GTX 460 on Dell Precission 3400

[kurcho1944]

Hi.
I have this old Dell Precision 3400 desktop but its video card has become a bit noisy. The rest of the machine is still going strong and the PC will be ok for my mother I guess.
I am planning to replace the GPU with a 1GB Evga GTX 460.
I know it's ancient but I really don't need to spend a lot on this machine.
The thing is my PSU is 375W and has only 1 6-pin cable (2 are needed for this card).
I know using an adaptor is not recommended and the power supply might be bit too weak but would it be really a problem is I use a Sata-to-6 pin adaptor considering the card will never be used for gaming or anything heavy?
What about a 6-pin splitter or Molex-to-6pin?
Thanks.

 

[Barty1884]

That's a 160W TDP card, which alone is probably too much on an aged PSU like in that Precision.

Adapters are never a good ideal.
SATA cables would be a horrible route to go especially. The guage of the wire is built anticipating a couple of <10W drives (maybe up to 4?). A 6 pin connector can draw 75W, so you'd be pulling double down a cable rated for half.

 

[william p]

At 160W you're only 10W over the PCIe plus 6 pin 150W limit. The Dell PSU is multirail.2x 12V. -18A. Each rail has a seperate color code. White and Yellow.
. Look at what's on each rail. That will run a 130W CPU. if you have a 95W CPU then there's some extra power on that yellow rail, adapt from one of those connectors. or if the HDD are on the White rail with the GPU, run them off of the yellow SATA and use a splitter on the white 6 pin. Aftermarket PSUs will fit that if you have something else around to use. I think it will work if you watch what you're doing.

 

[dontlistentome]

If it's for your mom and not for gaming, I'd pick up an HD 6450 or equivalent on the used market. They are cheap and don't require a power connector. Maybe trade the 460 for one. Why would you want to use a 2 pin requiring videocard for general use?

 

[william p]

I would stick the HDD in the floppy bay so it runs off of the same rail as the DVD/CD, and run the GPU off of the 2nd 12V. rail with a splitter.

 

[kurcho1944]

Thank you for your responses. I know it is not a great idea to do what I am trying to do and I would ideally go for GeForce GT 710 instead but I already have the 460. Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

[kurcho1944]

I would stick the HDD in the floppy bay so it runs off of the same rail as the DVD/CD, and run the GPU off of the 2nd 12V. rail with a splitter.

This would have been perfect but the cable is not long enough. I guess I rather avoid using another extension.
So basically the white rail is connected to the DVD only (and I assume the mobo).
The yellow is feeding the CPU's (Core2 Q6700@105W I believe) fan and the HDD. The 6pin is also there. It seems if I put a splitter I might exceed the capacity, isn't it?
Wouldn't it be safer if I power the second 6-pin from the white rail instead? And I've only got one molex connector there, would it be ok to use a molex to 6-pin adaptor then?
I am sorry for my ignorance.

 

[william p]

Q6700 is 95W. i would just use a 6 pin splitter. It's all coming from the same place. if it was a 200W GPU i wouldn'y do it, but 160W should be OK.