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Dell Inspiron 545s Graphics Card Upgrade (250 watt PSU)

Tags:
  • Dell Inspiron
  • MSI R7750 Power Edition
  • Graphics Cards
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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a b U Graphics card
March 27, 2013 6:52:32 PM

I am thinking to upgrade my Nvidia Geforce 210 with a better medium fast gaming graphics card.

I have a Dell PSU of max wattage - 250 watts.

My system config is as follows -
(1) Intel Core 2 Duo, E7500 (Max wattage - 60 watts)
(2) 3 GB DDR2 RAM
(3) 320 GB SATA HDD

Would MSI R7750 Power Edition (MAX WATTAGE - 55 watts) work with my PSU ?

More about : dell inspiron 545s graphics card upgrade 250 watt psu

a c 342 U Graphics card
March 27, 2013 7:26:11 PM

With that small of a power supply, I'm afraid you'll run into power problems when the card is stressed in gaming. I'm not sure why AMD spec'd it to require a 6-pin PCIe power cable. (You probably don't have one from your PSU) The slot alone provides 75W and the card maxes out at 55W. It'll be a close call, but I would feel better if you had at least a 300W PSU.
a b U Graphics card
March 27, 2013 9:25:38 PM

clutchc said:
With that small of a power supply, I'm afraid you'll run into power problems when the card is stressed in gaming. It'll be a close call, but I would feel better if you had at least a 300W PSU.


Thanks, but can you suggest any method by which I can power my graphics card externally. (USING External Power Supply Cable)
a c 342 U Graphics card
March 28, 2013 2:15:33 PM

Most cards that require an external PCIe power cable come with at least one PCIe to Molex adapter so you can use any un-used Molex from your PSU. If the card didn't come with one you can pick one up almost anywhere that handles PC parts.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

If you go for the HD 7770, you may want to consider picking up one of these: http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricit...
Plug it into your electrical outlet and plug your PC into it. Then you can watch your Wattage as you stress the PC to see if it is nearing max or not. The reading on the meter will actually be a bit higher than the PC's PSU is actually using due to power factor loss. And the device can be used for any device around the house that you want to monitor Volts, amp, watts, etc. You can even program it with your KW/Hr rate to watch your electric cost for the device.
!