Working with 300W

[halomademeapc]

Hey, my friend wants to get a graphics card for his computer http://www.asus.com/Desktop/Entertainment/Essentio_CM6730/#overview . CPU: http://ark.intel.com/products/53445/Intel-Core-i5-2310-Processor-(6M-Cache-2_90-GHz) . I have a 300W PSU as well, and my GT440 works famously, but I'm sure that my card is no longer a good buying option considering that it's now two series old. He is looking to spend under $70 and is willing to buy online. He'll probably get it sometime around summer and will most likely want a Nvidia card for CUDA and 3D Vision. It doesn't need to be a really powerful card, as his monitory is only 1280x768, but it does need to be able to run games such as Skyrim smoothly.

 

[rolli59]

Nvidia options are not many and the GT440 or GT240 would be the only low power solutions that could game reasonably. HD6670 from the red team is currently the best GPU that will run on 300watt PSU in his price range http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600083901%20600144219&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%206670

 

[DM186]

^+1
You are limited on what GPU's you can run on a 300w PSU. Then since it is a oem for that PC I wouldn't try to push to a higher GPU other than what was stated. Good luck to you.

 

[jaguarskx]

The best performing card that can work with a 300w PSU is the Radeon HD 7750. It's better than the HD 6670 and it also uses less power. Click following for benchmarks:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7750/6.html

 

[jaguarskx]

If you want to stick with nVidia, then the best card would be another GT 440 because nVidia card have pretty high power requirements.

Here's the max power consumption from the same review as above:

 

[CaedenV]

CUDA and 3D vision are simply not going to work on a 300W PSU, so I would not jump on the nVidia train for those reasons unless investing in a much larger PSU ($75) and a much larger GPU ($200+). Just look for the most performance per watt, and take what is available.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

The 7750 is the fastest with the lowest power consumption and would work well with a 300w psu but above budget.
The 6670 is the fastest in that price range dollars that will run on a 300w psu

 

[jaguarskx]

Ahh... I missed the $70 budget.

Okay, the best option is the Radeon HD 6670.

 

[masterjaw]

CUDA and 3D vision will not go well with lower Nvidia cards (same analogy for Physx). It is possible but not optimal. Unless you're really planning to buy a 3d kit which is obviously more expensive than your card.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

For 3d and.such the budget will have to increase by alot.
For 3d id recommend a sli setup and physx an accompanied gt240 with another higher end card.
So you see wine taste on a beer budget doesnt work in this situation
A 6670 is best for the price on that psu that you can do with your budget

 

[DM186]

I agree with the 6670 is your best option for what you want to do.