350Watt Power Supply ? Helpp

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jh0n9

Limp Gawd
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Jul 21, 2006
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Studio 540 Mini-Tower: Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB)
RAID 0
16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
8 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (4 DIMMs)
640 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
56Kbps Data/Fax Modem
USB Multimedia Keyboard
Hard Drive Cable
Image Restore Software
USB Optical two button mouse
350Watt Bentec Power Supply (Dell Stock)

Can anyone suggest a good video card for my rig? im willing to spent $70 or under..
help me outtt, i need the fastest one for my kind of power supply..
and if u have anyone suggestions for power supply im willing to spend $30 or under..
 
I've seen several successfully use as much as a 8800GT 512MB in a Inspiron 530 w/ Q6600 with the Dell 300W supply.

The Q8200 should use less than the Q6600. Combined with that, and that I've heard Dell OEM powersupplies are actually decent, as in can supply the power they are rated for.
This Extreme edition Q9650 system + GeFroce GTX285 system might pull as much as 382W from the wall:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/04/09/msi_n285gtx_superpipe_oc/9

Which means the PSU was having to deliver about 305W DC. I'm not sure I'd want to push my luck that far, but the GTX285 cost way more than $70. So I imagine if you can find it for $70 then whatever it is you can run it.
 
Menelmarar said:
I've seen several successfully use as much as a 8800GT 512MB in a Inspiron 530 w/ Q6600 with the Dell 300W supply.

The Q8200 should use less than the Q6600. Combined with that, and that I've heard Dell OEM powersupplies are actually decent, as in can supply the power they are rated for.
This Extreme edition Q9650 system + GeFroce GTX285 system might pull as much as 382W from the wall:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/04/09/msi_n285gtx_superpipe_oc/9

Which means the PSU was having to deliver about 305W DC. I'm not sure I'd want to push my luck that far, but the GTX285 cost way more than $70. So I imagine if you can find it for $70 then whatever it is you can run it.
Click to expand...
well a Q6600 and 8800gt could easily pull close to 250watts. a 300 watt psu usually only has 17-18 amps on the 12v so that setup would be foolish to run.

also I have never seen a Q6600 Dell with a 300watt psu in the first place. they had 350-375 watts psu at first and then upgraded to over 400 watt models back when the Q6600 was used. I remember that because I configured several pcs on their website. when you selected the Q6600 it had a pop up showing that the psu was upgraded. in other words only the first few Q6600 comps had a psu below 400watts and even those are at least 350watts form what I have seen.
 
Valset said:
ausus 4670 1gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121328 $65 AR and no PCI-e power cable required. assuming that dell is decent 350 it should not be a problem. you can save 5 to 10 bucks by getting a 512mb instead

here is an HIS model with a better cooling option (vents out side your case like a larger card, dual slot cooler) also 65 AR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161287
Click to expand...
a 4670 is fine but there is no reason to get a 1gb model.
 
so 4670 is my best bet??

i mean i have $100..

maybe i can spend 30 on a new power supply and get a better video card than 4670?

suggestion guys?
 
jh0n9 said:
so 4670 is my best bet??

i mean i have $100..

maybe i can spend 30 on a new power supply and get a better video card than 4670?

suggestion guys?
Click to expand...
a 4770 if you could find it would be great. with your cpu stuck at 2.33 a super high end card wouldnt be able to be fully utilized anyway especially since only a handful of games take advantage of more than two cores.
 
jh0n9 said:
so 4670 is my best bet??

i mean i have $100..

maybe i can spend 30 on a new power supply and get a better video card than 4670?

suggestion guys?
Click to expand...

your not likely to find a good PSU for 30 dollars that is going to give you a better experience. if you increase your budget then you can get a 4850 and antec 430 EA for around 150

I would spend the extra 30 dollars on an after market heat sink for your CPU and OC it if possible.

spend two hundered on a new PSU, 4870/GTX260, and the heat sink and you will be sitting pretty good
 
cannondale06 said:
well a Q6600 and 8800gt could easily pull close to 250watts. a 300 watt psu usually only has 17-18 amps on the 12v so that setup would be foolish to run.

also I have never seen a Q6600 Dell with a 300watt psu in the first place. they had 350-375 watts psu at first and then upgraded to over 400 watt models back when the Q6600 was used. I remember that because I configured several pcs on their website. when you selected the Q6600 it had a pop up showing that the psu was upgraded. in other words only the first few Q6600 comps had a psu below 400watts and even those are at least 350watts form what I have seen.
Click to expand...
Dell shipped 300W's in their standard desktops, 350W's if they came preconfigured with an ATI graphics card. Their spec page is not working for me, but cnet's review of it does:
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-530-desktop/4507-3118_7-33193806.html

I'm not commenting on t foolishness, just stating what I've seen others do and succeed for a very budget gaming rig.
 
jh0n9 said:
so 4670 is my best bet??

i mean i have $100..

maybe i can spend 30 on a new power supply and get a better video card than 4670?

suggestion guys?
Click to expand...

No power supply for $30 is going to be better than the Dell, keep it.
 
Valset said:
your not likely to find a good PSU for 30 dollars that is going to give you a better experience. if you increase your budget then you can get a 4850 and antec 430 EA for around 150

I would spend the extra 30 dollars on an after market heat sink for your CPU and OC it if possible.

spend two hundered on a new PSU, 4870/GTX260, and the heat sink and you will be sitting pretty good
Click to expand...

You can't OC on a Dell motherboard. And it would be a total waste of effort, the Q8200 is plenty of CPU, he's going to be GPU limited if anything playing games.
 
Menelmarar said:
You can't OC on a Dell motherboard. And it would be a total waste of effort, the Q8200 is plenty of CPU, he's going to be GPU limited if anything playing games.
Click to expand...
actually the Q8200 would be a noticeable bottleneck in many games with a higher end card such as a 4850 or better. few games utilize more than two cores and most that do will still be as fast or faster with higher clocked dual cores of the same architecture. of course every game is different and the res and actual card being used would play a huge part in determining how much he would be missing out on compared to being able to run higher clocks. anyway a 4770 would still be a nice match but if he wants to keep it under $70 a 4670 is really about it.
 
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Menelmarar said:
No power supply for $30 is going to be better than the Dell, keep it.
Click to expand...


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

Just bought this Corsair for a secondary rig to power an 8800GT I had laying around that replaced my old X850XT which had crapped out. Got it for $29.99 shipped, that is after I get the $20 rebate back. :p
Price is back up now though. $44.99 shipped after $10 rebate. :(

It's got a single 30amp 12v rail, should run a HD4870 or GTX260 just fine with what he has in his system.
 
Check FS/FT. Might be able to snag a new psu and video card for within your price range. I see no reason someone wouldn't be willing to sell a 4850 and 500 watt psu for 60/40.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
If you don't want to buy used (I don't), your best bet would either be a Radeon HD4670/4770, or potentially a Geforce 9800GT (though the Geforce does draw more power, you would have to watch about that)
 
Get the 4670. It's your best bet for low power draw performance. And the 4770's are usually over $100 so that's out of your price range.

Zipzoomfly has the Coolmax CA-450 for $27. The shipping is free if you select 5-7 day service.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=360925

Sapphire 4670 512MB for $52 after bing cashback. Oh and apparently there's a $10 MIR as well. So it'll end up being $42.
http://www.bing.com/shopping/Sapphi...ck="1"]&wf=Commerce&scope=cashback&FORM=ENCA0

Take the 20 bucks you save and buy yourself some popcorn. Or maybe choose to buy a slightly beefier PSU.

Here's an Antec Earthwatts 430W for $47 after bing cashback at the Egg.
http://www.bing.com/shopping/Antec-...E4FDE9645D2EEB8C9225"]&wf=Commerce&FORM=ENCA3
 
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Spend the 100 on a power supply unless you plan on dumping the rig very soon, which it doesn't sound like you do, and if you buy somethin nice you can always take it to the next machine. I have personally built hundreds of systems, and repaired thousands and I can say with confidence that a good PS is very important. You throw a new card in that machine and I think there's a good chance you will have problems, maybe just annoyances where it locks up when you're playing a game, maybe it will fry something. Don't take the chance.
This looks like a good deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371025
 
vjcsmoke said:
Zipzoomfly has the Coolmax CA-450 for $27. The shipping is free if you select 5-7 day service.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=360925
Click to expand...

Poor recommendation for the following reasons:
- It has no APFC which is common among very low quality PSUs.
- Inclusion of the -5V rail meaning that it's based on the older ATX 2.0 specs which means that it's not that suitable for a modern system
- Only has 22A on the +12V rail which is ridiculously low for a 450W PSU considering that there are quality 300W PSUs with 24A on the +12V rail, 380W PSUs with 27A on the +12V rail, and 400W and 430W PSUs with 30A on the +12V rail
- Coolmax is well known for making/selecting/branding low quality PSUs.
 
Enlefo said:
Spend the 100 on a power supply unless you plan on dumping the rig very soon, which it doesn't sound like you do, and if you buy somethin nice you can always take it to the next machine. I have personally built hundreds of systems, and repaired thousands and I can say with confidence that a good PS is very important. You throw a new card in that machine and I think there's a good chance you will have problems, maybe just annoyances where it locks up when you're playing a game, maybe it will fry something. Don't take the chance.
This looks like a good deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371025
Click to expand...
That is entirely silly and ridiculous for a stock Dell computer, and gains the OP nothing. Not only that but it goes well over his budget. Did you even read the first post?
 
Menelmarar said:
That is entirely silly and ridiculous for a stock Dell computer, and gains the OP nothing. Not only that but it goes well over his budget. Did you even read the first post?
Click to expand...

Yes, yes I did read the first post. A quad core, and a new vid card, on 350w? Seriously? This reminds me of the old emachine days where they stuck a 175 watt PS in a machine that maxed 180 watts.
Sure he could waste 50 bucks on upgrading his PS a measle 80 watts and picking up that antec. I would not buy a coolmax.
I chose my words carefully. People UNDERFUND there power supplies and they pay for it later. I stick by my previous statement. Maybe he could spend 75 on a 600w instead of a 100 on a 750 if you're really trying to pinch pennies.
 
Enlefo said:
Yes, yes I did read the first post. A quad core, and a new vid card, on 350w? Seriously? This reminds me of the old emachine days where they stuck a 175 watt PS in a machine that maxed 180 watts.
Sure he could waste 50 bucks on upgrading his PS a measle 80 watts and picking up that antec. I would not buy a coolmax.
I chose my words carefully. People UNDERFUND there power supplies and they pay for it later. I stick by my previous statement. Maybe he could spend 75 on a 600w instead of a 100 on a 750 if you're really trying to pinch pennies.
Click to expand...
he doesnt need anything close to 600 watts. thats a very low power quad and very basic system. a high quality 400-450 watt psu is more than enough for that pc with a 4850 or so. heck with a 4770 there would be no need to even upgrade the psu if he didnt want to. that system would not even pull 200 watts under typical gaming load with a 4770.
 
Menelmarar said:
Dell shipped 300W's in their standard desktops, 350W's if they came preconfigured with an ATI graphics card. Their spec page is not working for me, but cnet's review of it does:
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-530-desktop/4507-3118_7-33193806.html

I'm not commenting on t foolishness, just stating what I've seen others do and succeed for a very budget gaming rig.
Click to expand...
Quad core systems also get the larger PSU, whether or not a discrete video card is installed.

I'm one of those who have used an 8800GT with the stock Dell 530 PSU in a quad core system without problems. People tend to far overestimate power consumption and underestimate how much power a psu can reliably supply. My most power hungry system overall is the overclocked Phenom system in sig and it uses an EA380.

I'm not a big fan of putting relatively high power usage cards into Dell microATX cases, whether or not you replace the PSU. The OP linked a 2 slot cooler in the other thread and that helps. It's just not a very roomy case and everything tends to run pretty warm.
 
Hey guys i just got good money (illegally)......... sorry was desperate to get my 4870 running!
Well my budget for a new PSU now is $120 below... i need the best PSU out there than cost that much or less.
 
jh0n9 said:
Hey guys i just got good money (illegally)......... sorry was desperate to get my 4870 running!
Well my budget for a new PSU now is $120 below... i need the best PSU out there than cost that much or less.
Click to expand...

Good budget choices:
$80 - Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU
$120 - Corsair 750TX 750W PSU
 
jh0n9 said:
what.....
i was thinking about getting a GTX 275 or 4890
Click to expand...

cannondale06 is saying that your CPU will limit your performance in games with cards as low as the HD4870 and GTX 260. I disagree however depending on what's the max resolution of your LCD monitor.
 
jh0n9 said:
what.....
i was thinking about getting a GTX 275 or 4890
Click to expand...
well your cpu is slow and and also lacks the cache of the faster Core 2 cpus. only in the two or three games that effectivle use more than two cores would the fact that ypou have a quad core even help. in other words most of the few multi threaded would actually be faster on a higher clocked dual core of the same architecture you wont be able to even see the advantage that the gtx275/4890 have over the gtx260/4870.
 
Danny Bui said:
cannondale06 is saying that your CPU will limit your performance in games with cards as low as the HD4870 and GTX 260. I disagree however depending on what's the max resolution of your LCD monitor.
Click to expand...
it will slightly limit it even at 1920. of course the lower you go the more it would be apparent. his cpu would be no faster than my E8500 at 2.33 in 99% of games and if I lower my cpu to that speed I will tank in many games even with my 192sp gtx260.
 
cannondale06 said:
it will slightly limit it even at 1920. of course the lower you go the more it would be apparent. his cpu would be no faster than my E8500 at 2.33 in 99% of games and if I lower my cpu to that speed I will tank in many games even with my 192sp gtx260.
Click to expand...
Have you actually tried lowering your clock speed and testing it out yourself? I think you're overly exaggerating the FPS drop/limitation the OP would experience with his current CPU. It'll probably be a 5FPS difference.
 
Danny Bui said:
Have you actually tried lowering your clock speed and testing it out yourself? I think you're overly exaggerating the FPS drop/limitation the OP would experience with his current CPU. It'll probably be a 5FPS difference.
Click to expand...
yes I have and depending on the game it was very noticeable. even if it was only 5-7 fps that would make going with a 30% faster card silly because he would already be getting limited by the cpu in some games.
 
Danny Bui said:
Poor recommendation for the following reasons:
- It has no APFC which is common among very low quality PSUs.
- Inclusion of the -5V rail meaning that it's based on the older ATX 2.0 specs which means that it's not that suitable for a modern system
- Only has 22A on the +12V rail which is ridiculously low for a 450W PSU considering that there are quality 300W PSUs with 24A on the +12V rail, 380W PSUs with 27A on the +12V rail, and 400W and 430W PSUs with 30A on the +12V rail
- Coolmax is well known for making/selecting/branding low quality PSUs.
Click to expand...

He asked for a $30 psu. I doubt it's very good. But it is under $30. I'd go with the Antec 430 if I were him, but everyone's budget varies.
 
cannondale06 said:
yes I have and depending on the game it was very noticeable. even if it was only 5-7 fps that would make going with a 30% faster card silly because he would already be getting limited by the cpu in some games.
Click to expand...

It's only 5 FPS. That's not a big difference. Yes there is a CPU limitation but it's small enough IMO that a new video card still makes sense. A new and faster C2D/C2Q CPU would not justify the additional cash for just a mere 5FPS. However a faster video card like the HD4870 or HD4890 would still provide a noticeable performance increase worthy of their costs.

vjcsmoke said:
He asked for a $30 psu. I doubt it's very good. But it is under $30. I'd go with the Antec 430 if I were him, but everyone's budget varies.
Click to expand...
And? He may have asked for a $30 PSU but you're not doing him any good by recommending a POS. You also might give him the idea that a $30 PSU would be sufficient for his gaming PC, which it clearly isn't.
 
OP we really need to know what res you will be gaming at. at 1920 a gtx260 or 4870 would be good for you. at 1680 a gtx260 or 4870 would still be good but you would not come close to fully pushing either in many games with that cpu.
 
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Danny Bui said:
And? He may have asked for a $30 PSU but you're not doing him any good by recommending a POS. You also might give him the idea that a $30 PSU would be sufficient for his gaming PC, which it clearly isn't.
Click to expand...

Let's put it this way. Can you recommend a BETTER PSU for under $30? Probably NOT.

Sure if the budget is $100 I can recommend a lot better PSUs, but that doesn't answer the question in the budget alloted. And I did in fact recommend a perfectly sensible Antec 430 if he would be willing to spend 20 bucks more.

Now OP says he has more money to spend. You can get a Seasonic S12 550W for $85 after bing cashback at the egg. It should easily power any single GPU system. It also has $10 MIR that will bring it down to 75.

http://www.bing.com/shopping/SeaSon...ck="1"]&wf=Commerce&scope=cashback&FORM=ENCA2
 
 
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Danny Bui said:
It's only 5 FPS. That's not a big difference. Yes there is a CPU limitation but it's small enough IMO that a new video card still makes sense. A new and faster C2D/C2Q CPU would not justify the additional cash for just a mere 5FPS. However a faster video card like the HD4870 or HD4890 would still provide a noticeable performance increase worthy of their costs.
Click to expand...
I said "even if" its only 5fps. you seemed to have missed the whole point. I didnt say anything about getting a better cpu. I said if he is already not going to be able to push a gtx260 fully then why buy an even faster card than it??? there is no point in getting a gtx275 since the gtx260 will not even be fully pushed with his cpu especially below.



perhaps this will prove to you what i am saying. I used 1920x1080 which should be very gpu dependent.


Settings: Demo(Ranch Small), 1920x1080 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen, Anti-Aliasing(None), VSync(No), Overall Quality(Very High), Vegetation(Very High), Shading(Very High), Terrain(Very High), Geometry(Very High), Post FX(High), Texture(Very High), Shadow(Very High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(Very High), Physics(Very High), RealTrees(Very High)

E8500 at 2.33 gtx260 at 576/1188/1990

Total Frames: 2485, Total Time: 51.00s
Average Framerate: 48.72
Max. Framerate: 75.22 (Frame:395, 6.59s)
Min. Framerate: 32.19 (Frame:1671, 34.07s)

now with the gtx overclocked to 666/1392/2200

Total Frames: 2448, Total Time: 51.01s
Average Framerate: 47.99
Max. Framerate: 73.21 (Frame:407, 6.94s)
Min. Framerate: 32.33 (Frame:1665, 34.60s)

now with the E8500 at 3.16 and the gtx260 at 666/1392/2200

Total Frames: 3024, Total Time: 51.01s
Average Framerate: 59.28
Max. Framerate: 92.79 (Frame:489, 6.69s)
Min. Framerate: 40.40 (Frame:2042, 34.11s)

yep in Far Cry 2 a faster cpu than 2.33 is what it takes to push a gtx260 even at 1920x1080. a faster cpu gave a 25% increase in framerate. even at 1920x1080 with the cpu at 2.33 even overclocking the gtx260 will do nothing because he would be cpu limited. a gtx275 would be silly as that means he would be even more cpu limited. if this was done at a lower res than 1920x1080 it would prove my point even more. with his current setup having more than gtx260 will be wasted in many games at 1920. pretty much every game below that res would be just as fast with the gtx260 as it would on a gtx275 due to that cpu.
 
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jh0n9 said:
Ive been searching around and im left with two choices of PSUs

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V

And yes i have decided to stay with 4870 but i have options, any help??? :

HIS Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 Supported IceQ 4+ Turbo Video Card

XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5

XFX HD-487A-ZHDC Radeon HD 4870 1GB XXX 256-bit GDDR5

XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5

VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
Click to expand...

If you can afford to lay down the cash, and plan to crossfire down the road, go with the 850, it has a lot of PCIE connectors and will 'futureproof' your system better. As for the video cards, if you want a quiet card, go with the vapor-x 4870. If you don't care about noise, the XFX has a nice double lifetime protection plan, so it's easier to resell at a later date.

If you don't plan to ever run multi-gpus you can purchase a less expensive 500-600W PSU without running into power issues as long as it's fairly high quality.
 
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