Graphics card for 300 Watt psu

[rajgot]

My desktop has no graphics card and i wanted to get one mainly for improved browsing and video. It has to be <=300 Watt and PCIe x16 with preferably a VGA out. I am looking for something cheap and will be happy with 5 year old tech. Can someone please recommend what fits the bill?

 

[Sunius]

I suppose you will not be playing computer games? Then I suggest getting something like this to ensure compatibility:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134147

It will work on your power supply without any problems.

 

[boyabunda]

Radeon HD 7750:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131481

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102969

 

[manofchalk]

^+1

 

[Sunius]

I would personally avoid newer AMD cards for compatibility reasons (the OPs PC is old and probably has PCIe 1.0 slot). Check this article out:

http://www.overclock.net/a/the-final-answer-to-the-controversial-pcie-x16-version-compatibility

 

[manofchalk]

His build may be old, but there would still be a PCI-Gen2 16x slot on a 5yr old machine.
I know there were issues between Gen2 cards and 1.1 slots.

The motherboard your using would help OP, just so we know whether this is even a possible issue.

 

[rajgot]

My desktop is Gateway GT5238e, specs are http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1009189/1009189sp2.shtml. The specs only say PCI Express ×16. I added a 2TB caviar green HD and 4GB RAM to this.
Also i was looking to buy something around $15 on ebay, would ATI Radeon X300 or X600 work.

 

[VAPOR X]

Bought one of these for my Dell GX280 surf machine 250 watt and it improved from the on board graphics, has a VGA adapter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/F109-DELL-ATI-RADEON-X600-SE-128MB-PCI-EXPRESS-X16-VIDEO-CARD-DVI-I-H9142-/350640670213?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item51a3d00605

 

[rajgot]

A friend told about this tool http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html to check if my power supply will be good enough for a given video card. This is just the tool i needed to check if what i like on ebay will work for me or not.

 

[rajgot]

Best answer selected by rajgot.