I have a Dell 530s and want to upgrade the gpu to be able to play any game I want(not on high settings, but low-medium is fine with me.) Anyway it being a slim model is a pain in upgrading stuff so I have two choices of cards. A 9500gt(low profile) or a 9600gt(low profile). Anyway I also realized that my power supply is well under the limit of 400W for these cards at 250W. So I decided I should search for a new power supply but ended up finding out that my power supply is a TFX, and the highest I could find is 300w I've heard that the companies are usually really conservative on what the minimum power supply should be and also heard that some people actually got a 9500gt to work without flaws on a slim desktop at 250w. (as long as they don't have too many usb devices working.) I've decided to go with a 9500gt because I know for sure a 9600gt would use way to much power. I have some questions on what I should do though.
Would either my 250w power supply or a 300w that I upgrade to work with little to know flaws or damages with either of these cards?
If so which power supply, which card, and should I upgrade if both?
Is there a substitute I could use instead of a TFX power supply?
If none of these cards will work what card would you recommend that will?
Edit: After looking at other gpus I might get a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102799 Radeon HD 4550 instead. It seems to perform less than the 9500gt, but it looks like it will run any game. I want to make certain of that though. It only requires 300w as well. Should I get this?
Message edited by Anonymous on 01-25-2009 at 02:25:02 AM
The HD4550 at 19watts of power or the 9500GT at @28 watts of power (overclocked versions use 35w) would be a good solution even with your 250w power supply (Dell uses good quality power supplies). Stepping up to the 9600GT would require a new power supply. Both the HD4550 and the 9500GT do not require additional power from the PSU, only what is provided by your PCIex16 socket. I'd probably go with the 9500GT if i had your system.
The HD4550 at 19watts of power or the 9500GT at @28 watts of power (overclocked versions use 35w) would be a good solution even with your 250w power supply (Dell uses good quality power supplies). Stepping up to the 9600GT would require a new power supply. Both the HD4550 and the 9500GT do not require additional power from the PSU, only what is provided by your PCIex16 socket. I'd probably go with the 9500GT if i had your system.
Thanks I will get a 9500gt then. Is there a way I could measure how many watts are being used when I get it? I just want to see just to be on the safe side.
I was talking about while having the computer running using it to see how high my watts are going and if I'm cutting it close. Thanks though that is useful
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