need help regarding my psu (gpu upgrade)

[Ward_J]

Hello!
I am looking to upgrade my pc by adding a decent GPU. However, i noticed that this pc only has a 300W PSU. Some other specs are: I5-3470, HDD sata 500gb disk, and 8GB RAM. I was looking at the low-power version of the 950 (no 6-pin, just the PCIe power), which stated it needed a PSU of 350W. Can i just risk it and try this 950, or is it better to just get a new PSU altogether and a different GPU? (don't really know if the 950 is decent anyway, is the 1050TI an option too?)

TLDR; Does my 300W make the cut for a 350W required card? or is there a better card that can run at a PSU of 300W?

thanks,
Ward

 

[CRO5513Y]

I'd say the GTX 1050 Ti is a good option since it needs no additional power connectors and is low profile in general, probably the best there is at that.

The main issue i would have is not the Wattage but the quality/reliability of the Power Supply, last thing you need is for it to die on you. Or you could just upgrade your Power Supply anyway, you can get some decent ones fairly cheap like this > https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FQ648d/corsair-power-supply-cp9020101na. Hope this helps

 

[Ward_J]

I'd say the GTX 1050 Ti is a good option since it needs no additional power connectors and is low profile in general, probably the best there is at that.

The main issue i would have is not the Wattage but the quality/reliability of the Power Supply, last thing you need is for it to die on you. Or you could just upgrade your Power Supply anyway, you can get some decent ones fairly cheap like this > https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FQ648d/corsair-power-supply-cp9020101na. Hope this helps

Thank you for your quick reply.
The 300W PSU is from HP. I'm not sure if i want to trust it with a card that forces it to its limits.
I think I agree that i need a new PSU. I have another PC, it has a strong 450W power supply. If i swap these two power supply's do you think the other PC could survive? It has a 750TI and a bad AMD APU, so it should be able to run on 300W PSU?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Is this a prebuilt and what model , many older ones won't run 700-1000 series.

 

[Ward_J]

Is this a prebuilt and what model , many older ones won't run 700-1000 series.

it's a prebuilt by HP , 3500 from 2014.
Since it has a decent CPU and wanted a new PC with an I5, i figured why not upgrade this one. I already have extra RAM to upgrade it to 8GB, and now i am looking to add a new GPU. But i think I will just put a strong 450W psu i already have in there and maybe get a 1060?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

It should be fine then , pre 2012's have the issues , with the BIOS incompatibility. What size is this SFF , DT or MT.

 

[Ward_J]

It should be fine then , pre 2012's have the issues , with the BIOS incompatibility. What size is this SFF , DT or MT.

It's MT, do you think i can go for a 1060, when i add my strong PSU? (by cooler master, 450W)

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Not a great PSU , but can run a 960.

 

[Ward_J]

Not a great PSU , but can run a 960.

is the 960 better than the 1050 ti?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-960-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1050-Ti/3165vs3649

 

[Ward_J]

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-960-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1050-Ti/3165vs3649

Really, thanks a lot for your help. I will start building soon!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Just make sure with a pre-built , that you check the length of the card to be sure it fits.