Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

(Too long; didn't read? Look at bottom of post)
Hey guys,

First things first, it is better for me to say this: I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to hardware stuffs, so please treat me like how you would treat idiots or stupid people.

Now back to the topic: I'm currently using a Dell Inspiron 580 that's prebuilt with an Intel Core i5 (i5-650 @ 3.2 GHz) and an nVidia GeForce 310. I'm not very satisfied with the latter, so I'm planning to upgrade the thing with a GeForce GTX 550 Ti, a not-so-bad graphics card in my opinion (and not-so-expensive, too).

My question is that, based from what I've read (and luckily understood), will I need to upgrade my PSU as well? The PSU that comes with the Dell Inspiron 580 is quite a cheap one; it doesn't even have supplementary power connections (the 550 Ti needs the PCI-e 6-pin one), but which PSU am I going to get?

I've used some PSU watts calculators on the Internet, and I think I'm going to need a 600-watt PSU or so in order to power the graphics card. From which PSU brand should I get though? Just asking for clarification, because I've seen cases where people got their motherboards fried when their PSUs failed, and obviously I don't want mine to end up that way too.

Again, I'm an idiot and a know-nothing. Please have mercy.

Thanks in advance.

P/S: If you think my graphics card choice is poor and stupid, please do suggest me another one. I'm only looking for good performance and graphics without much hassle and money.

TL;DR: Am upgrading my graphics card to nVidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti; will the installation be easy, or will I need something else like a newer PSU? My current PSU only outputs 300 watts, or so I've read, and the card requires higher (400W minimum), AND a 6-pin power connector, which my current PSU doesn't have.

Quote:so please treat me like how you would treat idiots or stupid people.

You really, REALLY don't want me to do that.

Quote:My question is that, based from what I've read (and luckily understood), will I need to upgrade my PSU as well?

Almost certainly. The last brand name PC I had was a dell xps 400 if I recall. Want to guess how much power headroom they gave me? 25W. Seriously, 25!

Quote:it doesn't even have supplementary power connections (the 550 Ti needs the PCI-e 6-pin one)

Then the answer is now, yes.

Quote:I've used some PSU watts calculators on the Internet, and I think I'm going to need a 600-watt PSU or so in order to power the graphics card.

I doubt you'll need that much with a good PSU but it's a very good idea to give yourself as much headroom as you can so yes 600 watts is a good amount.

Quote:From which PSU brand should I get though?

Any of the dozen or so great brands will do. To name a few quick ones off the top of my head: antec, corsair, OCZ, PC power and cooling, coolermaster, etc.

Quote:because I've seen cases where people got their motherboards fried when their PSUs failed, and obviously I don't want mine to end up that way too.

A wise decision.

Quote:P/S: If you think my graphics card choice is poor and stupid, please do suggest me another one. I'm only looking for good performance and graphics without much hassle and money.

Well if you can afford it I feel the GTX 560 or GTX 560 Ti would offer better bang/buck. Just get what you can afford.

Thank you for your input.

Just another question: Is it possible for the PSU to fry the motherboard from doing things wrong? I'm not very good at installing stuffs (though I'll try my best), so I'm kind of afraid of ruining my computer.

Also, about that CPU of mine, Core i5-650, will it bottleneck the GTX 550 Ti or something like that? I'm just wondering if I'm buying a graphics card too good for the processor.

Thanks in advance.

Don't worry about bottlenecks unless you're spending like 300-400 bucks on the card, you're fine there.

Quote:Also, about that CPU of mine, Core i5-650, will it bottleneck the GTX 550 Ti or something like that?

With dolphin yes. That's pretty much inevitable. Unless your gpu is total shit your cpu will pretty much always be the bottleneck.

PC games on the other hand are the exact opposite. You're unlikely to ever run into a cpu bottleneck, the gpu will almost always be the bottleneck.

Of course it depends on your settings. A more powerful gpu will allow you to use higher settings without running into a gpu bottleneck, that's the whole point.

Quote:Is it possible for the PSU to fry the motherboard from doing things wrong?

Yes but I don't see how you would do that without either tinkering with the PSU's internals or modifying one of the plugs to fit into a different socket. Or if it's a really bad PSU a power surge could cause that. Don't worry about it though, you don't know enough about electronics to f*ck it up that bad yet .

Quote:I'm not very good at installing stuffs (though I'll try my best), so I'm kind of afraid of ruining my computer.

It's common for first timers. After your first build you realize it's as easy as assembling a lego kit.

(07-31-2011, 10:50 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: [ -> ]it's as easy as assembling a lego kit.

and 10000x more fun.

Hey guys,

I've just got the stuffs installed, and I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the performance gain with this new card. Thanks for the help!

(07-31-2011, 02:40 PM)glan20 Wrote: [ -> ]Hey guys,

I've just got the stuffs installed, and I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the performance gain with this new card. Thanks for the help!

have fun