need decent graphics card without a power connector.

P

purple_haze

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 14, 2004
Messages
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A friend recently bought a Lenovo H530 from Microcenter and wants to upgrade a graphics card but it doesn't have a PCI-express plug in it. This system is pretty gay since it doesn't have any additional molex connectors or sata connectors. We thought about switching PSU's but this crap uses a specific 14 or 16 motherboard connector. Well i need a decent pci-express graphics card without a pci-express power plug. Any Advice folks.
 
Best choice right now is the GTX 750 Ti or non-Ti depending on your friend's budget, keep in mind that the PSU should have an output rating at ~ 350 to 400W just to be safe.
 
Honestly, best bet is to return the PC and buy something beefier or build one. Other than that, like previously stated the 750 was just released and looks really good.
 
750 Ti.. just put one in my crappy Dell with a 300W PSU. I went with the eVGA SC one.
 
I believe that 280 watt psu only has 12 amps on the 12v line. No way would I run even run a plain 750 on that psu if that is the case. Those oem psus cant even make their "rated" power in realistic conditions.
 
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cyclone3d said:
You can get power supply adapter cables off of Ebay.

Here are the couple I found:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-Lenovo-PSU-Main-Power-24-Pin-to-14-Pin-Premium-Sleeved-Cable-30cm-/141214892255?pt=US_Power_Cables_Connectors&hash=item20e11040df

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-LENOVO-M92P-THINKSTATION-E31-POWER-SUPPLY-ADAPTER-CABLE-14-PIN-MESH-30CM-/301131889771?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item461cdbfc6b
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If it is a weak system PSU wise, it probably can not handle a card that needs extra power. It probably has a 250-350Watt PSU. The 750 Ti recommendation stands imho.

EDIT:
I just checked specs on that machine. It has a 280 Watt PSU. so it is probably borderline if it can use even the 750/750Ti. I just added up cost of components and for $450 you can build a better machine probably if you went with AMD processor/motherboard combination.
 
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TaintedSquirrel said:
I'm usually not one to criticize grammar on hardware forums, but your word choice here is poor.
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Oh, Please...........

Now please tell me in what context can the word 'gay' now be properly used. Political correctness runs amock again. Let's stick with helping find computer related solutions not social engineering.
 
misterbobby said:
I believe that 280 watt psu only has 12 amps on the 12v line. No way would I run even run a plain 750 on that psu if that is the case. Those oem psus cant even make their "rated" power in realistic conditions.
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That doesn't make any sense as that would only be 144W. Modern PSUs nearly reach their rated power on 12V line(s) alone. Very little uses 3.3V or 5V any more.
 
Parja said:
That doesn't make any sense as that would only be 144W. Modern PSUs nearly reach their rated power on 12V line(s) alone. Very little uses 3.3V or 5V any more.
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Well you dont sound like you are familiar with typical oem psus. Even a typical 300 watt oem psu is rated for only 15-19 amps on the 12v volt line depending on the exact model. And that is at unrealistic 20-25 C too. Most oem comps have been using the same psus with the same specs for 12-15 years now. Now if his oem 280 watt unit is more modern then yeah that might actually be 2 12v lines but dont be surprised if its only 1 12v line with only 12 amps.
 
I think a 750 or 750Ti would be the way to go.
I seen a mining rig running 6x 750Ti's and it was only pulling about 420watts. So 1 card should be fine for a good while. If it burns out his PSU in a couple of years, by then it'll be time for an upgrade anyways.
 
DraginDime said:
I think a 750 or 750Ti would be the way to go.
I seen a mining rig running 6x 750Ti's and it was only pulling about 420watts. So 1 card should be fine for a good while. If it burns out his PSU in a couple of years, by then it'll be time for an upgrade anyways.
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Lol and if it burns it out in a couple of months and maybe damages other components that is fine too right? :rolleyes:

OP please list the EXACT specs of that psu. If it really only is 12 amps on the 12v then no you cant safely run a 750 and certainly not a 750 ti.
 
misterbobby said:
Lol and if it burns it out in a couple of months and maybe damages other components that is fine too right? :rolleyes:

OP please list the EXACT specs of that psu. If it really only is 12 amps on the 12v then no you cant safely run a 750 and certainly not a 750 ti.
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That's what warranties are for! I understand where you're coming from MisterBobby, but he said it's a cheap off the shelf system, not like he's going to have a lot of other high end components in there to get damaged, and anything that was prebuilt into the system (cpu/ram/psu) should be covered under warranty. And he should be keeping any important data backed up elsewhere.
 
DraginDime said:
That's what warranties are for! I understand where you're coming from MisterBobby, but he said it's a cheap off the shelf system, not like he's going to have a lot of other high end components in there to get damaged. And he should be keeping any important data backed up elsewhere.
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Well I would not want to deal with all those issues. And if this is his only pc then it could take weeks to get all of that sorted out which would suck. He just needs to list his exact psu specs as it may not be an issue anyway.
 
misterbobby said:
Working long enough to test does not mean much. A cheap oem psu will degrade even quicker when pushed harder so many of the psus will fail within weeks or months. And cheap oem psus usually have zero protection so you are risking damage to other components.
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Apparently, you haven't seen many off the shelf PC. Most of them (Acer, HP, Dell...) use AcBel, Fortron Group (FSP), Lite-On, Delta, even Seasonic OEM so I wouldn't say they're cheap and have zero protection.
 
David-Duc said:
Apparently, you haven't seen many off the shelf PC. Most of them (Acer, HP, Dell...) use AcBel, Fortron Group (FSP), Lite-On, Delta, even Seasonic OEM so I wouldn't say they're cheap and have zero protection.
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I have owned and bought plenty of of oem comps for others so I have pretty good idea of what I am talking about when it comes to those unless they have upgraded all their psus in the last 6 months. The last Dell had a 300 watt psu with 18 amps on 12v rail. The last HP that had a 300 watt psu had 19 amps. The last Emachines had a 300 watt psu with 15 amps on the 12v. And none of those had any protection at all. HP/Compaq still use the same psus since at least 2002. No matter what company is on the psu sticker each oem comp psu has the exact same specs. By that I mean if you have an HP with a 300 watt psu from Lite On, Hi Pro or Delta that the specs on the sticker were identical.
 
misterbobby said:
I have owned and bought plenty of of oem comps for others so I have pretty good idea of what I am talking about when it comes to those unless they have upgraded all their psus in the last 6 months. The last Dell had a 300 watt psu with 18 amps on 12v rail. The last HP that had a 300 watt psu had 19 amps. The last Emachines had a 300 watt psu with 15 amps on the 12v. And none of those had any protection at all. HP/Compaq still use the same psus since at least 2002. No matter what company is on the psu sticker each oem comp psu has the exact same specs. By that I mean if you have an HP with a 300 watt psu from Lite On, Hi Pro or Delta that the specs on the sticker were identical.
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Can you prove that they have ZERO protection?
 
David-Duc said:
Can you prove that they have ZERO protection?
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After looking at the models on the HP closer they actually do have protection now. The actual listed specs have not ever changed but at least they did take care of that.

Now if the OP could ever return and list his exact psu specs then when can have the final say on whether to go 750/750 ti or not.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
I'm usually not one to criticize grammar on hardware forums, but your word choice here is poor.
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Oh waaaaah.....



Anyway, 750Ti if possible otherwise get the non Ti. Just make sure to grab one that sticks to the OEM design without the PCIE aux power connector.

The 750Ti is what systems like that literally are begging for. Absolutely perfect match.
 
750ti it is. I tried to get him to return the system and buy parts piecemeal and even offered to help build it, but he needed a replacement PC quickly due to the death of his pc a couple weeks ago. He currently is low on cash and decided to bank on microcenter's 18 month no interest deal instead of buying it out right.
 
In my experience, OEM power supplies were terrible, until the Sandy-Bridge generation of CPUs. I've been working in offices with dozens of Dell and Lenovo machines running everything from i3s up to i7s, with most of them settling on the mid-range i5s. The 'cheap' OEM PSUs in these machines are not bad. Most of them now carry at least 80 Plus Bronze certification (Dell Optiplex and Lenovo M Series both do) and have more realistic power ratings, such as 15 - 20A on the 12V rail.

I agree that it would be best to know the exact PSU specifications provided on the PSU in question in order to settle the debate definitively, but in the interim, I would be willing to take the gamble on a 750 or 750 Ti for the system in question. OEM PSUs that I have seen recently are of much less questionable quality than they were even 4 years ago.
 
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