Finding a small form factor low tdp gpu for prebuilt pc

[Augmentum]

Hey guys!

My 12 year old neighbor has just received a prebuilt pc from one of our other neighbors. The bad news is that it's not a powerful system. It's an Emachine EL1360G-UW12P. I have looked inside and found that there is an extra 4 pin pcie and a pci e slot on the motherboard. So my question is will a r7 250 work with this rig? I'm not sure what the wattage is on the psu but since they made room for an expansion I would assume it would be alright? If you guys could suggest a better graphics card it would need to be smaller in height and thickness so it can fit in the case. He doesn't need a beastly gpu, just something that will allow him to play some games like minecraft.

Thank you

 

[ThatVietGuy]

... but since they made room for an expansion I would assume it would be alright?...

False.

In a computer like that the PSU can be something pitiful. It's recommended that the R7 250 needs 380 watts. In a crap machine like that I wouldn't be surprised that the PSU is less than 300W.

To be really sure, though, you should look for a label on the PSU - it should provide the wattage of the PSU.

Edit: and from a cursory Google search, it looks like that PC has a 220W PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114109

 

[Anonymous09]

If I am correct in assuming this is the pc in question? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114109

If so, even the 250 will probably be bottlenecked by the cpu, which is absolute horseshit. If I were you, I would not put a lot of money into the gc, find a cheap one, and if he's looking to just play minecraft on, a cheap one should do fine.

 

[thor220]

I'm looking at that system's specs and it looks like it only has an off-brand 220w. It should not be used with any graphics card.

 

[Anonymous09]

... but since they made room for an expansion I would assume it would be alright?...

False.

In a computer like that the PSU can be something pitiful. It's recommended that the R7 250 needs 380 watts. In a crap machine like that I wouldn't be surprised that the PSU is less than 300W.

To be really sure, though, you should look for a label on the PSU - it should provide the wattage of the PSU.

Edit: and from a cursory Google search, it looks like that PC has a 220W PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114109

Are we talking about the same gc here? The 250 most certainly does NOT require that much power! It is a low powered, budget card, designed not to consume over 75 watts of power, because those cards can't rely on any other power inputs except for the one coming in from the pci slot, hence the 75 watt limit.

 

[ThatVietGuy]

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

I guess the site finally lied to me!

 

[Anonymous09]

I'm looking at that system's specs and it looks like it only has an off-brand 220w. It should not be used with any graphics card.

That's not entirely true. While the brand is of course a major concern, 220 watts for this system is perfectly fine. The maximum power drawn by the cpu is 18 watts according to amd. That leaves plenty for the single pci slot, which can take a max of 75, and basically everything else.

If you are willing to take the leap of faith with the psu manufacturer, then buying a $30-40 card will probably be fine.

 

[Anonymous09]

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

I guess the site finally lied to me!

Notice how it says RECOMMENDED psu, which is basically saying what they think is what it should have. But that is completely absurd and impossible to gauge, because a psu is completely dependent on the system setup it is put in. if it is a low powered system like this, you don't need that kind of psu to power a 250 LOL!

 

[ThatVietGuy]

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

I guess the site finally lied to me!

Notice how it says RECOMMENDED psu, which is basically saying what they think is what it should have. But that is completely absurd and impossible to gauge, because a psu is completely dependent on the system setup it is put in. if it is a low powered system like this, you don't need that kind of psu to power a 250 LOL!

Power is probably the only thing I'll never skimp on in a build. Rather have higher wattage than necessary rather than just skirting by.

 

[thor220]

I'm looking at that system's specs and it looks like it only has an off-brand 220w. It should not be used with any graphics card.

That's not entirely true. While the brand is of course a major concern, 220 watts for this system is perfectly fine. The maximum power drawn by the cpu is 18 watts according to amd. That leaves plenty for the single pci slot, which can take a max of 75, and basically everything else.

If you are willing to take the leap of faith with the psu manufacturer, then buying a $30-40 card will probably be fine.

GPU manufacturers don't make GPUs that cheap anymore because integrated graphics are faster that what they can do at that price. If you are going to spend that money on a gpu might as well just grab a better CPU.

220w is what's stated on the sticker, not it's sustained power output. Cheap off-brand PSUs never live up to their sticker wattage.

 

[Anonymous09]

I'm looking at that system's specs and it looks like it only has an off-brand 220w. It should not be used with any graphics card.

That's not entirely true. While the brand is of course a major concern, 220 watts for this system is perfectly fine. The maximum power drawn by the cpu is 18 watts according to amd. That leaves plenty for the single pci slot, which can take a max of 75, and basically everything else.

If you are willing to take the leap of faith with the psu manufacturer, then buying a $30-40 card will probably be fine.

GPU manufacturers don't make GPUs that cheap anymore because integrated graphics are faster that what they can do at that price. If you are going to spend that money on a gpu might as well just grab a better CPU.

220w is what's stated on the sticker, not it's sustained power output. Cheap off-brand PSUs never live up to their sticker wattage.

Well that's not entirely true now is it? There is an abundance of GCs in the $30-50 range, and even lower that are better than the integrated graphics in this pc. And the op can't simply buy a better cpu for better integrated graphics, because all socket FT1 APUs integrated graphics will be slower than if he bought something like a gt730.

 

[Anonymous09]

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

I guess the site finally lied to me!

Notice how it says RECOMMENDED psu, which is basically saying what they think is what it should have. But that is completely absurd and impossible to gauge, because a psu is completely dependent on the system setup it is put in. if it is a low powered system like this, you don't need that kind of psu to power a 250 LOL!

Power is probably the only thing I'll never skimp on in a build. Rather have higher wattage than necessary rather than just skirting by.

Yeah that is the golden rule, but don't have so much overheard on wattage to the point where the psu becomes inefficient and wastes power. But in this case, buying any gc that lives off only pci power should be perfectly fine. The only concern the op has to worry about is when the cpu starts to bottleneck the gc, which is gonna happen with a lot of them, because like I said, the cpu in the pc is god awful. If I were the op, I would not put much money into that pc, spend $30, TOPS.

 

[Augmentum]

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

I guess the site finally lied to me!

Notice how it says RECOMMENDED psu, which is basically saying what they think is what it should have. But that is completely absurd and impossible to gauge, because a psu is completely dependent on the system setup it is put in. if it is a low powered system like this, you don't need that kind of psu to power a 250 LOL!

Power is probably the only thing I'll never skimp on in a build. Rather have higher wattage than necessary rather than just skirting by.

Yeah that is the golden rule, but don't have so much overheard on wattage to the point where the psu becomes inefficient and wastes power. But in this case, buying any gc that lives off only pci power should be perfectly fine. The only concern the op has to worry about is when the cpu starts to bottleneck the gc, which is gonna happen with a lot of them, because like I said, the cpu in the pc is god awful. If I were the op, I would not put much money into that pc, spend $30, TOPS.

Thank you for your response. What gpu would be good enough for this pc? I was Looking at the gt 730 but it is way over the $30 suggestion.

 

[Anonymous09]

What games is he interested in playing, and what resolution would he be playing them at? And yes, don't get the 730, too much money and it would probably be bottlenecked.

 

[Augmentum]

What games is he interested in playing, and what resolution would he be playing them at? And yes, don't get the 730, too much money and it would probably be bottlenecked.

Hey,
Sorry for the delay. I have been really busy with school lately. The resolution of the screen is set to 1600 x 900 (recommended) but I think we are able to turn down down to 1280 x 720? Also he's just interested in playing games like minecraft, watching youtube, and doing homework on it. Nothing heavy but he'll probably try to

 

[Anonymous09]

Yeah I would get something along the lines of a 5450 or a 6450, or a gt 610. Whichever one you can find cheapest, I actually saw a 5450 on newegg for 10 bucks the other day, and that should handle minecraft fine. Don't go spending over 30 bucks though, it'll be a complete waste of money.

 

[Augmentum]

Yeah I would get something along the lines of a 5450 or a 6450, or a gt 610. Whichever one you can find cheapest, I actually saw a 5450 on newegg for 10 bucks the other day, and that should handle minecraft fine. Don't go spending over 30 bucks though, it'll be a complete waste of money.

Thanks! I've decided on the HD 6450 which is on sale for $18!

 

[Anonymous09]

Yeah I would get something along the lines of a 5450 or a 6450, or a gt 610. Whichever one you can find cheapest, I actually saw a 5450 on newegg for 10 bucks the other day, and that should handle minecraft fine. Don't go spending over 30 bucks though, it'll be a complete waste of money.

Thanks! I've decided on the HD 6450 which is on sale for $18!

Yeah that's a good buy, glad I could help and good luck with everything!