Question about graphic cards and power requirments

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

I have a 300 w PSU and i want to know if i can run a 225 w gpu unit. Also what do we mean by providing additional 6pin PCIe power. I have Hp pro microtower 3330. Can i provide this additional power?

nottheking · May 11, 2015

Short answer: no chance at all.

Longer answer: Most 300w power supplies, especially those in OEM machines like those by HP, tend to be over-rated, and just BARELY handle the existing hardware. And the fact that it lacks the 6-pin PCI-e connector? That's a good sign the PSU wouldn't handle a video card anyway.

Keep in mind that depending upon the CPU involved, ALREADY 65-125w or so is being used. A rule of thumb is never exceed half of a unit's rated maximum, so a 225w video card would exceed the total capacity of that unit alone by 50%.

If you want to add a video card to that, you'll have to replace the CPU. Depending on the type of case it has, this may be difficult if it uses a "compact" PSU.

Emerald · May 11, 2015

what video card are you trying to install?

the 300W PSU will not be enough.

I suggest you get a good 500W+ PSU

gwiddle · May 11, 2015

No no, you certainly cannot run that. Once you add in the power of the CPU, hard drive, RAM, motherboard, you will be about at 300W or over on load. It's not smart to strain the power supply to that brink, especially one of the ones that come in prebuilt computers. They're not made for handling that load well. You are best off buying a power supply above the power draw.

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

nottheking :

can it support a 150 w?

gwiddle · May 11, 2015

KaustubhShamshery :

What are the full specs of the PC currently?

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

gwiddle :

Minimum it can support?

nottheking · May 11, 2015

I updated my first post with some further information. No, the reasonable maximum power you could expect out of the entire PSU is likely 100-150w: once you figure in your CPU plus other components like RAM, the motherboard, and disk drives, this capacity is already eaten up to 100%.

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

gwiddle :

i3 3rd gen
4 gb ram in two slots of 2gb each
500 gb hard disk

nottheking · May 11, 2015

KaustubhShamshery :

If you're asking about the minimum power supply you'd need... You'd want a GOOD quality-one (there's quality that's never measured by the wattage rating!) and it should have ideally have a rated capacity of 600-700w. And not a SINGLE bit less than 500w.

A 225w video card is an EXTREME power consumer. Using it with a weak PSU would likely result in the computer failing to boot, crashing, fried parts, or even starting a fire. I am not kidding.

4745454b · May 11, 2015

GTX750. Make sure you get one that doesn't need the PCIe plug.

gwiddle · May 11, 2015

As said above, the only card that might work would be a lower-end GTX 7xx such as the 740, 750.

nottheking · May 11, 2015

I will disagree with the suggestions above. Even the 55w of a GTX 750* would almost certainly be far more than the PSU can handle: OEM machines have pretty much always tended to come with PSUs that are "barely capable" of handling the original configuration. After all, it's most cost-effective for them. And at any rate, odds are close to zero that it'd even match the quality of any half-decent unit. Hence I doubt it'd have much room for expansion beyond what's already present.

I'm not so sure on what CPU is present: the research I've done suggests the HP Pro 3330 actually uses SECOND-gen (Sandy Bridge) i3s, which would draw 65w, vs. 55w for the Ivy Bridge 3rd-gens. Either way, coupled with the extra power draw of other components, at the VERY least even using a plain 750 would burn out the PSU within a year or so: OEM units are often generically marked "300w" and pretty much never are sufficient for upgrading.

My answer remains: that PSU is insufficient for ANY real graphics card upgrade. Even for a GTX 750 (which is a very fine card, mind you) I'd still recommend replacing your unit with one that'd still be rated 300-350w... But come from a REPUTABLE maker.

*[sub]The 740 actually has a HIGHER TDP, given it uses the older, less-efficient Kepler architecture, vs. the superior Maxwell architecture of the 750.[/sub]

gwiddle · May 11, 2015

nottheking :

Actually many people have even been able to run 750Tis on their pre-built computers with 300W power supplies. You also have to remember that even if the power peak is close to 300W, it will be a rarity when all components of the computer are at 100% load. That would mean 100% load on CPU and GPU for that high of a power draw.

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

nottheking :

I will disagree with the suggestions above. Even the 55w of a GTX 750* would almost certainly be far more than the PSU can handle: OEM machines have pretty much always tended to come with PSUs that are "barely capable" of handling the original configuration. After all, it's most cost-effective for them. And at any rate, odds are close to zero that it'd even match the quality of any half-decent unit. Hence I doubt it'd have much room for expansion beyond what's already present.

I'm not so sure on what CPU is present: the research I've done suggests the HP Pro 3330 actually uses SECOND-gen (Sandy Bridge) i3s, which would draw 65w, vs. 55w for the Ivy Bridge 3rd-gens. Either way, coupled with the extra power draw of other components, at the VERY least even using a plain 750 would burn out the PSU within a year or so: OEM units are often generically marked "300w" and pretty much never are sufficient for upgrading.

My answer remains: that PSU is insufficient for ANY real graphics card upgrade. Even for a GTX 750 (which is a very fine card, mind you) I'd still recommend replacing your unit with one that'd still be rated 300-350w... But come from a REPUTABLE maker.

*[sub]The 740 actually has a HIGHER TDP, given it uses the older, less-efficient Kepler architecture, vs. the superior Maxwell architecture of the 750.[/sub]

can you tell me what this thing about 6pin PCie power supply? Do i have it?

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

gwiddle :

nottheking :

Actually many people have even been able to run 750Tis on their pre-built computers with 300W power supplies. You also have to remember that even if the power peak is close to 300W, it will be a rarity when all components of the computer are at 100% load. That would mean 100% load on CPU and GPU for that high of a power draw.

Yes, I now only use a 610gt which says max power at 75.

4745454b · May 11, 2015

OEM PSUs aren't that bad. Good OEMs anyways. Remember that they DON'T want to have to service the unit, so the PSUs aren't the "gutless wonders" that have been reviewed on sites. The 750 is made for units like his that don't have the power plug as well. I'm not sure if the 740 or 750 uses less power. But I'm fairly sure the 750 would be an ok unit to run.

nottheking · May 11, 2015

gwiddle :

Many != All. While yes, SOME PSUs in OEM machines will be able to handle a lot of things fine, the issue is that at best it's roulette. I've not been able to find much information on what the standard power supply is for an HP Pro 3330 MT, which suggests that the machines might not even consistently stick to the same sourced part.

nottheking · May 11, 2015

KaustubhShamshery :

For higher-powered video cards, they require a specialized plug directly from the power supply. No, your PSU will not have it: they're effectively never found in common OEM units.

KaustubhShamshery :

The TDP of a GT 610 is actually 29 watts, still well below the other ones we're discussing.

4745454b :

I'm not so sure I'd consider HP to be a "good OEM" these days. The counter on that is that while they don't want to have to service it... They don't really have to if the user modifies the hardware. So their main concern is simply making sure it handles what hardware it came with, NOT any further upgrades.

As a result, while OEM PSUs are often rated for such total wattages, a lot of that assumes relying on the +3.3v and +5v rails: the +12v rail(s) (the one that really matters) will tend to fail to get anywhere near the total rated capacity... In spite the fact that the bulk of a PC's power draw (namely, almost all of the draw from the CPU and video card) will be from that rail.

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

nottheking :

http://www.flipkart.com/antec-vp550-550-watts-psu/p/itmd5xz45hr9fyu5?pid=PSUD5XZ4HGGJE5X9&icmpid=reco_pp_same_computeraccessory_psu_3&ppid=PSUD5XZ4PQNBPMES

is this good enough according to you?

nottheking · May 11, 2015

KaustubhShamshery :

That's a pretty solid unit. That power supply will let you use just about any single-GPU card out there.

I've managed to find some more information regarding your existing case/PSU formfactor, so I know that most power supplies WILL fit into your system as a replacement.

For others reading: while the VP550 has two separate +12v rails, each is rated for up to 30 amps individually, or two-thirds of the total rated capacity.

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

nottheking :

KaustubhShamshery :

That's a pretty solid unit. That power supply will let you use just about any single-GPU card out there.

I've managed to find some more information regarding your existing case/PSU formfactor, so I know that most power supplies WILL fit into your system as a replacement.

For others reading: while the VP550 has two separate +12v rails, each is rated for up to 30 amps individually, or two-thirds of the total rated capacity.

Thanks man you helped a lot. Last one, it does have the (6+2) PCIe power supply right?

nottheking · May 11, 2015

KaustubhShamshery :

In fact, that power supply has TWO of those 6+2 plugs. So that means that even some of the most power-hungry cards that require more than one plug can be used.* This gives you a wide range of options for video card; the original 225w one you mentioned in the OP could easily be used with that.

*[sub]...Or be used for SLi/CrossFire setups with two video cards. but your machine doesn't support that.[/sub]

KaustubhShamshery · May 11, 2015

nottheking :

KaustubhShamshery :

In fact, that power supply has TWO of those 6+2 plugs. So that means that even some of the most power-hungry cards that require more than one plug can be used.* This gives you a wide range of options for video card; the original 225w one you mentioned in the OP could easily be used with that.

*[sub]...Or be used for SLi/CrossFire setups with two video cards. but your machine doesn't support that.[/sub]

Also , can you pick a good asus graphic chipset with maximum power as 225W. ?

nottheking · May 12, 2015

To be honest, just about any SINGLE-GPU video card would be capable of being run by that PSU. So, I'd take a look, for some examples, over at the Best Graphics Cards for the Money article for some ideas. Granted, it's based upon US pricing in US stores, but does get some of the ideas across. Though the Radeons might push the boundaries a little on the TDP, you could go for even something like an R9 280X, 290, or 290X, or one of the newest Nvidia cards like the GTX 970 or GTX 980. I believe Asus has made versions of all of the above.

Question about graphic cards and power requirments

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