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Low Power Video Card

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kingfet   08-25-2008 at 03:56:42 PM

My brother plays wow only, and for his birthday I want to get him a new video card. He is currently running a Geforce 7300LE which is bottom of the line. He has a 300W PSU. Currently he has nothing in the case, outside of two fans, and AMD 64 X2 4600, 3 sticks of 1 gig DDR2, and a sate hard drive. He has no type of media drives.

What would you recommend I get for him as an upgrade? I really dont want to buy a new PS, so it will need to be able to run on 300watts.

Thanks!

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evongugg   08-25-2008 at 04:04:35 PM
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How many amps are on the 12v rails of that PSU?

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jtt283   08-25-2008 at 04:15:19 PM
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Something like an 8600GT or 2600XT would be a big jump for him, not need additional power, and not torque your wallet all out of shape.
1. XFX PVT84JYDF3 GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $70 after $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150260
2. POWERCOLOR HD2600XT 512MB DDR3 Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $55 after $10 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131066

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kingfet   08-25-2008 at 04:16:59 PM
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sorry I forgot to mention that, 19A, and also it must be PCI EXP 16

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rodney_ws   08-25-2008 at 04:18:57 PM
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...


Message edited by rodney_ws on 08-25-2008 at 04:19:34 PM
Reply to rodney_ws
kingfet   08-25-2008 at 04:20:52 PM
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you think that 2600xt will work alright? I was actually looking at the 2400 pro or an x1650, but I am not sure about the 300w

Reply to kingfet
zenmaster   08-25-2008 at 04:20:56 PM
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This card while not great, will be much better than the 7300LE.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131083

It also use next to nothing for power so it should work just fine.
There are likely better cards that could work, but I can't find my power guide handy.

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its not good theory.
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mactronix   08-25-2008 at 04:53:01 PM
- 0 +


I think the 8600GT would be your best bet. There are quite a few differant models to choose from and most of them including MSI's Twin turbo overclocked card dont need any extra juice from a cable so should run ok on your PSU. (check what each card says though). The power supply from the slot should be standard so if its meant to run with out power it should be ok.

A 1650 wouldnt be much of a jump and the 2600 isnt very good with AA which is why i would favour this card. If your into overclocking yourself or just get one with a factory overclock then you will be getting close to 1950 pro levels of performance. Just make sure you get a GDDR3 version and not a GDDR2 one.

Mactronix

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amdwilliam1985   08-25-2008 at 05:42:27 PM
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Or you can wait a little and get Radeon HD 4550(ATI RV710) with TDP of just 25W.
http://madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22 [...] tdp-57204/

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kingfet   08-25-2008 at 05:45:52 PM
- 0 +

is that really a video card that just uses 25watts?

Message quoted 1 times
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rodney_ws   08-25-2008 at 05:57:56 PM
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kingfet wrote :

is that really a video card that just uses 25watts?


Only if a video card contains JUST the GPU and nothing else... just as a processor might be rated at 65 watt TDP, other factors (motherboard / RAM) drive this value up considerably... so the GPU might just be a 25W part, but the RAM ain't gonna work without pulling some electricity of its own.


Message edited by rodney_ws on 08-25-2008 at 06:02:19 PM
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iicsus   08-25-2008 at 06:48:17 PM
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A 4670 would also run, if you can wait until it's released. It's better than a 8600GT/9500GT.

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kingfet   08-25-2008 at 07:12:39 PM
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I do not think I will be able to wait, his birthday party is this sunday, so any recommendations of what I should get? I am really considering a 8400gs, do you think that will be better than his 7300le?

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mactronix   08-25-2008 at 07:19:30 PM
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No it wont be any better, do you have a budget in mind then we can keep it to cards you can afford, which shops shall we look at also ?

Mactronix

Reply to mactronix
kingfet   08-25-2008 at 07:23:28 PM
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also i would really like to get a 2600 pro, but noticed that they usually recommend 400w+, but on extreme power supply calc I am putting his system in with that video card, and coming out to only 244watts (remember he has no optical drives)

Reply to kingfet
kingfet   08-25-2008 at 07:24:53 PM
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well roughly about fifty dollars, as its kind of only an add on gift and i am trying to stay under 120 total. I would say budget is less important than it running smoothly on a 300w psu, because I really just dont want to tear his machine apart to stick in a psu. I would be willing to go all the way up to a 100.00 if its just right. Also newegg is most convenient, as I only have access in my area to Bestbuy, and circuit city, who are both very over priced.


Message edited by kingfet on 08-25-2008 at 07:26:08 PM
Reply to kingfet
mactronix   08-25-2008 at 09:24:57 PM
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Well if you take a look on newegg they have a few 8600GT cards and also some good 3650 cards. If your main use will be video then the ATI solution is superior to the Nvidia one and it also states 300 Watt PSU :). This one to be exact http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102725 It will give your brother a good boost graphically speaking and will perform just under 1950 pro or in Nvidia terms compared to your brothers 7300LE, it will perform about 7900GS levels. take a look at this chart to get an idea of the differance. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Gami [...] 39-8.html#

Mactronix

Reply to mactronix
bobsline   09-20-2008 at 02:45:34 AM
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bump.......

I am looking for a PCI-E gaming card for a system also limited to a 300 watt ps. Confused now between 2600xt, 3650 or nvidea 8600GT mentioned above. Playing mainly COD4. Benchmarks for 8600GT indicate SLI. Is this only indicating the cards capability or its performance. Any more advice would be appreciated.

Reply to bobsline
Bronze Graphics badge jyjjy   09-20-2008 at 10:10:37 AM
- 0 +

You want an hd 4670. It's much better than any of the cards you listed but uses a similar amount of power.

Reply to jyjjy
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