Best 'old' AGP VC that does not need PS power ?

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microdol

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Mar 11, 2006
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What is the 'best' AGP VC out there that does NOT need to connect to a Power Supply, and will work with DX 9/W2K ?

My problem is, if I buy a 'newer' VC, it will need a bigger PS, and my machine uses a proprietary PS, so I can't just go buy one (a PS) off the shelf and use it.

Ideas ?
 
PS - machine it is going into is a 2.8 ghz Pentium 4, with 1.5gb of ram.
Windows 2000 Pro.

Whatever I get will be better than the on-board video, I would hope.
 


Methinks your right......

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=2031&cid=3&pg=2

However, did some digging and apparently the 7600GS AGP does require external power using a Molex connection. See link below. The PCI-E version can apparently get enough juice from the slot so it doesn't need one.

http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=137&Itemid=27&limit=1&limitstart=1

For an Nvidia card, I had to go all the way back to the 6800XT before I found one that didn't have an external power connector and that was an off brand card. The Biostar 6800XT actually had one too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814136008R
 
The eVGA 7600GS AGP card does require a Molex 4-pin connector. This is because of the extra juice required to run the PCIe->AGP bridge. I can almost guarantee the 7600GT does too.
 


That's correct, see post 6 of this thread. All Nvidia Cards in AGP form back to the 6800XT have a power connector of some type on the card because the AGP slot does not provide adequate power. Sorry, perhaps I didn't word it very well.
 
Proprietary in that Dell SEZ I need a DELL PS - and the 550+ watt one is expensive - from DELL.
I will do more research on that - maybe DELL is lying to me...

BUT, if I have to use a DELL PS, then I'm going to say scroo it and I will just build a complete new system from the ground-up and use PCI-E and be done with it for another 8 years, and just leave this Dell alone and use it for other things.
I like the 7600GT - the GS is markedly slower - according to the reviews on this site.
 
The BEST is probaly the R9600Pro of course. :sol:
But for performance I agree with Cleeve the GF7600GS is probably the one you should look for. Just remember some will have diff clock rates so be sure it's close to PCIe speeds.

*edit* Hmm, I thought there was a GF7600GS without the power connector, but obviously not. Must be a Gf7300GT or GS , there's an HD2400Pro without power connector, but I don't know how it'd stack up against a GF6800XT (which is essentially as powerful as a GF6600).

Some early models of the HD2600Pro were appearing without power connectors, but it looks like most of the ones you can find now like the Sapphire and Visiontek models have a power connector.
 
I'm curious? How many watts is your power supply? I have a FPS 300 watt power supply running a MSI AGP mother board with an X800GTO. The rest of the system is as follows. Athlon 64 3800+, 2 gigs memory, a dvd drive and 200 gig hd, 3 80mm fans, a few case lights....and I have no problems at all.
 
If you can find one, the old ATI 9600 256mb cards only need about 12 watts. This is the standard 9600, not a pro or XT model. Would be a massive improvement over integrated. The standard Nvidia 6200 256mb, uses slightly more at 28 watts. Neither require a power connector.

Either will do fine on at least a 250 watt PSU depending on the CPU of course. 300w would be better.

Another source for Dell PSU's. http://www.pcpower.com/products/power_supplies/selector/dell.htm
 
I appreciate all the replies folks.

I do like the 7600GT - the Gpu on it is a lot faster than the GS model, but you have to take what will fit.

For those that don't know, www.newegg.com has a really good tutorial on both the Nvidia and ATI VC's - does a great job explaining the differences, charts (somewhat), check it out.

A few years ago I had a good ol 'Deer' PS that burned up - actually had flames chopping through the fan as it turned - I yanked the power as soon as I saw it, but it was about 5 seconds, it took the Mobo and the HD only, so I was lucky. Mobo was an Asus that had a 3 yr warranty - it was in its' last month. Lucky me.

My only goal with this topic was: I didn't want to have to basically have to rebuild my PC just to get a faster VC than what is on-board, so I will research some more over the weekend.
Thanks again guys (and gals, if any)
 

Yes that sounds like an OEM. They don't want you spending your money somewhere else. The problem is that sometimes they can be right, and sometimes they're full of it. It depends on the model you've got. For example, most older XPSs wouldn't take a normal PSU. Not sure about newer ones.

I think it would be best to let us know the model of Dell you have as well as listing the specs on the PSU like caamsa pointed out. The PSU specs are usually located on a sticker somewhere on the PSU itself.
 
7600GS will run without an external power from the power supply but at a cost of lower speed than the stock. But it still runs fine but only slower. Maybe there is another solution like buying a Y-splitter molex cable to split/share some extra power from other components. Eg from a hard drive or from a cd/dvd drive etc.
 
best idea: get a fortron fsp x3 vga booster 300w. it's a dedicated vga psu and fits in one of your front bay's.

it has 2 6-pin pci-e connectors (wich probably can be converted someway to a molex) good for 25A.

costs in the netherlands here about 38 euro's, don't know the price in dollars.

it works great, i used in the past for a x1900xt. it doesn't seem to work with a 8800 or 2900 card so i swiched it for a 700w fortron.

otherwise: take the 9600pro card, it's way better than the onboard that you have now.

 


Could you please post a link to a 7600GS AGP card that does not require a 4 pin Molex power connector? I would be interested in such a card.
 
PS is a Dell 250w, so either way I go, I'm upgrading it.
It's a 20 pin connector to the Mobo, so I need to see if the usual PS's are 20 or 24 pin..... I just don't recall.... might have to do some hacking....
It's the big Dell 'mini' tower - PS looks to be the same size as any other, it's not one of those micro jobs...

Now the question is, a 550w PS for $12, or $100 ? (LOL)

All this just because I wanted to upgrade to a 19" flat-screen AND get my use out of it....
 
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