300w video card upgrade

[virg54]

Hello,
I need to upgrade my video card. The powr supply is 350w, so I need a 300w card. It 256 meg, so I need "bigger" (no where to go but up!) I have been looking for one on newegg.com (all out of stock) and eBay (none at 300w). I am doing all this because I want to run a 37" monitor (plug & play - no drivers available) for my Dad...his eyesight is failing. I could REALLY sure some help! Thanks in advance.

 

[Deemo13]

I would recommend a Radeon 5670/6670. Most would agree with me in that it is the most that will run on a power supply of that rating and is one of the best cards you can get for the money. It will certainly do well in projecting onto a 37" monitor. You can also make things in Windows larger, its specifically made for people who have not-so-great sight.

 

[jyjjy]

What is the current card and what can it not do that you want it to?

 

[vitornob]

Wait, wait, wait.
Which power supply is that one?

(It could be a generic 350w PSU that wouldn't handle a 100W VGA card.)

 

[Deemo13]

I don't think the 5670 even uses more than 75W at maximum, and since he is not gaming at all, the 5670 or even a 5570 would do fine.

 

[megamanx00]

I'd say the 6450 which would be best for this setup. It get's the job done if you're not doing any gaming but still helps decode blu ray and flash acceleration. There's also the 5570/6570 or 5550/6570 for any light gaming (like the Sims)

 

[beenthere]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_560_Ti/25.html

If you want to objectively, accurately and scientifically determine what PSU power is required for your Vid card and PC in both watts and 12v rail amps., the forum Utility link below will show you how easy it is to calculate this information and objectively determine which PSUs are quality built, reliable PSUs that can meet your needs. Be advised that the available 12v rail amps. is just as important as the total PSU wattage. You need both to be correct.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/314712-28-please-read-determine-power-required

 

[virg54]

You guys are GREAT! Thanks for the quick replies!

As I stated, my Dad's eyesight is failing. With a 24" monitor, the display has to be HUGE for him to read it, and he has to more the display left and right, up and down, to do the simplest things. Makes me dizzy watching him and I can see clearly.

I picked up a used monitor/TV (plug and play - no drivers available) with a 37" screen, hoping to give him more "real estate"...less moving of the image around...bigger letters...bigger images...

Plugged it in and the best I can get is 600 x 400 in 8-bit. Any resolution (in 16-bit or 32-bit) greater than that and it crashed with "No signal, VGA input". I have adjusted every setting I can think of, in and out of safe mode. Updated all the drivers. Maddenning. I hook up my Dell Inspiron E1705, and it is works beautifully. Accepts all resolution changes I make without even a whimper.

The power supply is MAX 350W. The memory on the card is 256M. PCI slot. No additional power supply connection. The card according to Belarc...

ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
Processor: 0x9588
Memory: 256 MB
Driver: AMD
Driver Version: 8.892.0.0, 9-8-2011

I really want to solve this once and for all. The 37" screen may still not be big enough, and I may have to go even bigger in the future. I want it to be able to handle resolution issues, good graphics, good clarity...gaming is really not a concern...

I appreciate all the help and look follow to any suggestions, including the best place to purchase the recommendation.

 

[jyjjy]

PCI slot? Does that mean the computer doesn't have a PCI-E x16?
What kind of port are you connecting the TV to the card with?

 

[coldest]

If you have a little more money, then 5670/6670, they are about 80 USD or 5570/6570 at about 60ish USD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161386
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102934

 

[virg54]

It is PCIx16

 

[virg54]

I am not even going to hook up the TV. Maybe later... The monitor is 10x more important than the TV...

 

[virg54]

The Radeon recommendations...

I checked all of them on the AMD site...they all require 400W minimum.

I need 300W...

 

[jyjjy]

The power requirements on the AMD site are not accurate.

 

[virg54]

If they are not accurate, what are they? 350W? 377.987W? 323.876W Respectfully, if my power supply is 350W max., and I need 300W, I do not see how I can go with a card that the manufacturer states is 400W minimum... Again, respectfully, "...not accurate"...can cover a lot of territory...

Isn't there a 300W card out there anymore?

 

[jyjjy]

All of the cards people have suggested lack a power connector. This means they can only be powered by the PCI-E port itself which is limited to 75w. So none of the cards can possibly use more than that and none of them even come particularly close actually. If these cards use less than 75w then where does the 400w number come from? It is entirely made up. AMD in particular vastly overestimates the required power by, I guess, inventing a highly decked out system with an incredibly low quality PSU and assuming that is what you will be putting the card in.
Here is a chart of the actual power used by video cards;
http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
If you compare only one of the cards suggested, the HD6670, uses more power than your current HD2600 XT and that one only by 4 watts.
My recommendation is this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133391
It's a good deal. More powerful than you need really and is decently capable for gaming at low resolutions, but lesser cards aren't much cheaper anyway. It uses less power than your current card and if you check the Nvidia site it will tell you it only needs a 300w PSU(not because it uses less power than the AMD cards, it doesn't really, but because Nvidia's estimates are closer to reality than AMD's.)