kingmax DDR2 800MHz
1x2GB Kingmax DDR2 800MHz
1x2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800MHz
HDD: Western Digital 500GB Caviar Black 7200RPM 32MB
Actual GPU : Gainward NVidia GT730 2GB 128-bit DDR3

 

[syked3]

Your motherboard will support that card but your PSU is low quality and I'd definitely recommend upgrading it. Also, I don't recommend trying to power it without the adapter.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

Your motherboard will support that card but your PSU is low quality and I'd definitely recommend upgrading it. Also, I don't recommend trying to power it without the adapter.

The PSU is new , I thought 520w will be enough for the GTX660 since it requires 450w even is a cheap one. Also I just found the GPU with the power connector on black market, next week I will try it.

 

[syked3]

The wattage is not what determines the quality of a PSU. The design, components etc do which is determined by the manufacturer. If you are willing to upgrade which I highly recommend I'd recommend a PSU from seasonic or xfx, my recommendation is the Seasonic 520w

 

[ThroughTheGame]

The wattage is not what determines the quality of a PSU. The design, components etc do which is determined by the manufacturer. If you are willing to upgrade which I highly recommend I'd recommend a PSU from seasonic or xfx, my recommendation is the Seasonic 520w

My budget is down right now, so , i will run with this PSU untill I will afford a new one .

 

[syked3]

good shout, best of luck with your system!

 

[RobCrezz]

It wont work without a the pci-e connector, will prob just post then ask for the power connector.

 

[PhysX_HW]

If you try to run a VGA without the required PCIe cable connected, it will beep and won't do anything else.
At least that is the case with my 5770 and 7970.

And also, be careful when buying from unofficial sources because sometimes they sell rebadged older cards sou you might get a 560 or worse. So I suggest to check it with GPU-Z before paying anything for it, if possible.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

It wont work without a the pci-e connector, will prob just post then ask for the power connector.

I realized it, thx a lot. Just bought one from black market that comes with the power connector, next week will arrive, I can't wait xD

 

[Karadjgne]

The gtx 660 requires 24A on 430w psu minimum, the inter tech 520w booster is 520w with dual 18A rails, so around 30A. Realistically, you'd be good there. On the other hand, the inter tech does not have a PCI-E 6pin, so you'd have to use a molex adapter with 2x molex to 1x 6pin. Molex are only rated for about 40w, so a single molex-6 pin will melt.

The inter techs are very low quality, a 2 yr warranty is a dead giveaway, as is lack of 6pin on a 520w unit. Chances are strong that at anywhere over @ 50% load, that unit will die rather spectacularly, just hope it doesn't take the motherboard and/or gpu with it.

Personally, I'd not push that gpu any harder than Web browsing, if even that much until a replacement psu better suited to higher draw gpus can be installed.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

If you try to run a VGA without the required PCIe cable connected, it will beep and won't do anything else.
At least that is the case with my 5770 and 7970.

And also, be careful when buying from unofficial sources because sometimes they sell rebadged older cards sou you might get a 560 or worse. So I suggest to check it with GPU-Z before paying anything for it, if possible.

Thanks for the tip but this one comes with the Warranty. I will check it with the GPU-Z to be sure.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

The gtx 660 requires 24A on 430w psu minimum, the inter tech 520w booster is 520w with dual 18A rails, so around 30A. Realistically, you'd be good there. On the other hand, the inter tech does not have a PCI-E 6pin, so you'd have to use a molex adapter with 2x molex to 1x 6pin. Molex are only rated for about 40w, so a single molex-6 pin will melt.

The inter techs are very low quality, a 2 yr warranty is a dead giveaway, as is lack of 6pin on a 520w unit. Chances are strong that at anywhere over @ 50% load, that unit will die rather spectacularly, just hope it doesn't take the motherboard and/or gpu with it.

Personally, I'd not push that gpu any harder than Web browsing, if even that much until a replacement psu better suited to higher draw gpus can be installed.

Come on man, don't wcare the sh!t out of me with that. I've got faith in this PSU until it will be replaced.

 

[lucas_7_94]

He is saying the truth, a failure in PSU can cause the failure of the GPU, btw, i wish everything works properly.

 

[Karadjgne]

I own a 520w psu. It has a 6pin and a 6+2pin, 40A on the 12v rail and a 5yr warranty. Basically, it's built for high draw psus like the 660ti +OC that it's pushing. It'll handle a 300w TDP gpu. Your unit will handle a 155w TDP gpu. That's 75w from pcie slot and 80w from 2x molex and has a 2yr warranty. That's a huge discrepancy for the same size unit. Point is, any gpu that does not have the correct connectors for pcie is not intended for pcie usage. As in I'd not try and pair up my psu with a card requiring 2x 8pin.

And yes, I did mean to scare you with that, it just happens to be truth. Too many ppl take too many shortcuts when it comes to a psu. The psu IS the single most important component of the pc. It's directly tied to everything. Makes you want to smack ppl when they have no issues spending $300+ for a gpu, $300+ for a cpu, $150+ for a mobo and then turn around and try and get away with a $30 tier4 psu.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

I own a 520w psu. It has a 6pin and a 6+2pin, 40A on the 12v rail and a 5yr warranty. Basically, it's built for high draw psus like the 660ti +OC that it's pushing. It'll handle a 300w TDP gpu. Your unit will handle a 155w TDP gpu. That's 75w from pcie slot and 80w from 2x molex and has a 2yr warranty. That's a huge discrepancy for the same size unit. Point is, any gpu that does not have the correct connectors for pcie is not intended for pcie usage. As in I'd not try and pair up my psu with a card requiring 2x 8pin.

And yes, I did mean to scare you with that, it just happens to be truth. Too many ppl take too many shortcuts when it comes to a psu. The psu IS the single most important component of the pc. It's directly tied to everything. Makes you want to smack ppl when they have no issues spending $300+ for a gpu, $300+ for a cpu, $150+ for a mobo and then turn around and try and get away with a $30 tier4 psu.

I guess so, but for now, I don't have any money to buy another one.

 

[Karadjgne]

I understand that all to well. Just try and limit any usage. The 660 is quite a bit more powerful than the 730, so don't be tempted to turn up the graphics and push the card, you might get away with it for a minute, but it's almost a guarantee that bad things will happen if you do it 1 too many times. Just trying to save you from frying a gpu and possibly the motherboard too.

Call it 'scared straight' tactics if you must, just trying to save you the heartache.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

I understand that all to well. Just try and limit any usage. The 660 is quite a bit more powerful than the 730, so don't be tempted to turn up the graphics and push the card, you might get away with it for a minute, but it's almost a guarantee that bad things will happen if you do it 1 too many times. Just trying to save you from frying a gpu and possibly the motherboard too.

Call it 'scared straight' tactics if you must, just trying to save you the heartache.

Yes, I am scared AF now cause I wanted to play all the games I never had the opurtunity to play

 

[Karadjgne]

Exactly. Your psu has been ok so far with the 730. If you maintain usage at the same levels it should be ok until it's replaced. It's the temptation to move up that gets ppl in trouble, not realizing they are doing harm to the other components. Hope you get it replaced soon with something that's correct for your needs.

GL.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

Exactly. Your psu has been ok so far with the 730. If you maintain usage at the same levels it should be ok until it's replaced. It's the temptation to move up that gets ppl in trouble, not realizing they are doing harm to the other components. Hope you get it replaced soon with something that's correct for your needs.

GL.

But isnțt that "If the PSU can't give enough power to the GPU there will just be a bottleneck? (Like 20% less performance for the GPU) if I remember right?

 

[RobCrezz]

No, if it cannot draw enough it will mostly just crash the computer BSOD or nvidia driver crash. If the psu has overload protection then you would hope that it would cut power before any potential issue, but you cannot be sure with the cheap units.

 

[Karadjgne]

According to ATX12V and EPS12V standards only over voltage protection (OVP), short-circuit protection (SCP) and over current protection (OCP) are required. All other protections are optional. The problem with that is in cheaper built psu's, those protections are quite often set so far out of reach, the psu fries before they ever trip. Under voltage is particularly lethal, resistance staying basically the same, when voltage goes down, current goes up and this usually happens the most when the psu is under heavy load, and you end up burning out components due to the voltage starvation and high current draws. Better built units will include UVP and a few other nasties, and this is part of the higher price you pay for a quality unit. Those protections are also much tighter controlled.

 

[ThroughTheGame]

No, if it cannot draw enough it will mostly just crash the computer BSOD or nvidia driver crash. If the psu has overload protection then you would hope that it would cut power before any potential issue, but you cannot be sure with the cheap units.

Just arrived today, it runs ok for now.7 hour since on and played.