Can the pc handle a 220gt safely or should i upgrade powersupply

[cobra11]

Heres the pc, its a hp pavilion a6803w

Powersupply is a 300 watt besttec

12v -- 19a
5v -- 25a
3.3v -- 18a

-12v -- 0.8a
5vsb -- 2a

5v + 3.3v 175 watt max, 5v + 12v 268 watt max

 

[Norlag]

The recommended wattage is 300 for the gt220, and the tdp is 58 watts so you are cutting it close. You may want to invest in a better psu not just for the graphics card but for the whole system. I would personally upgrade.

 

[blazorthon]

TDP is not wattage and recommended PSU wattage doesn't matter. However, it is correct that OP would at best be cutting it close. I wouldn't upgrade the graphics (nor any other part) without getting a new PSU and with a PC like that, you might as well replace the whole thing at that point. I doubt that A GT 220 would be much of an upgrade anyway.

 

[Norlag]

whoops I guess my terminology was incorrect. sorry about that =(

 

[blazorthon]

No problem, we all learn it quickly enough here. For example, TDP is just a maximum heat dissipation number that is only loosely correlated with power consumption and PSU wattage is a combined number for all rails, making it nearly useless these days because only one type of rail matters anymore and that's the +12V rail (or rails, for those PSUs that have more than one).

TDP is also calculated differently on different models (IE some card's TDPs may be closer to their realistic power consumption than others). For example, a Radeon 7970 may have a TDP of 250W and a GTX 680 a TDP of 195W, but their power consumption is still much closer because the 680 uses very nearly its TDP in gaming workloads, yet the 7970 usually doesn't get anywhere near its TDP in gaming workloads. Other examples of TDP not working with power consumption well is how AMD's 250W TDP Radeon 6970 uses less power than Nvidia's 244W TDP GTX 580.

PSU wattage is even worse because it can have different meanings for the PSU. For example, some may have their rating be their maximum short-term wattage whereas others may have it be their maximum recommended 24/7 wattage. Even worse, some PSU companies blatantly lie about their PSU wattage on some models...

Ehh, sorry if I'm ranting on and on.

 

[Azn Cracker]

Yea a gt 220 is terrible and won't be much of an upgrade. You psu can handle it though.

I agree that you should just build a new computer.

 

[cobra11]

its for my bud, and he's on a pretty limited budget.. he only wants to pay older games.., if another powersupply and a graphics card will help.. he has a 6150se in it built in at the moment, and I'm aware of those chips problems.., if yall think maybe a apu would be better which one?, again he wants to be able to play older games, not really newer ones

 

[blazorthon]

Give us a budget and we'll see what we can do. If you want a recommendation assuming that it fits in the budget, then something like a Radeon 6670 with an Antec VP-450 would do the job for under $100 altogether.

 

[cobra11]

100 min, 200 max, Personally I have the 5670 and love it with my q6600 even though its old.., at 200 their isn't much that can be done is their?

 

[blazorthon]

$200 is plenty. You could get an Antec VP-450 with a GTX 650 Ti or a Radeon 7850, depending on prices, but that'd probably be way overkill for only old games. Something like an Antec VP-450 PSU paired with a Radeon 7770 might be great.

 

[cobra11]

would that be over kill for that processor? I mean I have a quad where his is a dual..

 

[blazorthon]

That would depend on the exact CPU, but probably not. Tell us what the CPU is and I'll be able to be more specific.

 

[cobra11]

Athlon X2 4850e 2.5 GHz

 

[CntrlAltDel]

Based on personal experience with the GT 220, yes you can run it with a 300watt PSU. I believe 300watt is the recommended requirement for running the GT 220.

Also, the GT 220 isn't all that bad at running games. Depending if you're quality crazy or performance crazy. I was able to run Battlefield 3, Skyrim and Crysis 2 on low settings with my Galaxy Geforce GT 220 1GB (not overclocked). So it's fine if you're planing on just playing games when you're bored or something but it ultimately depends on the kind of gamer you are.

 

[blazorthon]

That's a pretty weak CPU. I would stick with no more than a Radeon 7750 or a Radeon 7770 with that.

@CntrlAltDel
PSU wattage is irrelevant. Not all 300W models are equal in and they can be different in many ways.

 

[CntrlAltDel]

That's a pretty weak CPU. I would stick with no more than a Radeon 7750 or a Radeon 7770 with that.

@CntrlAltDel
PSU wattage is irrelevant. Not all 300W models are equal in and they can be different in many ways.

I couldn't agree more, but with all due respect, he asked a simple question and I gave him a simple answer. The technical aspect of things cause mass confusion around here when 5 questions that were never asked get answered.

 

[blazorthon]

I couldn't agree more, but with all due respect, he asked a simple question and I gave him a simple answer. The technical aspect of things cause mass confusion around here when 5 questions that were never asked get answered.

Ignoring the technical aspect causes problems when you fall into generalizations. For example, OP's PSU is at best a bare minimum for the GT 220 and is actually well within the danger zone. We're also assuming in suggesting that it can do the job for the GT 220 that time hasn't degraded it to the point where it can not do the job. If it is degraded enough as it probably is considering its age and poor quality, OP using a GT 220 in it could and probably would cause a bad failure within a few months to a year. No offense, but ignoring the technical aspect in a technical problem is a recipe for disaster.