Good video card that'll work on 300W PSU?

O

octoberasian

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So, a friend has this little computer he does some light gaming on besides using it for work. It's old and is running an A4-3400 APU and 4GB RAM with Win 7 on it. The problem is that the PSU is one of those cheap ones that came with the case-- 300W. He would like to know if there is an external video card that can run on it besides the Radeon 6450 that the AMD box suggests pairing the iGPU with. He won't upgrade the PSU as the added weight would jump the shipping costs.

Note: He lives in Barbados as an expat and works from home. Items shipped to him usually take a month or more and can be pricey, hence why he won't upgrade his computer unless absolutely necessary.

I've been wracking my brain out here in California because most video cards I see in the entry level are requiring 400W to 450W.

Anyone know a newer card he can squeeze into his computer on his lowly 300W PSU?

Thank you.
 
GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487028
best you will do.....as long as you not using some generic no name really a 150 watt ps;) If that were the case pick one of the weaker 750's that don't even require a power plug...to be on the safe side
 
Depending on the exact PSU, he should be able to run a <100w card.

Depending on budget, GTX750Ti would offer the most performance.
Cheaper options would be a R7 260 or if you can find one, HD7750.

Have him take a look at his PSU's sticker and see how many watts/amps it can handle on the +12v rail, I would hope it could do 250-280w on the +12v.
Also would be important to see if the PSU has a 6pin PCI-e connector, since that would also limit his options.
 
As stated above details on power supply are needed.
An upgrade to an A-3850 APU ~ HD 6670 iGPU performance might be a better choice.(cheaper shipping).
 
Gunna have to recommend the 750TI. Some basic versions of it don't even require extra plugs.
 
defaultluser said:
Hell, just go basic GTX 750 for even lower power consumption.

That lowly Llano 2.7 GHz dual-core will be the limiting factor for even the GTX 750, so you should save the 40 bucks and just get what you need.

This one is just $100 after rebate!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487027&cm_re=gtx_750-_-14-487-027-_-Product

It's only 15-20% slower than the Ti, costs $40 less, and uses slightly less power.
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sure...most defiantly if hes using a power supply that wont power the first one i linked, and like you i also suggested one like this if his power was lacking...matter of fact this may be his only choice if he's using a generic power supply.....those hardly ever handle the power on the sticker

He also might just be better going with a different cpu like this AMD A8-3870K APU with AMD Radeon 6550 HD Graphics 3.0GHz Unlocked Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Processor ....I cant imagine that weak dual core will play many games like you said...he's bottle necked all the way around
 
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Bang for the buck and light on power, the 750Ti 2Gb any brand is pretty much one of the better choices out there right now. I've got one in our kitchen PC and it's impressed the hell out of me.
 
I wouldn't bother with upgrading the graphics card in that machine.

I would upgrade the APU, and get faster cpu and better graphics. The A8-3850 would be a decent upgrade. I think it would be faster in games with this type of upgrade vs just throwing in a better discrete card.
 
It would probably be best for him to get an all new computer. build a tiny itx computer and the next time her or a friend goes home or family visits they can take it in the carry on.
 
A typical oem 300 watt psu does not provide any where near 300 watts. The exact psu specs need to be listed as most of them are only even rated for 15-19 amps max on the 12v line. In realistic conditions they cant even make that even when brand new. A typical oem 300 watt psu will probably only provide about 140-170 watts max on the 12v line at best depending on the model and after years of use even less.
 
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fanboy said:
There are many fine power supplys at around $40 to 50 buxs as corsair/evga has a value line up.. so I would buy one of those units and add this HD 7850 2Gb card for $119 before $30 rebate ..

also corsair 500 watt power supply for $49 buxs before $20 rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131562

so for the price of a 750ti ..he could upgrade both power supply and video card.
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He won't upgrade the PSU as the added weight would jump the shipping costs.
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"you're preaching to the choir" know one here will disagree with you except op's friend....i can only assume money is big an issue
 
I thought about that 7850 myself because that is what the R9 265 is which has 256bit memory interface and 2Gb of ram.. but in the end I picked up the R9 280 at $209

it's a heck of a card at that price and the rebates would off set the shipping cost..
 
A 750 or 750 ti is the smart choice right now for low power. Especially for boxed/big brand computers, which I'm assuming the OP's computer is. It is very likely a big brand computer won't support upgrading the CPU and often, fitting an aftermarket PSU inside the case is also a problem.
 
Anytime I am tasked at picking a gpu with a psu limitation below 500w I would always go 750ti. Awesome little card sips power and can really game at 1080p.

Stay [H]
 
I would give the poor sod an upgrade path. 750/750ti now (EVGA models don't need extra 6 pin). Easy upgrade almost 100% guaranteed to work. Then move to a quad core or faster dual core FM1 APU in the future. Even with a 100W APU, a 60W 750ti would not overload that PSU.
 
He needs to list the exact specs of computer and the exact specs of the psu. Those of you thinking a 750 ti is suitable are mistaken if its a psu like I described earlier.
 
misterbobby said:
He needs to list the exact specs of computer and the exact specs of the psu. Those of you thinking a 750 ti is suitable are mistaken if its a psu like I described earlier.
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The most the 750ti (those without 6 pin) can use is 5.5A on the 12V rail. A4-3400 systems consume about 80W under full load. Assuming an 80% efficient PSU that gives us 64W at the mother board or about 5.3A (assuming the 12V rail is supplying all the power) for a total of about 11A absolute max. He should be fine unless there is something wrong with his PSU. He could also undervolt his APU if the motherboard bios supports it. AMD APU's undervolt very nicely, often with little to no performance degradation.
 
I wouldn't risk it. Most of those no-name PSUs are garbage. There's a decent chance it's just going to blow up, whatever the specs say.

Then your friend gets to spend a month without a PC while he waits for a replacement. And he won't find out until then whether it took the GPU and/or CPU and/or motherboard down with it...
 
I can't speak for how much juice his current rig is pulling, but in my htpc I have an i3-4130 (rated 54w) and a 750Ti SC (no 6 pin) and under full load I only pulls 155w max. Web browsing and watching video's it never pulls over 45w. I also have 4 fans (140mm/120mm/2x90mm) and an SSD.

I think PCpers did a review where they stuck 750/750Ti's in a lot of off the shelf rigs with less then quality psu's with great success. Might be something to look at.
 
DraginDime said:
I can't speak for how much juice his current rig is pulling, but in my htpc I have an i3-4130 (rated 54w) and a 750Ti SC (no 6 pin) and under full load I only pulls 155w max. Web browsing and watching video's it never pulls over 45w. I also have 4 fans (140mm/120mm/2x90mm) and an SSD.

I think PCpers did a review where they stuck 750/750Ti's in a lot of off the shelf rigs with less then quality psu's with great success. Might be something to look at.
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And AGAIN he only has about that much actual wattage on the 12v line with a typical oem 300 watt psu under realistic conditions when brand new. Putting a video card in a brand new system for a couple hours of benching games is NOT the same thing as long term use. Cheap oem psus will degrade faster especially the more load they are under. Thats why he needs to list the EXACT psu specs along with all his other specs. He might have a decent(for an oem) 300 watt psu with a rating of well over 20 amps on the 12v.
 
Hypothetically what would you then recommend if OP had an ideal 300W (seasonic for example ...)?
 
blank said:
Hypothetically what would you then recommend if OP had an ideal 300W (seasonic for example ...)?
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Well there are a couple of oem 300 watt psus that will be sufficient thats why I said we need to know details on his psu and pc. It looks like he is not even going to reply back though.
 
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