250W PSU - New Graphics Card Needed!

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djcoolmasterx

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Don't cheap out on the PSU. For just £5 more then the Antec and the Coolermaster you get the very best 400w unit there is. The Sumvision isn't even worth looking at, brand is key with PSUs.
 
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shadow187

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Sabre, this is my last attempt at trying to explain stuffs.

A: Your CPU isn't that great. Anything above an HD5750 will be bottlenecked (most likely).

B: Your PSU IS FINE with an HD5670 (An i5 rig with twice what you have only uses 120Watts whilst under extreme stress graphically).

C: Your best bet is a small card (See: HD5670) to tide you over for the next year or less, while you save for a better mobo/cpu/GPU. 100 Euro is $136. An upgraded PSU should take $50, or 37 Euro. Left with $86, or 63 Euro, you are left with a small selection, namely the HD5570/5670. You'd have to reacquire about 30 Euro ($40 USD) to buy an HD5750, which is somewhat overbudget.
 
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Sabre_X

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I have a desktop PC with a Q6600, 8GB RAM and GeForce 260 card. I use a 650W PSU for that rig and it uses well into half that.
 
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djcoolmasterx

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Shadow, you are being irrisponsible. You should not recommend running a PSU which is more then likely not even a very good 250w unit at such high capacity, there needs to be a margin of safety so that you arn't putting other componants at risk.
 
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shadow187

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I'm putting nothing at risk. That chart up there (shall I get it again for you?) here.
HD5570-60.jpg

This machine, as quoted, uses an i5. Here's another benchmark.
Power.png

This machine here uses a GTX280. It's max power load is 198Watts. The GTX285 uses 85 more watts than the HD5670 will ever use (75Watt Max for PCI-E slot) This falls in line with how the same i5 system (or close to same (same proc)) uses 118Watts.
evga285_power.png


OP has a 250Watt PSU. Assuming 605% efficiency, he has 167.5Watts, which is more than he needs.
power2.png


The graphics (7900GTX) consumes 84Watts of power. Take off 14 (75Watt TDP of HD5670), and you have a total power consumption of 134 watts with a processor that is higher-clocked than his.


Conclusion: He has over 30 watts to spare.
 
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djcoolmasterx

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And with capacitor aging he has none to spare. Plus you are assuming that it is solid 250W and that the majority is to the V12 rail. Older designs are much more V5 orientated and wont be enough for modern V12 rail orientated hardware.
 
jonpaul37

jonpaul37

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I am glad you made the decision to get the 400w Corsair PSU, they are a more-than-reputable brand and that Power supply will be able to handle up to a 5770, so basically it will handle the following or below...

5770
4890
4870
4850
GTX 260 (core 216)
GTS 250
9800 GTS/GT
8800 GTS/GT
9800 GTX+

I have the 400w corsair in my girlfriend's PC running a 4850 right now...
 
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Sabre_X

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Interesting. I was leaning more towards:

HD 4650 £50- http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172950

HD 4670 £60- http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173708

HD 5570 £70- http://www.ebuyer.com/product/194744

HD 5670 £80- http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190977

And just trying to decide which I can afford. The GTS 250 i know is a great card, but in physical size, its quite large in comparison with the ATI's isn't it? I have a GTS260 in my main desktop PC and it's like a house brick :)

Also, would all of the mentioned cards be compatible with the PSU? Not on wattage, but on required connections and the likes? What kind of connections do they require? I just fitted a 5770 in another of my desktop's and aside from fitting it into the PCI-E x16 the only other connection it needed was some little (I think 6pin) connection which came from the powersupply. Would the mentioned PSU have this available- and what exactly is it, so that I can check it on the specifications should i choose a different PSU locally sourced.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

Sabre_X
 
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Sabre_X

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Is it possible to convert
* 4Pin Power Connector
* Molex
* SATA
* ATX12V P4 Connector

to a 6pin PCI-Express Connector

with some sort of adapter or anything?
 
deadlockedworld

deadlockedworld

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Wait... what kind of graphics performance are you actually looking for?

The 4650 or 5570 would probably be ok on your current PSU.. lol. I was only arguing that the better cards wouldn't be ok on it.

The GTS 250 is an older model-- if you are getting a "real" graphics card I would go all the way the 5750. Its a little bit better and a lot smaller/cooler/more power efficient. (unless its an awesome deal)
 
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Sabre_X

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Is reducing it to 512MB going to reduce its performacne I thought? Will the PSU also take it?

If i went for one of the cheaper cards, well, not cheaper, but lesser, like the 4 I mentioned, would I sitll need to replace my 250W PSU?
 
deadlockedworld

deadlockedworld

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You could probably get away with the 5570.

Comparative power use in a test system:
Power.png


Power.png



Edit: but I always recommend replacing your PSU with a quality unit. They are typically the first parts of computers to fail and can destroy other components.
 
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shadow187

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You're going to want to get a cheap card now to tide you over until you can save for a PSU and a good card. Or you can wait with nothing, purchasing a good psu now, so later, you can get an HD5770/HD5830.

Like I've proven with numerous charts, your PSU (as long as it's over 65% efficiency (which 70% if the standard, I believe (any $15 dollar PSU has 70% efficiency))) will have over 30 Watts to spare with 65% efficiency, and 42.5Watts with 70% efficiency. An HD5670 with a Core i5 setup uses 118 Watts max on load.

Sure, you're stretching it. But like I said, it'd be better to get a cheaper card + Good PSU, than a pushing-the-edge card and no PSU.
 
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Sabre_X

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Hmm... The PSU is going to have to be updated soon enough anyway really. So if i don't update the PSU- I can probably get away with the HD 5570 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/194744

However, if I decide to upgrade to that 400W Corsair PSU then would you recommend the HD 5670? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190977

£80 is really my limit on graphics cards, and that has 1GB and GDDR5 which looks good! Or would you have any other cards to suggest? Also bearing in mind my CPU and RAM earlier, because obviously there's no point in having a very powerful card if its actually the RAM/CPU that's limiting it.
 
deadlockedworld

deadlockedworld

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How big is your monitor? If its not huge I don't think you have a reason to buy the more expensive 5670 with 1 gb ram.

Either get the cheaper 512mb 5670 I linked at £68 or the XFX 5750 at £91. That GTS 250 at £86 isnt quite as good a deal but still ok.

Compared to your GTX 260: (the 5670 is below all of these cards)
3DMark%20Vantage%20Overall.png
 
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