Best GPU on 375w PSU?

[hitop999]

Hi all,

I am looking to upgrade my gpu for gaming but am somewhat limited by the power supply. Have been looking around and am trying to figure out what the best card I can reliably run is.

Specs are :

Dell T3400 Workstation

Intel Core 2 Quad q6600 (B3 I think)

Dell TP412

2x 2GB DDR2

25GB Sata HDD

375W PSU (has x2 12V rails each at 18A and one 6 pin connector)

I will be playing games like Arkham City, Crysis, Far Cry 3, but only in 1024x768. Am thinking of getting a 7770 something like this :

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-radeon-hd-7770-dd-core-edition-4500mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-1000mhz-640-cores-dp-dl-dvi-i-hdmi

Would like the best card possible but would rather avoid upgrading psu as it is a proprietary case and might be more of a hassle than it is worth.

Please help! Any opinions welcome!

 

[hitop999]

Oops, *250GB HDD and a Dell TP412 Motherboard

 

[jnkweaver]

Well you said the power supply has a 6 pin plug and the max output of the card is around 175watts so I would say you are good. I would warn that Dell is not known for using top of the line power supplies so your mileage may vary ( you may not get 375 watts out of that ps)

 

[hitop999]

I guess I am wondering if I can push it any further. Because I have seen 6850s for not much more and from the info I could find I came to around the same amount for all components (excluding gpu) which makes me think it might handle a more powerful card. But don't want anything to fry.

*Oh and it will be 1280x720

 

[hitop999]

do you think it will handle a 6850?

 

[jnkweaver]

Actually the 6850 uses more power than the 7750 and 7770.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7770-7750-benchmark,3135-14.html

 

[hitop999]

yeah i think its around 50w more than the 7770, or just under. trying to figure out whether a 6850 will draw too much power or not.

 

[jnkweaver]

In the beginning you were asking about the 7770. It is a faster card and uses less power than the 6850. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the 6850 would be too much power for your rig mainly because I do not trust dell power supplies to put out the rating they claim. The last thing you want is to have power supply issues. Go with the 7770.

 

[hitop999]

Fair enough, that's what i kind of thought. Wanted a 256bit card and figured i would get another opinion from more experienced people. Thanks for all your help!!

 

[delluser1]

In the beginning you were asking about the 7770. It is a faster card and uses less power than the 6850. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the 6850 would be too much power for your rig mainly because I do not trust dell power supplies to put out the rating they claim. The last thing you want is to have power supply issues. Go with the 7770.

Pair of 147w TDP GeForce 8800 GTS 512's, Overclocked PentiumD830, modified Dell 375w

They put out what they claim