Help in GPU selection on cheap PSU

bloodmage7

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Apr 27, 2012
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I have a relatively old config PC. Its config is:

Core i3 2120
8GB DDR3 1333MHZ RAM
Asus H61 MOBO
1TB HDD 7200RPM
1920*1080 dell monitor

Local PSU, whose wattage I don't know as it is not written on it, but while buying the seller told me its of 500W. Still I am not sure. And its cheap PSU. All the local shop dealers sell these, as the high quality ones are not available easily here in my country.

I want to buy a new graphic card to play games. And as I don't have a decent PSU and on a low budget, I have zeroed in on R7250 as it does't require 6-pin auxiliary power from PSU. Also there is 750ti which doesn't require external power supply, but its expensive. So, will my config be able to support the GPU without any problems, and which GPU will be better
 

Karadjgne

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If you shop smart, and wait for sales etc, you can get an excellent psu like XFX 550w for less than $40,setimes as low as $26. A psu of that calibre can run any single gpu currently available all the way up to and including a gtx780ti.

It's worth the $ to invest in a quality psu.
 

Lou_Dollaz

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Jul 13, 2014
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Cheapest I would go is a simple 80+ gold psu from a trusted brand such as a corsair cs 550w. This is semi modular too so it's got everything you need to build and run your rig without the extras that ramp up the price but don't help performance much. Hope this helps
 

Karadjgne

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The Corsair CX, CS are mediocre at best. For better quality Corsair's look to the AX, AXi, HX, TXv2, VS. They may cost a little bit more, but the psu is absolutely the last component you want to skimp on, considering it's importance to the rest of the pc. Bad ripple, sub-par caps, low outputs etc can all cause the early death of other components especially the motherboard and gpu. Cheap quality is a price you really don't want to pay.
 

Karadjgne

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There should be a sticker somewhere which will have the voltages and outputs, 12v+ is what to look for. W=v*A, so if 12v+ is 30A, that's 360w, so system watts is probably a 430w unit. If 12v1 is 18A and 12v2 is 18A, combined that's @30A or a 430w unit etc. If it's a 500w unit you should see about 34-36A or 12v1 19-20a ,12v2 19-20a etc.