Sapphire ati hd 5450 Power Draw for HTPC

[kareemgeorge]

Currently i want to buy the sapphire ati hd 5450 and i was wonderig if it will work good in my 220 watt HTPC i seen some information of this only needing the PCI slot to be powered and only use`s 6 watts whe in idle and 20 watts underload so do you think it will be safe to put this in my slim line pc of only 220 watts? ps the card doesnt have a fan either its heat sinc thanks

 

[wa1]

Yes, HD5450 is a HTPC card and your 220W PSU is just enough to run that card without problem...
Just for HTPC, right? No gaming at all?

 

[kareemgeorge]

Yes, HD5450 is a HTPC card and your 220W PSU is just enough to run that card without problem...
Just for HTPC, right? No gaming at all?

Well i might play a some fps games once in a while couple rpgs but thee games i play do demand much to play them and i usally play it on low settings so ya some gaming but not to much xD

 

[rockyjohn]

I would not recommend doing ANY gaming on the HD 5450 with only a 220w PSU.

Here are two reviews from respected sites, one showing that the system uses 201w with no load and 232w under load and the second just reports the minimun requirement of 300w.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3120/sapphire_radeon_hd_5450_512mb_gddr3_video_card/index13.html

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-5450-review/6

Note that the second also specifies the requirement of at least 30 amps on the 12v rail, which itself is 360w.

I generally try to run a PSU at 60% to 70% of load - which means even for a 200w idle system at 70% load requires a 285w PSU. I might streach that a little in a real tight situation, but not without some trepidation and not without a GOOD quality PSU. Store bought systems usually do not have a good quality PSU. Do you know what the make and model of your system is?

The non-gaming page at upgradevideocards.com has information and recommendations about HTPC system video cards. You might want to review what they have, but nothing there is good for a 220w system.

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/nongaming.html

The only option I see is the GT 210 which uses 164w in idle and 186w with a full load. At 186w that would be an 85% load on your PSU, assuming it is capable of delivering the full 220w - many lower quality PSUs do not. See this review for power consumption and, if interested, read the rest of the review so you are familiar with its poor gaming performance:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/inno3d-geforce-gt-210-and-220-review/4

Note that page states that the outcome of over taxing the PSU can be:

bad 3D performance
crashing games
spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
freezing during gameplay
PSU overload can cause it to break down

I wish I could be more positive, but I don't want you to buy a new card and run into problems.

Have you considered upgrading the PSU? Either of these would be a good option if they fit in your budget and in your case:

Antec Earthwatts 380w - $48 with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

Corsair Builder Series 430w - $23 after rebate and with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139017

It would be nice if you could stretch to this one, and have capacity for a real good video card should you decide for a better upgrade:

Corsair Builder series - 600w - $51 after rebate and with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019

However, since I don't know what CPU you have I have no idea if it can handle a stronger card.

 

[kareemgeorge]

Wow thanks for taking the time to do the research for me well the cpu i have is here is my dxdiag



System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 3/3/2011, 15:14:26
Machine name: HOME-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.101026-1503)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Acer
System Model: Aspire X1800
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5400 @ 2.70GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 2560MB RAM
Page File: 1838MB used, 3277MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode


think this CPU can handle the HD 5450?

 

[jaguarskx]

You'll be fine with the HD 5450. It only draws 9.2w when gaming, however, it is far from a gaming card. More for multimedia than anything else.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5670-hd5570-hd5450_6.html#sect0

 

[kareemgeorge]

I would not recommend doing ANY gaming on the HD 5450 with only a 220w PSU.

Here are two reviews from respected sites, one showing that the system uses 201w with no load and 232w under load and the second just reports the minimun requirement of 300w.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3120/sapphire_radeon_hd_5450_512mb_gddr3_video_card/index13.html

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-5450-review/6

Note that the second also specifies the requirement of at least 30 amps on the 12v rail, which itself is 360w.

I generally try to run a PSU at 60% to 70% of load - which means even for a 200w idle system at 70% load requires a 285w PSU. I might streach that a little in a real tight situation, but not without some trepidation and not without a GOOD quality PSU. Store bought systems usually do not have a good quality PSU. Do you know what the make and model of your system is?

The non-gaming page at upgradevideocards.com has information and recommendations about HTPC system video cards. You might want to review what they have, but nothing there is good for a 220w system.

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/nongaming.html

The only option I see is the GT 210 which uses 164w in idle and 186w with a full load. At 186w that would be an 85% load on your PSU, assuming it is capable of delivering the full 220w - many lower quality PSUs do not. See this review for power consumption and, if interested, read the rest of the review so you are familiar with its poor gaming performance:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/inno3d-geforce-gt-210-and-220-review/4

Note that page states that the outcome of over taxing the PSU can be:

bad 3D performance
crashing games
spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
freezing during gameplay
PSU overload can cause it to break down

I wish I could be more positive, but I don't want you to buy a new card and run into problems.

Have you considered upgrading the PSU? Either of these would be a good option if they fit in your budget and in your case:

Antec Earthwatts 380w - $48 with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

Corsair Builder Series 430w - $23 after rebate and with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139017

It would be nice if you could stretch to this one, and have capacity for a real good video card should you decide for a better upgrade:

Corsair Builder series - 600w - $51 after rebate and with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019

However, since I don't know what CPU you have I have no idea if it can handle a stronger card.

Also thsoe test are done on PC`s that use ALOT more power then mine and my compyuter is a low profile computer doesnt use that much watts

 

[kareemgeorge]

You'll be fine with the HD 5450. It only draws 9.2w when gaming, however, it is far from a gaming card. More for multimedia than anything else.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/radeon-hd5670-hd5570-hd5450/rdw_cdr_power.png

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5670-hd5570-hd5450_6.html#sect0

Wow thanks i think thats about right but what was the other guy talkign about? saying taht the card uses like 186 watts alone? like just the card uses that much watts 186 watts is more then what whole computer by them selfs use let alone the video card

 

[jaguarskx]

Wow thanks i think thats about right but what was the other guy talkign about? saying taht the card uses like 186 watts alone? like just the card uses that much watts 186 watts is more then what whole computer by them selfs use let alone the video card

It was either a poorly written response or bad interpretation of the data in those articles.

The review regarding the GeForce 210 and 220 were for an overclocked Core i7 965 @ 3.7GHz. A responsible brand name wouldn't even stick a stock speed Core i7 965 with a 220w PSU anyway.

When idling the PC with the GeForce 210 drew 164w and while gaming it drew 186w. But that is for the entire system not just the video card. Additionally, that 22w difference is not solely on the video card since the CPU also ramps up while gaming.

 

[kareemgeorge]

It was either a poorly written response or bad interpretation of the data in those articles.

The review regarding the GeForce 210 and 220 were for an overclocked Core i7 965 @ 3.7GHz. A responsible brand name wouldn't even stick a stock speed Core i7 965 with a 220w PSU anyway.

When idling the PC with the GeForce 210 drew 164w and while gaming it drew 186w. But that is for the entire system not just the video card. Additionally, that 22w difference is not solely on the video card since the CPU also ramps up while gaming.

Ah i thought it was the overall system so im safe with the hd 5450?

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah, you'll be fine unless you have an overclocked Core i7 965 CPU in your system.

 

[kareemgeorge]

Yeah, you'll be fine unless you have an overclocked Core i7 965 CPU in your system.

Hahahah xD thank you very much jag you cleared up alot of issues with me just ordered this card so was kinda nervous thanks again i really appreciate it

 

[rockyjohn]

I agree that the 17-965 uses more power than his system will.


Regarding the card vs. system issue, in my post near the top I wrote (bold added for highlight):

"Here are two reviews from respected sites, one showing that the system uses 201w with no load and 232w under load and the second just reports the minimun requirement of 300w. "

And regarding the last half of the sentence above, how did I misinterpret that from the article posted? Here is a quote from that linked article:

"So here's my power supply recommendation:
"Radeon HD 5450 (single GPU)
"The card requires you to have a 300 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a mainstream system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 30 Amps available on the +12 volts rails. "

How is that different than what I reported?