Can this PSU Handle a better card?

[DeepMartin]

My friend has this setup

(HP pavilion a430n with some upgrades from the past years)

Intel Pentium 4 530 @3.00GHz (socket LGA775)
1.5gbs ram DDR (1000mb/256mb/256mb)
GeForce 8500GT 512

and his parents just bought this psu cuz his old and stock one died

the psu is COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR 500W ATX from factor 12V V2.01

+3.3V@20A,+5V@20A,
+12V1@16A,+12V2@16A,
-12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.0A

for him to get at least a 8800GT i found out he needs a min 20 or 22 amps on the 12v rail but what about dual rails like he has (plus his older setup which doesnt consume that much electricity or so i imagine)

Will this powersupply handle an 8800gt or will it die? What are your opinions?

I think it will eventually die so he must get a better one in order to handle an 88gt or better card (but we might run into the problem of the card not fitting lol ill go into detail on that later)

 

[mailpup]

It's not the most powerful PSU but I think it will probably run it ok. I don't know how soon it might die though.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

It will not die soon, but will eventually, especially since it's a rubbish low-end model by AcBel, who are notorious for overstating the wattage on their products. Avoid it and get the Antec EA500 from Newegg instead.

 

[raybay]

Cooler Master is not among the elite of power supplies, and is not know for supplying steady output. It could crash if sufficiently challenged. I don't think the Antec is much better. But since he has the Cooler Master, he might as well run it until it quits. It probably will not hurt anything.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I don't think the Antec is much better.

I disagree. The EA500 is basically a rebranded Seasonic S12 500W PSU. It has a Rubycon capacitor on primary and OST capacitors rated at 105C on secondary. Very good ripple suppression, very good efficiency, a single 12V rail and it's silent. What more could you want?

 

[raybay]

Not exactly. Look at the UL number.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The UL is E104405 from what I can gather. This points to Seasonic. The only other company that makes the Earthwatts PSUs is Delta Electronics Inc, whose PSUs are designated by a D in front of the model, like the EA500D.

 

[DeepMartin]

the smart thing to do is to buy a psu with the card (high-end vcard needs a high-end psu) so ill tell him to get something like the Corsair TX650W (from the techspot guide) around the almost hundreds area

Thank you everyone for your help