250W PSU - New Graphics Card Needed!

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Sabre_X

Distinguished
Feb 16, 2008
108
0
18,680
Also, the main game i'd be playing is Napoleon Total War at 1280x1024 resolution on a single screen. I'd like at reasonably high graphics settings, but I wouldn't imagine that game at that resolution is that graphically challening?
 

djcoolmasterx

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2007
1,269
0
19,310


Based on how Empire performed you will need to get something better then anything you can run on the 250W to play it at resonably high settings.
 
If you get a new PSU, save up for a better card. No point getting a new PSU only to throw a weak card at it.

If you stick with your current, the HD5670 is the MOST you would ever throw at that junk.
 

clcvisions

Distinguished
Feb 13, 2010
6
0
18,510


I just picked up a Sapphire HD4650 512mb 128bit Low Profile from Newegg for $60. I needed a card for my second system a Dell 530s Slim line with a 250psu. I went from a ATI2400 pro 256 to the HD4650 and this card has just blown me away. Example this system went from playing L4D2 at 10-15fps@1024x768 low\medium detail to 1360x768 High Detail 4xaa at 40-50fps. Just totally surprised, I figured it would be a good upgrade but I was just mind boggled at its performance. And these setting were set by the game recommended setting. Go figure a 60 card that kicks alittle ass in games too! WooHoo!
 

bshannon

Distinguished
Feb 25, 2010
5
0
18,510
I'm in a similar situation. 250W power supply in a Dell Vostro 220s, that's
a slim case so I need a low profile card. Many that I look at recommend a
300W power supply or more. What < $100 card would you recommend that's
low profile and will work with a 250W power supply?
 

bshannon

Distinguished
Feb 25, 2010
5
0
18,510
Guess I should've read that post right above mine more carefully! :)
My eyes started to glaze over by the time I got to the end of this thread.

The Sapphire HD4650 is a low profile card that works with a 250W power supply? Great!

Anyone have any idea about the new Radeon 5xxx cards?
 

clcvisions

Distinguished
Feb 13, 2010
6
0
18,510



From what I know from picking many brains all over is that despite the new cards(5700 series) being low profile they do in fact need atleast 350watts. The 4650 I picked up is the highest generation still out with a low psu requirement that can be used in a 250 psu configuration. :( But again from my experience not bad choice at all!! :)
 

bshannon

Distinguished
Feb 25, 2010
5
0
18,510
I asked the guys at Sapphire what they recommended and they said the 4650
would need at least a 350W power supply. Do you think they're just being
overly conservative?

They suggested the 4350 or possibly the 5450.

I'd really prefer the 4650 so maybe I should take a chance...
 


Power.png


HD5570 is better and uses less power, is low profile, and reasonably priced at $<80.
Win-Win.
 

sabot00

Distinguished
May 4, 2008
2,387
0
19,860
OK, is EVERYONE just ignoring the 2.3GHz Athlon CPU?
A C2D E4500 at 2.2GHz bottlenecks a 4670, with that CPU I wouldn't go over a 4670.
I would just get a 4650.
 

bshannon

Distinguished
Feb 25, 2010
5
0
18,510
On newegg it says the Sapphire HD5570 requires a 400W power supply.
Of course, on the Sapphire web site it says that for the HD4650 too, and
yet it seems to be working for clcvisions. I think the Sapphire web site is
just lumping all the 4600 cards together.

Why is this so complicated?!?

Does the HD5570 have significantly better performance than the HD4650?

If I get a card that requires more power than the power supply can handle,
is it likely to be easy or difficult to find a new power supply to fit in the slim
chassis?

 

infernox_01

Distinguished
Jan 2, 2010
670
0
19,010


What did you end up getting and did it work? I'm thinking of getting the HD5570 for my 250w Dell 530s.
 

bshannon

Distinguished
Feb 25, 2010
5
0
18,510
Perfect timing! I just recently got a new video card and have been meaning
to post here with my experience.

I ended up getting the Sapphire HD4650. So far, it's working fine.
It's actually in my daughter's PC. She's been beating on it, playing
all the games that matter to her, and no problems. It's definitely a
big improvement over the integrated graphics, but we haven't tried
to measure it.

I have to say, I'm still nervous about the power supply requirement.
(The box agrees with the 400W power supply recommendation.)
If you play games that are extremely graphics intensive for a long
period of time, it still might be an issue. But we haven't seen any
issues so far.

Oh, and I did spend a bit of time trying to locate a larger power supply
that would work in the slim case, but no luck.