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9600 gt power requirements

frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
I have an acer desktop with a 300 watt power supply and only one four pin connector.
I have stayed away from the 9600 GT because nVidia says it requires 400 watts and one six pin connector.
However, I recently say a "low profile, low power" 9600GT which the maker (galaxy I believe) says requires only 350 watts and the external connector is "optional". That is, they say on a big sticker that no external connector is required, but it must still be on the card.

Is anyone familiar with this card? I always thought if the external connector was there but not attached that the card would not boot up.

What do you think about this card with only a 300 watt power supply?? My ststem is pretty basic, only an E4500, one hard drive and one DVD writer, Vista 32bit, 3gb of ram, HD4650 DDR2. (Just got the HD4650, but am disappointed in the performance.) What about a regular 9600GT without connecting the external power or using an adapter with only one four pin into the six pin adapter cable? I know I shold upgrade the power supply, but do not want to do that.

If the power supply is too weak, what is likely to happen: just graphics errors or will it possibly burn out the power supply and/or the mother board?? I know it is not possible to give a definite answer to most of these questions, but I would be interested in hearing people's opinions as to what is likely to happen.
 
How many amps does your power supply have on the 12v+ rail. There should be a sticker on your power supply. or give us the name brand of your power supply.

A 9600gt is not going to give you the power you want if the 4650 didn't.
Your better off with a new psu and a 9800gt or 4830. Both around 100$
 
9600GT system power consumption: 250W (including a Core2 X6800 setup)

So technically a 300W PSU should be adequate. However, there are 300W PSUs and 300W PSUs. Some will handle 350W without any problem, others will die with a flash of sparks and a puff of smoke if you subject them to 250W (or even less). If this happens you can lose a lot more than just the PSU itself.

Dell & HP typically use very strong PSUs in their boxes - can handle a "true" 300W load without flinching. I have no idea what kind of models Acer uses in their builds.

I have a small-form-factor Seasonic 300W PSU in my HTPC and it runs a standard 9600GT with absolutely no problems. But Seasonic is known for "under-rating" their PSUs - they can often handle considerably higher load than the sticker says.

Now - my recommendation.

Buy a Radeon 4770 instead. Much higher performance than a 9600GT (better than 9800GT and even GTS 250) with lower power consumption than other modern cards.
 
I looked up his psu it should be a 300 watt Liteon power supply.
13 amp 12v rail.

Even a 4770 might be a problem with that psu.
I can't find a 4770 on sale anywhere anyway.

mabe a 4670 at best.
 
Thanks for the advice, especially happy medium for looking up the power supply info.

Will forget about the 9600GT for now. If I upgrade any more, it would be either a 4670 or if the price and availability are better, a 4770 and and maybe new power supply.

The 4650 is not that terrible, but I upgraded from a 2600Pro and did not see as much improvement as I expected. I wish I had just spent some extra money and got the 4670. I thought the 4650 would be almost as good, but it doesnt seem to be. Must be the DDR2 memory. Overclocking is not nearly as good as I expected either. Anyway, I don't game that much anymore, and can play anything I want now at lower resolution and/or lowered settings. Hopefully I can play Starcraft II and Diablo 3 with what I have.
 
If you want to keep using your existing power supply, then what you want is to find the top end video card that does not need additional power. This card is a 9800 GT that does not require (nor does it have a port for) additional power. It is available at Newegg.

Newegg also has another brand 9600 GT that does not use additional power. Basically look for the lack of the 6-pin PCIe socket in the pictures.
 
Originally posted by: Zap
If you want to keep using your existing power supply, then what you want is to find the top end video card that does not need additional power. This card is a 9800 GT that does not require (nor does it have a port for) additional power. It is available at Newegg.

Newegg also has another brand 9600 GT that does not use additional power. Basically look for the lack of the 6-pin PCIe socket in the pictures.
Click to expand...

Wow learn something new everyday. Thanks for info Zap.
 
That is amazing, I always thought of the 9800GT as quite power hungry card. I didnt see a price listed though, and when I hit purchase just to see the price, it said a password was required.
However, the detailed specs say it requires a 22 amp 12volt rail. It still might be too much for my power supply. Still, quite intresting information. Thanks for the post.
 
Originally posted by: frozentundra123456
I didnt see a price listed though, and when I hit purchase just to see the price, it said a password was required.
Click to expand...

Was that on the BFGstore? I'll have someone look into that. Newegg would still be cheaper though.
 
Hey guys what would be the best card i could get with a dell 300W PSU i was looking at the 9600 low profile but i was wondering if there is any better i could get
 
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