Best Graphics Card for 300w Power Supply

[marysdad]

Let me preface my question that I'm not a gamer. I just want to make the machine run better with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver. It runs OK, but bogs down some, so I'm just looking to give it a boost. I have plenty of RAM, but only have the factory on-board graphics chip. It's a relatively low-end desktop. I don't want to upgrade the power supply, so am looking to get whatever improvement I can without overloading the system.

Thanks!

 

[lauxenburg]

It depends on what interface you have. If you have PCI-E x16 2.0, which is standard on most new motherboards, you can look at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102726

300W is not very much when it comes to powering a graphics card other than the integrated one. This one is minimum 300W, so you should be ok. It is very cheap ($40.00 after rebate). Just make sure your interface is right.

 

[meodowla]

I think 'nVidia 9500GT'.

 

[theAnimal]

Let me preface my question that I'm not a gamer. I just want to make the machine run better with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver. It runs OK, but bogs down some, so I'm just looking to give it a boost. I have plenty of RAM, but only have the factory on-board graphics chip. It's a relatively low-end desktop. I don't want to upgrade the power supply, so am looking to get whatever improvement I can without overloading the system.

Thanks!

A video card won't usually speed up the performance of your system for 2D applications. (Actually Photoshop can make use of video cards.)

What are your system specs?

 

[lauxenburg]

It would be a little helpful if you could post your system specs. We can make a better judgment to what your current system load is and what we think would be reasonable. Thanks.

 

[jadavis1992]

I think 'nVidia 9500GT'.

i have a nvidia 9500gt it consumes very little power but it preforms well. it says 350 watts on the box, a good card for a 300 watt psu is hard to find

 

[mactronix]

I vote for a 4650 it wont need extra power leads and will play the odd game if you wish pretty well, its a good HTPC card also.
As the others say your specs would help, i also doubt that its all down to th egraphics chip and am wondering about what CPU you have ? Newer incarnations of your aplications will no doubt need more power to run than older versions did.
Mactronix