Graphics Cards Upgrade and Dell PSU..opinions wanted

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rbarr110

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
278
So my office machine was replaced with a new Dell OPTIPLEX 7010 with an i5 processor.

The damn PSU is about a 250Watt supply if I remember correctly. I want to put a graphics card in there, but want one with a little horsepower to play Bad Company 2 and hopefully BF3 on my lunch breaks. I don't want to spend a ton (preferably under $100), and found a few cards that should fit and have decent performance benchmarks, but most require "minimum 400 watt" PSU required in tech spec.

A co-worker has a wall meter that measures the draw in Watts. He runs a card that recommended a minimum 400 watt psu, think he has a 750 watt in his machine. He tested his i7 machine with the card, and the wall draw didn't go over 200 watts.

So is a 400+ watt PSU really required?
 
A 250 watt one isn't likely to cut it at all. The 250 is also likely the max peak not sustained. You really have to look at the amps per rail and what the card requires. It may be possible to run it but I wouldn't bet on it being overly stable or long lived. You really should just find a cheap used PS on the [H] for sale forum.
 
JayteeBates said:
A 250 watt one isn't likely to cut it at all. The 250 is also likely the max peak not sustained. You really have to look at the amps per rail and what the card requires. It may be possible to run it but I wouldn't bet on it being overly stable or long lived. You really should just find a cheap used PS on the [H] for sale forum.
Click to expand...

I was considering a PSU but replacing it blows the budget for the card. It is my office computer, not a computer I own, and is just for my lunch break pleasure.

Here is what the sticker on the PSU says....looks like it is a 275 Watt supply.

Dell Model # L275AM-00
Part Number D3PMV
+12VA 17 amp max
+12VB 10A max
+5V 13A max
+3.3V 10A max

"Combined Load On +12VA +12VB outputs shall not exceed 240 Watt"
 
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My experience with dells (years ago, so might not be true anymore) was that the PSUs were grossly under-rated. I used the stock dell psu to run a very loaded machine for years (but this was in the P4 era, so like I said, likely not true anymore)

Does the card you're looking at need a 6 pin power connector? Does the dell even have one?
 
The card I was considering a 6-pin. The dell only has SATA power cables, but found adapters that gro from SATA to 6 pin molex for a couple bucks.

It just pains me to buy a card that doesnt require power be so weak compared to another card for the same money that outperforms it nearly 3:1 in various benchmarks.
 
Was looking at the following with rough costs on various models, as a reference benchmark using passmark web page http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html:

No Power Required:
GT 640 $80-$100
7750 $90-$100

Power Required:
GTX 460 $100-$115

Was hoping to find something at Best Buy since I have Xmas gift cards there, but will use newegg if I cant find what I would like at bestbuy.

Leaning to the 7750 since it doesn't need power.
 
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