Best Graphics card to run on 250-300 watt psu

kccp

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Jun 16, 2013
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Hey guys, I am looking for a graphics card i can put in a old dell Optiplex that I am currently letting my dad use. It has a core 2 duo and i believe a power supply 250-300. Although i will confirm it before buying. But was just trying to get some prices worked out. I need something that does not require a 6 pin connector and can play older games at decent framerate. Right now he is getting by on a 8400 gs, and its not really pulling the weight. He mainly plays racing/fishing/golf games.
 

endeavour37a

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You may be able to run a GTX 750Ti if you have 300W, it has no external power requirements and rated at just 60W.
http://videocardz.com/nvidia/geforce-700/geforce-gtx-750-ti

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html
While the Radeon R7 260X offers similar performance for a few dollars less, gamers who want to upgrade an entry-level PC with a low-output power supply may consider the GeForce GTX 750 Ti, which is rated at 60 W (a little more than half of the 260X's 115 W). Nvidia suggests you use at least a 300 W power supply with this card. That's a very low bar to set for owners of low-end machines. You don't even need a six-pin auxiliary connector. At $130 the GTX 750 Ti earns a full recommendation for value, and it's the best option for gamers upgrading old or small form factor systems.
 
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-750-ti/specifications

Thermal and Power Specs:
95 C = Maximum GPU Tempurature (in C)
60 W = Graphics Card Power (W)
300 W = Minimum System Power Requirement (W)

750 - 300w - http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-750/specifications
740 - 400w - http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-740/specifications
730 - 300w - http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-730/specifications
720 - 300w - http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-720/specifications

However ....

Here is Guru3D's power supply recommendation:

GeForce GTX 750 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 450 Watt power supply unit.
GeForce GTX 750 Ti - On your average system the card requires you to have a 450 Watt power supply unit.

If you are going to overclock GPU or processor, then we do recommend you purchase something with a bit more stamina.

 

kccp

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Its a dell optiplex 755 Mini tower

 

iballew

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It depends how much you want to spend. Because the 755 has a large heatsink, it can only fit singe slot cards. Here are a few cards that will work. Also, your machine does support core 2 quads which will also improve gaming performance. A q9400 is only 40$ used on Amazon.

R7 250: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JM5XX9O?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

R7 240: http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-PCI-Express-Graphics-11216-00-20G/dp/B00DR3M050/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1424712275&sr=1-1&keywords=R7+240#Ask

Q9400: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Q9400-Processor-U36011-Category/dp/B001DEWO9W/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1424713103&sr=1-3&keywords=Q9550
 

kccp

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The case has quite a bit of room in it now. I feel like I have enough space i am not looking for a top of the line card just something stronger then the 8400 gs. I do also plan to update the processor for him. Have not yet researched the best processor for the lga775 socket.

Would you personally consider the q9400 a significant upgrade.
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-E6500-vs-Intel-Core2-Quad-Q9400

I am not necessarily looking for top of the line graphics. I just need something that is going to be significantly better then the 8400gs. Which really is not a gaming card.

 

iballew

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If you are just looking for something better than the ancient 8400gs, the gt 730 gddr5 or r7 240 would suffice. Both are much faster and are able to handle casual gaming.

Again, if you are not looking for a huge amount of performace, the e6500 is a pretty nice dual core that can handle casual gaming. The best cpu your 755 supports is a q9650. I recommended the q9400 because it is farely cheap. Cpu boss is a very inaccurate source that I do not recommend you use. I am pretty sure they just pull those numbers out of their (censored version) butt. If you use eBay, these CPUs can be found for much cheaper than Amazon.

Q9400 cpu mark: 3433
Q9650 cpu mark: 4262
Pentium e6500 CPU mark: 1763

 

ThanatosFX

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I own an Optiplex 755 mini tower running an E8500 smoothly I can upgrade to a quad core like Q9550 and get more performance but that E8500 is more than enough for gaming, now for the GPU the best one would be a 750 ti and make sure you pick the one without 6 pin connector like this one: [120$]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500348&cm_re=750_ti-_-14-500-348-_-Product

Since it has dual brackets you'll want to do some editing, check the best answer here you'll learn everything you need:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1765593/graphics-card-computer-optiplex-755.html