5670 on a stock 250W power supply?

[the_thr34t]

Hey guys, so a friend of mine wants to get into PC gaming but wants to spend $100 max. I was looking at the 5670 for him and it looks like a pretty solid card for $80 - $90, the only thing is, he told me his current specs today and I just noticed he has a stock 250W power supply.

He owns an HP Pavilion p7-1054. I'm not too sure if the 5670 would work well in his PC, according to http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5670,2533-17.html, it has a pretty low power draw, but IDK, I'm not to knowledgeable with PCs myself haha.

 

[geofelt]

AMD recommends 400w:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/ati-radeon-hd-5670-overview/pages/ati-radeon-hd-5670-overview.aspx#3

 

[mace200200]

My brother runs a 5450 on a stock 220w, that's pushing it and running a 5670 would be pushing it even more.

 

[dudewitbow]

what i would recommend is saving some more and make a better jump by buying a 430w psu + a card. I dont think jumping onto a gpu as of now would be the best of ideas.

on paper, the power draw wouldnt be alot and can fit the psu, its the psu quality which will not work well with the card. as above, the 5450 is one of the most absolute low power consumption card you can get, and apparently he has problems with the OEM psu likely due to quality.


when speaking about PSU, its not the wattage on the psu thats most important, its the amperage on the 12v rail as well as the fact that the psu must have the power to power the card continuously at that wattage. although the psu is 250w, only the 12v rail will decide how many actual watts can be sent to your gpu, and if its old, deterioration of the psu will decrease its maximum.

 

[deadlockedworld]

No. Do not put it in an HP. It will die, he will have voided warranty, etc. HP is one of the lower quality brands-- the power supply they use cannot handle a real card (i might risk it with certain dell models).

A halfway decent PSU (Corsair 430w) is only $20. Get that instead of trying to cut corners.
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/302833

 

[dudewitbow]

This would be my advice on what should happen. say your friends budget is 90$(took the upper limit)

For now, buy the Corsair 430w above with code EMCNDJH37, the total should come out as 40$ free shipping.(50$ budget left) When you get the PSU, complete the 20$ mail in rebate and hope that it goes through. If you get the 20$ rebate(will take quite awhile probably) your budget goes back to 70$ at that point you can probably buy a ddr3 6670 or something.

 

[the_thr34t]

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate all the comments. I'll tell him to buy the PSU and we'll choose another card from there.

 

[the_thr34t]

Best answer selected by the_thr34t.