Help with low-end nVidia card for 265W PSU and i5-2400

[Rodrigo Reston]

Hi! I salvaged this computer from the trash, and I don’t have the time to play big AAA titles anyway but I want a more powerful card from nVidia:

BUDGET RANGE: USD $80.00

USAGE: Gaming oldies and indies - I guess the most graphics demanding game in my library is L4D2?

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: MSI AMD R5450 1GB, PSU 265W (12V rail A = 17A, 12V rail B = 9A - does this help?)

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Dell Optiplex 790, Intel Core i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GH, 4x2GB DIMM DDR3 1333MHz, Corsair 120GB SSD.

PREFERRED WEBSITE FOR PARTS: newegg.ca or second hand somewhere.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada

PARTS PREFERENCES: only nVidia chipsets.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

I'm obviously handicapped by the PSU but thebottlenecker.com told me I could go much higher than GIGABYTE GeForce GT 1030 Low Profile 2GB. But cards more expensive and more powerful than a GTX 1050 might not work with my system due to low power from the PSU or even make it unstable.

What card would you recommend? Thanks for your time.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I wouldn't go beyond a 1030 with that power supply.

1050 is slot power and only uses 75w so that might be fine too.

Make sure the fit is right for your case.

 

[why_wolf]

Yeah GT 1030 should work. The 1050 is probably pushing it right to the limit in terms of power usage. Frankly I'd just go with the 1030 and skip the potential problem with the 1050.

 

[Eximo]

Hmm, most of the $80 US GT1030 are passively cooled. Not ideal for gaming.

If Newegg.ca is your website of choice, cards are a little more expensive in CAD (about $95)

Perhaps this one: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/nRmxFT/gigabyte-geforce-gt-1030-2gb-low-profile-video-card-gv-n1030d5-2gl

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125972&nm_mc=AFC-C8JunctionCA&cm_mmc=AFC-C8JunctionCA-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10592396&PID=3938566&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-%zn

 

[ghettogamer]

look for a used r7 250 it should give you a little more kick compared to current gpu, its not that thirsty and low profile is availalbe pretty cheap too less than $60 us

 

[Rodrigo Reston]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Do you think it would be possible to upgrade the PSU for something more powerful? I don't have any experience doing that in proprietary systems like a Dell...

 

[Eximo]

Depends on the chassis, if it is a SFF case, the power supply is shaped to fit and not really replaceable, except with another from the same company.

https://cdn3.volusion.com/3qe56.t2mjh/v/vspfiles/photos/790T-i5-2400-3.jpg?1455030509

If it is the mini-tower then it should have a standard ATX power supply that could be swapped out.

You could always purchase a case while you are at it and transplant the system to give your self more room and options in the future.