Radeon HD 6450 on 250w PSU?

[Marcappuccino]

Hello,

I'm preparing all the things I need to buy (Already bought motherboard - ASUS M5A78L-M LX V2) which includes Memory, CPU, and the GPU. The GPU that I had in mind was the AMD Radeon HD 6450, although AMD states on their System Requirements page for this card that a "400w PSU is recommended"

I have a 250w Delta Electronics PSU which came bundled with the Novatech slim case I bought (I beleive it is the TFX12V form factor), and this raises a problem seeing as the recommended PSU wattage is 400w.
I acknowledge that the amp(er)age has a mmajor part in this, and so here is the description on the PSU:

Model: DPS-250AB-18 E REV: 02 F
Input: 115 ~/ 7A, 230V ~/ 4A
47-63Hz
Output: +12V1 === / 8A, +12V2 === / 14A,
+5V === / 18A, -12V === / 0.3A,
+3.3V === / 18A, +5VSB === / 2A,
+3.3V & +5V TOTAL COMBINED OUTPUT NOT EXCEED 115W
+3.3V + +5V 115W
+3.3V + +5V 115W

...or if you prefer an image:

Could you advise me whether my PSU could support this GPU or not and whether another GPU (Radeon HD 5450, say) could be supported under my circumstances.

PS. By the way, I tried this PSU calculator - eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, and I entered in the 6450, my hoped for CPU (Athlon II X2 250), Hard Drive, Memory, etc., and it output a minimum wattage of 179w and a recommended wattage of 229w. The Newegg PSU Calc outputs 224w, and Asus' PSU Calc (My Motherboard's manufacturer) outputs 250w - What could this mean!?

Thanks.

 

[Sunius]

It will work. HD 6450 barely requires power.

 

[Marcappuccino]

Are you sure?
Other forums suggest otherwise (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120310020937AAejrfY, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120309121712AAYcllN)
THough thanks for the reply.

(Don't want to mess anything up on my first build.)

 

[Sunius]

I am 100% sure. It consumes 26 watts of power at PEAK.

 

[Deemo13]

It should work perfectly fine.

 

[Marcappuccino]

What about amperage? Is that important?

 

[Sunius]

Wattage = Voltage * Amperage.

So if it uses 26 watts from 12 volt rail, it will use 2.17 amperes.

 

[Marcappuccino]

So why does AMD say that I need a 400w PSU? Is it for optimal performance?

 

[Sunius]

To be save. If some one who uses 10 hard drives running off their 300 watt power supply tries to run the card, they would have no right to sue AMD if his power supply explodes. It is fool-proof protection.

 

[Marcappuccino]

Ok, thanks!
Just to be sure, I am going to get:
- An AMD Athlon II X2 250 for CPU
- A 250GB SATA II HDD
- A Sapphire Radeon HD 6450 GPU
- 8GB (4x2) of Crucial Ballistix Sport memory
- A DVD/CD-RW Combo drive

Would these be too much for 250w?

 

[Sunius]

Not at all, 250w will handle it all easily. What will you use the system for? 8 GB of RAM seems like overkill though.

 

[Marcappuccino]

Really?
Would any of the components become bottlenecked?

 

[Sunius]

Not really. But you seem to be buying very low end CPU while paying a lot for RAM. It seems strange to spend more money for RAM than CPU unless you really have 40+ programs open at the same time. I don't know that though, you didn't tell what you will use the PC for .

 

[Marcappuccino]

Hmm.
Well, I was planning to install Ubuntu (Linux) - My profile pic - onto my machine, the primary use of which would be playing online 3D games and probably playing Windows games through Crossover (A compatibility layer), as well as using the PC as an all-purpose thing for browsing, troubleshooting, etc.
Though I already ordered the RAM. Whoops.

 

[Sunius]

Did you order HD 6450 already? It's a very slower graphics card not fit for gaming at all. It's made for watching movies. I'd suggest at least HD 6670 or even HD 7750 if you can afford it. They would both work with said power supply.

 

[Marcappuccino]

Oh ok. One of the major disadvantages of my case of which I currrently have is the fact that i need a low profile (LP) bracket in order for the card to fit into the case itself. I looked at the 6670 and it seems that the card is too big and I cannot find an LP bracket to go with it. The 7750 is, quite simply, out of my budget (£30-40 - £50 would be kind of pushing it).
Are there other Nvidia alternatives?

 

[Sunius]

Where are you from/where are you shopping :O HD 7750 costs around £80 at most places. There are few low profile models, you should be able to find some at UK shops:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102958

 

[Marcappuccino]

My budget is £30-40! How about the HD 6570? That's more expensive, and therefore must be better, right? It's also about £40.

 

[Sunius]

HD 6570 is way better than HD 6450. If it's the best you can afford, that's what you should buy.

 

[Marcappuccino]

I tried it on the eXtreme PSU Calc, and it surpassed the 250w point, specifically, 259w. I'm pretty worried that this is unsafe, so I think I'll go with the 6450.

 

[Sunius]

It's safe.

 

[Marcappuccino]

Can you be sure?

 

[Sunius]

I'm sure. On tom's hardware load tests, it didn't surpass 126.0 watts during 100% load test:

 

[Marcappuccino]

I tried again the 6570 in the PSU Calc, and it output 239w! That's good.
Now, I've found the MSI R(adeon)6570-MD1GD3/L(ow)P(rofile) Graphics Card for £45, and it does, as the name suggest, include low-profile brackets.
I'll probably get that now.

Also, my case has raised ridges with holes in them where it appears the screws are supposed to go. The case didn't come with any stand-offs, only the mounting screws.
So, should I mount the MB simply on those raised ridges?

Also, The PSU is 230V, but my power connector cable with the three holes says 250V on the underside of the end of the cable - is this OK to use?

 

[Sunius]

230V is input voltage. That's what socket on the wall operates at. 250W is output wattage. It's what power the PSU can output. Don't confuse the two .

You should put your motherboard on the raised ridges, then screw it to them. Check this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls