I personally have run a Radeon HD2600XT on that power supply... not sure about the price. I'd feel safe running anything that doesn't need an external power connecter. The 46X0 series performs very well, as do the 9500GTs. I'm not sure on the prices you'll be able to find, though.
I've been using an ATI HD 3850 with a power connector on my Dell Dimension e520 and Dell 305W PSU w/ 22amps on the 12v rails for about 2 years. I haven't seen any BSODs or unstability problems so far. It's on almost 24/7.
I'm pretty sure the ATI HD 4670 ($70-80) is your best bet for a decent videocard under the Dell 305W PSU because it doesn't require any additional power connectors. It is also on par with my ATI HD 3850 and much faster than the Nvidia 7x00 series.
Also, $40 seems pretty low to ask for a decent videocard that is faster than a Nvidia 7600GT. You should also know that a 8600GTS is on par with a 7900GS. Because you said you are looking at the Nvidia 7x00 series, but said "8x00 series are kinda a failure except for the 8800s." That is how old and obsolete the Nvidia 7x00 series really is. Look at the videocard benchmarks.
Message edited by aylafan on 03-24-2009 at 09:02:33 AM
The 4670 is pretty much designed to run on your system, its the market segment they were targeting with this card, off the shelf system with a weakish psu.
@Ayla. Yeh, see I'm not getting the card for any real gaming, since my other rig has 9800GTXs.
I just need something 7600GT equivalent or slightly better to play older games such as Oblivion and FEAR.
I'm just looking to upgrade my dirt cheap 7600GT to something better but still dirt cheap
I'll look up the entire 4x00 series on ebay to see if there's any good deals.
Any of you guys have any high tiered 3x00 or any 4x00 for sale?
Message edited by Bluescreendeath on 03-24-2009 at 12:46:12 PM
That low? Well then, even a DDR2 4650 is better than a 7600GT.
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