Good cards that run on a 300W PSU

[cookingfrags]

i'm looking for a new mid-range video card. but my power supply's limiting me, a 300W PSU on an HP PC. i'm really trying to avoid changing the PSU because 1) i'm not sure what the experience will be like changing the PSU on an OEM case and 2) i'm not exactly ready to spend the money when i could put it toward a better card.

so hopefully i can find a card that can run on this PSU and still give me reasonable performance. i can't spend too much money either, as the parent's aren't so willing to fund much for something "less than necessary" since i've already got enough expenses by leaving for college. so the budget tops out at around $120-130. i'm not looking for top performance, just practical performance...to be able to play games like BF2 and CoD well at 1024x768, some games like UT2004 at 1280 x 1024.

my system consists of:
AMD X2 4200+
2 optical drives
300 GB HD
Sound Blaster Audigy 2
one case fan

 

[PaCanc]

For that amount of money, you could get a nVidia 6600GT or ATI X1600Pro.

You didn't mention if you need an AGP or PCI-Express card.

I have a 6600GT AGP (it uses a Molex power connector), which (qoute from the box) needs a 350W PSU. But if you don't have a lot of components inside your case, you might get away with 300W, too.

Not sure about ATI cards and their power requirements, though.

Oh, I forgot. If you buy a second hand card, you might find something much better.

 

[asdasd123123]

Yup, 6600GT, or 7600GT if you have Pci-Ex..
I had that on a 300w almost flawlessly, had to run one 12v rail all alone or it wouldnt boot..

 

[cookingfrags]

sorry about that...PCI-E. i was definitely thinking a 7600GT, but i wasnt sure it would fit in the power requirements....

 

[Track]

PSUs are very very cheap.. u can get one for like 10$ So its not a reason to hold off making such a huge buy as a graphics card.

 

[Gary_Busey]

PSUs are very very cheap.. u can get one for like 10$ So its not a reason to hold off making such a huge buy as a graphics card.

Are you suggesting he buy a $10 PSU?

 

[Grinch123456]

PSUs are very very cheap.. u can get one for like 10$ So its not a reason to hold off making such a huge buy as a graphics card.

Are you suggesting he buy a $10 PSU?
Well the Thermaltake TR2 W0070 at Newegg here.

 

[pauldh]

PSUs are very very cheap.. u can get one for like 10$ So its not a reason to hold off making such a huge buy as a graphics card.

Are you suggesting he buy a $10 PSU?
:roll: Sure looked that way.

 

[Track]

PSUs are very very cheap.. u can get one for like 10$ So its not a reason to hold off making such a huge buy as a graphics card.

Are you suggesting he buy a $10 PSU?
:roll: Sure looked that way.

Yeh, not everyones as rich as u!

 

[asdasd123123]

The 7600GT will do better than an 6600GT, since it needs less power than it.
Just run that card on a separate 12v rail and it'll work just fine with 300w

If you're unsure, just follow the cable to the psu, there should be at least two cables with 12v and 5v cables branching out from it, and from there you just take one "branch" and dedicate it to the gpu.

 

[Gary_Busey]

PSUs are very very cheap.. u can get one for like 10$ So its not a reason to hold off making such a huge buy as a graphics card.

Are you suggesting he buy a $10 PSU?
:roll: Sure looked that way.

Yeh, not everyones as rich as u!
Yeah, you can tell how rich I am by the extremely expensive set up I have listed in my signature. Buying a $10 PSU is probably the worst advice you could give to anyone wanting to upgrade their computer, other than telling them to use their computer as a toilet.

The 7600GT should be fine, and is a good midrange card.

 

[cookingfrags]

alright thanks a lot for the help guys. but i dont think i'll be trusting my hardware to a $10 PSU anytime soon

 

[TheMaster]

i bought my 450W psu for 20 bucks on ebay... but it only powers my peltier beer cooler.

Definately get something for at least 50 dollars if you want your hardware to not go up in smoke.

 

[cookingfrags]

just curious...how much worse is a 7600GS compared to a GT? i ask this because the GS is considerably cheaper, and i have fanless options. fanless would be desirable because i'll be in a dorm for the next couple years and i'll want to be able to nap comfortably, and i don't want a constantly irritated roommate...

 

[cleeve]

7600 GS is ~70% as fast as a 7600 GT stock. That's a guesstimate, but it'll give you an idea.

A good card if you want to go fanless though, and the core overclocks pretty well if you're so inclined. It'll never be as fast as a 7600 GT though, the memory is much, much slower... around half the speed I think.