GT 240 or GeForce 9400 GT?

GT 240 is definitely better than a 9400.

yep, GT240 definitely better than 9400GT. the performance is more like 9600GT

How much your PSU?
Why don't u go for 9800??
It's better than both card that you mentioned above.

Between 9400 and GT 240 i vote for GT 240 as well

The GT 240 will be much faster, about 5 times as fast as 9400 GT, and it is currently the fastest card that does not require an auxiliary 6-pin PCI-e connector, but I don't think it is rated at 300W.
As wa1 asked, what is your PSU and what is its wattage?

The newer 9800GTs don't need/have a power connector and are more powerful I believe.

Neither since one is crap while the other is overpriced. AVOID the low power cards since people have had many issues with these cards. A 4650/70 are good for the price and can easily beat the gt240. If you want nvidia get a 55nm 9600gt/9800gt that has the connector and down worry about load power it is quite low at stock clocks.

This is simply wrong. They might be a better buy but the GT 240 is more powerful than either of those.

It is still over priced and lacks sli. I don't see why people would buy these cards. They cost as much as a brand new 9800gt on newegg.

still people normally didn't SLI weak card like 9600GT (though i know some people still go for it like SLIing 2 9500GT). rather than SLI it is better to go with single yet more powerful cards.

My power supply IS a 300 watt.

BTW: I am wanting to 'max out' the computer with what the 300 watt will run rather than start building a new computer.

it was recommended by a company to go for the 9400 GT at the best.

It seems it is now between 4550 and the 9400GT

I really think a low power 9800 gt is fine (and cheap). I haven't heard of any specific issues except they are a hair less powerful than the regular versions. None of the connector-less ones have worse ratings, otherwise check and see if you have the necessary 6 pin (or 4 pin) PCIe connector or 2 extra molex connectors for an adapter.

It doesn't matter what "a company" said. Get an HD4650 at the very least. It's extremely low power and it is definitely the minimum you should be considering if you plan on gaming.

OK, but how does the 4650/4670 compare in watts used to the 9400 GT, or 4550?

http://mark.zoomcities.com/images/gfx/GFXpowerchartby3d...

OK so the current card uses 18 watts. (8300 GS)

The 4670 uses 65 watts.

That's a whole nother 47 watts I'd have to worry about.

The 4650 uses what?

I agree with the other posters. The GT240 is overpriced at the moment. Go with an ATI 4670. Your 300 watt power supply should handle it fine. There are low power 9600GT and 9800GT models that might also work and would be somewhat more powerful. However, the 4670 is easier to find and might be less likely to have problems. Stay away from the 4650 unless you can find a DDR3 model. I had a 4650 DDR2 and was quite disappointed in the performance.

OK, lets get back to the recommended ratings..

I suppose I could get a GT 220, Radeon 4550, or a 9400 GT?

Which of those 3? I'm thinking the 220 draws too much power?

Wow is it that difficult to chose a card :0 Just get what is in both budgets and is best suited to your needs. Most psu are over rated while a few slip through that can be overloaded by 5~10% safely for a few months. The GT200 cards are simply over priced for the performance they deliver. The 4550 and the 9400gt are priced a little better but I don't pay retail any more and for the same price you can lan better on ebay. I bought my second 9800gt 1gb for less than $90 and sli ever since. My 8800gtx that I am using in another comp only cost me $32 while I have seen other good cards for a little less.

*shrugs and buys the 4550 to max out the 300 watt system and says "that's the best I can do recommended" *

A 4770 will most likely outperform the GT 240 (as it is compared to an HD 4650/4670 in Tom's review using $119 versions) for less money. An HD 4850 will destroy it if you can find it $100-110 these days. If you have to get NVidia, an 8800GT or 9800GT will also outperform it horribly (in a good way) for less money.

Go with 4670 only if using windows otherwise headaches.
NVIDIA was always known for excellent drivers.
Seemless suppport for Hackintosh and Linux.

GT220/240 series are designed for HTPC crowd. Latest PureVideo4 provides great image quality, postprocessing and hardware acceleration for Adobe Flash, DivX, XviD and H.264 MPEG2.

ATI4XXX GeForce 9600/9800 as old 2-3 year technology are great only for gaming at this moment. Plus it feels like sitting next to starting jet, not to mention power bills for two-slotters.

These days most 9600/9800 GTs are an updated, more efficient version that don't even have a power connector.

alright I guess I"ll go for the 4670 , and hope I don't need a new PSU.  

i'm in the same boat i got a dx4300-19 pc w/ a 300 watts, but w/ everthing eles i need to have a good up to date (for me!) all but the video card and power supply. i still plan on upgrading to a 650power
EVGA GeForce GTX 260 or maybe a 9800gtx+ which i had used this card and loved it! i should get the very best possible within reason
(any info on which 1 is welcomed good luck

A 4670 will run nice on low power i have 2 of them!