Stupid question

TerrorFirmer

I was looking at graphics cards today in Pc World (and they have 6600GTs for 50 euro brand new, no joke) and was looking at the 7600GT. System requirements are not the usual simple "xxxW psu etc", but says it needs a spare pci-e 16x slot, some other extra pci-e power connecter (cant remember wording), and two extra power dongles that aren't floppy sized?

I don't get why you'd need what appears to be 3 power sources. Any advice?

PogMoThoin

2 hd dongles would provide the same power as 1 6pin sli connector. You'd use 1 or the other & would get an 2dongle to 6pin adaptor.

TerrorFirmer

Ahh, ok. So all I really need is two extra hd dongles spare? Can I connect straight to the card with just the 2 dongles or do I need to get a 2dongle to 6 pin adaptor for it to work at all?

thanks for the quick reply. was a bit stumped thinking I needed 3 inputs for the card

PogMoThoin

Adapter should come in the box, i got 1 ere if it dont, drop us a pm if needed

TerrorFirmer

Cool, thanks, appreciate it. Now to decide first of all whether its worth going for a 7600gt over my current vanilla x800...ive been harping on about it for about six months but im as lazy when it comes to doing something, but pc world have them for 180 so i might opt for one tonight

TerrorFirmer

Is this what I need? Have one in my case...

GrumPy

HavoK wrote:

but pc world have them for 180 so i might opt for one tonight

<sorry> I got a 7900GS for the same price </sorry>

GrumPy

HavoK wrote:

Is this what I need? Have one in my case...

Thats it.

TerrorFirmer

Ok, this is weird - I got the card, but theres absolutely no extra inputs on the card whatsoever? Googling online shows a few people asking the same question, but all the answers are "7600GT doesn't need any extra power from psu and is powered entirely from pci-e slot"

This seems feasible enough apart from the box stating you need an extra pci-e power connecter and 2 extra dongles.....

PogMoThoin

Ya, Dell use them like that, it'll be clocked slightly lower so there is less draw on power. They must have bought up a batch specially made for dell or something.

uberpixie

PogMoThoin wrote:

Ya, Dell use them like that, it'll be clocked slightly lower so there is less draw on power. They must have bought up a batch specially made for dell or something.

"the Albatron 7600GT 256MB PCI Express card sticks to the default 560 MHz core and 1.4 GHz GDDR3 memory clock speeds, and the overall design remains true to the NVIDIA reference cards. The card is single-slot design and features a surprisingly diminutive heatsink-fan (about half the size of an X1600 XT) for the clock speed. This is one of the benefits of the die shrink to 90nm, as is the lack of an external power connector."

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/videocards/article.php/3615856

Not necessarily a crap cut down card......

PogMoThoin

Oh, so theyre exactly the same, I always thought dell got them made specially so they could put them in any pc with a dell psu & fcuk all airflow.

TerrorFirmer

Its a PNY 7600gt...nothing to do with dell other the fact i put it in my dell..googling online as I said, uncovers that apparently most 7600gt pci-e cards are powered entirely from the pci-e slot. Makes ya wonder what the box is about then....

great card though. barely 41 degrees when idle...getting 60fps in FEAR on 1024x768 with all options maxed out and aa and af at full....kinda loud in games though.

PogMoThoin

Nice idle temp, oc it with rivatuner if temps are that low, should hit 7900gt speeds. Can turn fan speeds down to 50% when idling too. Its an amazing prog.
Here: http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/RivaTuner--RC-Download-6867.html

Rivatuner Guides:
https://home.comcast.net/~boogie3/RivaTuner1.htm
http://userweb.suscom.net/~msl/RivaTuner.htm
http://userweb.suscom.net/~msl/RivaTuner%20-clock%20speeds.htm

TerrorFirmer

Thanks for the link.

Idling about 40-42 degrees, when playing games, stays under 50 degrees, and so far performing brilliantly in games with stock drivers....

Very impressed with this card.

PogMoThoin

Go on, clock it. I've had gpu's hittin 80' on load and still not artifactin.
If ya get near 7900gt speeds you'll be able to play at 1280x1024 maxed out.

TerrorFirmer

I think I might give it a go later on this week when I've time....really liking these temps.

Also, I bought one of the 50 euro PNY 6600GTs from PC World for someone else on boards - like the pny 7600gt, no extra input for a 6 pin on it at all or even any kind of input. Is this just with pny cards cos I was almost positive 6600gts needed extra power