Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > video card with low power needs

video card with low power needs

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - video card with low power needs

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!

Ask the community Add a reply

Bottom Search this thread

i have and agp8x motherboard and no spare hdd power plugs, and i'd like to upgrade my old radeon 9000

so what are the newest video cards i can buy which are agp8 and don't require additional power?
tnx

Message quoted 1 times

Add a reply

Imo, its not worth upgrading. Just get yourself a mew Motherboard, RAM, CPU, and a PCIe x16 graphics card. Should cost about $180 for a low end, $220 for a mid/high.

------------------------------

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2617/3815217176_0a5be7955d_o.gif

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3553/3818083596_1a772f7162_o.gif

Reply to Shadow703793

i know it's probably not worth it, still i want to do it

i found a geforce 6200 at 40 €, it is agp and doesnt need power, the only problem is that isn't a great upgrade (yes it has shader model 3 but lacks a lot of things)
i've seen that geforce 7300 and 7600 need power, so i guess with geforce i can't go higher than 6xxx
as for ati, i've found a really interesting sapphire x1650 512 mb, but i'm not sure for the power, sapphire site doesnt give any info

tnhaks for any help

Reply to cvladan

i've read on gecube site that for x1650:

"Radeon® X1650 Series of products requires connection to your PC's internal power supply for operation. Consult your system builder or OEM to ensure your system has an adequate power supply.
Otherwise, ATI recommends a 400-Watt power supply or greater to ensure normal system operation where a number of other internal devices are installed."

http://www.gecube.com/products-det [...] quirements

does this mean it can work without the additional power cord or is it just mispelled?

Reply to cvladan

It needs a 4 pin molex connection and a 400 Watt PSU.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
Reply to evongugg

cvladan wrote :

no spare hdd power plugs, and i'd like to upgrade my old radeon 9000

All you really need is a $2 Y cable.

Or get a video card that comes with a Y splitter in the accessory pack. Radeon HD 2600 Pro $78 after rebate

Reply to WR2

Yep better to spend the money on the added/included power cable than to buy those other lowly options, at that point it's almost worth just updating the mobo with the latest intergrated grapics with a PCIe slot for future consideration since the GF6200 doesn't buy you much, but at least with the Y adapter you can trhow in some cheap power to last until the next upgrade.

------------------------------ You need a license to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp (or internet account) - RED GREEN. GA to SK
HD Freedom: 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
Reply to TheGreatGrapeApe

thanks everybody
the psu is 500wp so it can handle the additional power, but i have read on some vendor's manual not to use a y cable
how can i be sure that a single output from the psu will be able to sustain the video card + an hard drive or optical drive?

Reply to cvladan

More important that the PSU being 500watts is the quality of the PSU and it's power available over the 12v rail. If it's an older generic PSU with 18 amp on the 12v rail, you will be limited with what card can be put in it. If it's got enough 12v amps for your system with the new card, a Y cable will not be an issue at all.

What is the brand and model of the power supply? What is the maximum 12v rail(s) rated at? This should be visible on a label on the side of the PSU. Also, how loaded is your system with drives? (what's using up all the molex connectors?)

And as far as cards to look for.... What are your system specs? what do you hope to play? and what is your budget?

Message edited by pauldh on 01-01-2008 at 03:29:13 PM

Reply to pauldh

the psu has 20A on the +12V, not sure on the brand, there's a logo "PC"

the system is:
pentium 4 630 3 GHz
mobo asrock 775vm800
1 gb ram ddr1 400 mhz
2 optical drives
2 hard disks, 1 is sata but is connected to the 4 pin molex via an adaptor 'cause the psu doesnt have sata connector

the card i'd like to buy should have at minimum 256mb ram and shader model 3.0, directx9 and opengl2 compliant
the budget is less than 100€
preferably geforce cause i use linux too and their driver is better
games i'm interested in are (the ones i remember now):
splinter cell double agent
call of duty 4 (if the sys reqs arent too high)
crysis (maybe)

Reply to cvladan

three cards i've found at good prices are:
1) gef 6200 256mb, cheap, but barely minimum
2) gef 6600gt 256mb, cheap enough, good enough though old
3) radeon X1650 512mb, good but it says it's only opengl1.5 compliant

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to cvladan

It sounds like it is a generic power supply. Better to get a good power supply as it can take your whole investment with it if it goes bad:

Top Tier PSU:

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiere [...] ngs?t=anon

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
Reply to evongugg

cvladan wrote :

1) ~35watts
2) ~48watts open gl 1.5
3) ~43watts

HD 2600Pro = 31watts Open GL 2.0

Reply to WR2

i've also found gef 7300 and 7600, should be better than 6600?
as for the hd2600, i had seen that too, but i thought it was too new and so more power hungry, it seems i was wrong

WR2, where do you find the power ratings for the cards? i didnt see them in vendor' specs...

Reply to cvladan

HD2600 pro and 7600GS are both cards with low power consumption.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] html#sect0
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] html#sect0

And most that I have seen (Sapphire, evga, pny) come with the y adaptor so you wouldn't have to find/buy one. I'd rather have the 2600 pro for gaming, but considering you mention Linux maybe the 7600GS is a safer bet.

Message edited by pauldh on 01-02-2008 at 11:02:56 PM

Reply to pauldh

the 7600 i've found is gs (which is better, gs or gt?)
i think i'll decide between 7600 and hd2600, but geforce's better for linux

btw the psu is Linkworld lpk12-500wp, but i can't find it on linkworld's site, there's only info for up to 350w psu

Reply to cvladan

The 7600GT is better (for gaming) than the 7600GS. GDDR3 memory and much higher clock speeds.

Reply to pauldh

Forget Crysis with those cards......everything else should be ok....I'd get the 7600gt if that's as high as you want to go......

------------------------------ Q6600...4870oc
XFX 680i LT Sli...VISTA 64
4g Corsair XMS
Antec P180/550 psu
Reply to jackieboy

Ask the community Add a reply

Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > video card with low power needs

Go to:

Help |
Forum rules

There are 568 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Page generated in 0.807 seconds

Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel

Focus On

video card with low power needs

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - video card with low power needs

Please mind