Best GPU for 450watt PSU

[btmaximus]

Longtime lurker and newbie looking for advice. Planning on upgrading my 8000GT, and was looking at the 460 1gb, then the 6870, when I saw that the 6870 requires a 500w PSU. My current is setup is q6600, corsair vx450w psu, 3gb ram, win 7 (32bit), SSD, HDD, DVD drive, 22in monitor. I can only play BFBC2 at 1024x768, but looking to play it at higher settings and resolution. I'm not looking to overclock. Price is not a big consideration- but I don't need the fastest/greatest as I'm sure I will be cpu limited, probably wouldn't be moving the new card to a new build, and price/value ratio appeals to me. Is there a card that my 450watt psu can handle that would be worth it? (I'm hoping you won't say that I need to upgrade the psu!) Thanks in advance

 

[TurtleCrusher]

The 6870 takes up about 15w or so less than the 460 1GB, so if you're concered about power consumption between the two, go for the Radeon.

At 1024x768, a GTS 450 or a 5770 should be almost overkill. Anyone else agree?

Edit again: Looks like you want to go higher. Yeah, the 460 or the 6870/5850 should be what you're looking for. I think my CPU is holding me back a bit and it's comparable to a Q6600 @ 2.9-3ghz at current clocks.

 

[happy medium]

I'd get a 6850 or gtx460 whichever is cheaper.

 

[btmaximus]

So I shouldn't have any problems running a 460 or 6870 on a 450 watt power supply?

 

[notty22]

6850 with its need for only 1 -6 pin. What that psu offers, would be the best fit imo.

 

[drizek]

If you care about power, don't get an nvidia card, basically. 6850 or 6870 should be fine.

The 460 is a bit slower than the AMD cards at stock speeds. You can overclock it like crazy, but then it will start to use up to about 250W. That should still work, but just barely.

 

[happy medium]

So I shouldn't have any problems running a 460 or 6870 on a 450 watt power supply?

no

 

[Spike]

I'm no expert but it always seems like PSU requirements are way blown out of proportion. Couldn't he run something a little more powerful like a 6950 or GTX 560 on a good quality 450w, even with that quad core (assuming your not overclocking the quad)? I seem to recall running an 4870 and e8400 setup and not pulling more than 280w from the wall under full load. With the PSU efficiency that would mean a real PC use of something like 210 - 230 w.

Maybe I'm wrong but I think you could go pretty high end with that PSU. What really starts to hurt PSU's are a) many HDD's that could require a strong single 12v rail instead of split or b) multiple GPU's. Otherwise it seems like PC's don't actually use as much as we all think, at least not going with a "normal" build.

Take a look at this pic from an anandtech article

This is using an i7-920 and I believe represents power pull from the wall so the PC is actually using less. Looks like you could even run a 5970, 480, or 580 with that 450w assuming 80% efficient... though I would not recommend it

 

[Concillian]

I agree you could go pretty high on a 450W supply, but there's no reason to for 1024x768.

5770 should run 1024x768 maxed. 6850 or 460 is likely overkill, but gives you headroom, I guess.

 

[MrK6]

I'm no expert but it always seems like PSU requirements are way blown out of proportion...

Yes and no. While GPU companies tend to overstate PSU requirements to be on the safe side in case customers by some POS/generic PSU, you shouldn't run a PSU at its limit all the time. For the OP's 450W unit, Corsair's are great, but I would shoot for ~320W limit for the average peak load. Looking at the chart provided, that should pretty much allow a 6870 or lower on the AMD side or a GTX 460 or lower on the NVIDIA side. While Furmark isn't representative of normal usage loads, it does show how inefficient the GTX 460's are.

OP, if you're going to grab a card for a specific purpose (interim until new system is built, keep power low), why grab the opposite of what you're looking for? Also, it seems like this is just a card to hold you over until a new build. That said, why not go for something cheaper? What settings would you like to play BC2 at?

 

[betasub]

22in monitor. I can only play BFBC2 at 1024x768, but looking to play it at higher settings and resolution.

You should be looking at a card that can handle your chosen games at your monitor's native resolution (1680x1050?). 6850 would be a good choice, well within the capabilities of your power supply.

 

[Mr. President]

I'd go with the Radeon series as well. I have a (crappy) 500w PSU in my system and it did not like the 460 card I put in it. It only just managed to handle the power load and the noise went through the roof. I exchanged the card for a 6850 and my system went back to being whisper quiet.

It's also worth noting that nvidia states a 450w PSU is the minimum for the 460-series. I've no idea how yours will perform with the card, but I wasn't comfortable with mine.

Edit: I have the same Q6600 CPU but mine is overclocked to 3ghz. When I had the 460 in my system, it randomly started losing the overclock and reverting to default. I've had no such issue with the 6850 and I'm certain it was due to my PSU. It's otherwise not a loaded system as I have no PCI cards in it and only three hard drives (two of which are 5400rpm).

 

[Skurge]

Well, I can tell you I ran a 4870 (uses more power than a 6950) on a okayish 460w PSU. Wasnt putting it under much pressure I assume as the Fan barely spun up.

 

[btmaximus]

Sorry I mis-spoke earlier- I actually have a 24 in monitor (Westinghouse L2410NM) so native resolution is 1920x1200. My current card only allows me to play BFBC2 at 1024x768- any higher it gets too choppy, and I would like to play at 1920x1200. I've always been an nVidia guy, but it looks like AMD is the way to go here. Is the 6850 adequate for 1920x1200?

 

[btmaximus]

Well I looked at some 6850's and 6870's in more detail and they appear to be significantly longer than the 460. I'm going to have to open up my case and take some measurements, but this could be the deciding factor. I accounted for the two slots, and my current card fits without any problems at 9 inches long. Looking at the load power consumption chart, the 768mb 460 draws less power than the 1gb version. Is it worth it to stay conservative on the power draw at the expense of memory and processor speed?

 

[Lonyo]

Sorry I mis-spoke earlier- I actually have a 24 in monitor (Westinghouse L2410NM) so native resolution is 1920x1200. My current card only allows me to play BFBC2 at 1024x768- any higher it gets too choppy, and I would like to play at 1920x1200. I've always been an nVidia guy, but it looks like AMD is the way to go here. Is the 6850 adequate for 1920x1200?

You stated pretty clearly you wanted to play at higher resolutions, people just didn't read that bit

People who can't read aside, an HD6850 should run it OK at 1920x1200. Anandtech gets over 40fps with everything on max and 4xAA.
I run an HD6850 on a 400w PSU (but it's more like most 450w PSUs) with no problems. You could get away with a 6870 IF you have a decent PSU. It's more about the quality of the PSU than how many watts it claims it can provide.

 

[MrK6]

Well I looked at some 6850's and 6870's in more detail and they appear to be significantly longer than the 460. I'm going to have to open up my case and take some measurements, but this could be the deciding factor. I accounted for the two slots, and my current card fits without any problems at 9 inches long. Looking at the load power consumption chart, the 768mb 460 draws less power than the 1gb version. Is it worth it to stay conservative on the power draw at the expense of memory and processor speed?

The power draw difference of the 460 768MB isn't significant enough to warrant the loss in peformance, tbh. The benefit of getting a more efficient card is you can still overclock it and have enough headroom with your PSU. Both the 6850 and the 6870 fit the bill here and they are only about a 1/2" longer than the 460's (9" as opposed to 8 1/2"). Since that's the length of you current card, you should be set; just decide how much money you want to spend.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I get 42fps on my OC'd 6850...and that's with a dualcore. If you want more info on the card, check out my bench in sig.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

That's a great power supply so you could run any mid range card.

 

[btmaximus]

Those are some great stats Ravenseal (pretty pictures too). Looking forward to all that eye candy :drool:

 

[nyker96]

I'd get a 6850 or gtx460 whichever is cheaper.

second! but 6850 i think is slightly more energy economical.

 

[Rezist]

I'd get either a 6850 or 460 1GB, just I think if you plan to OC the 460 1GB your PSU will likely hold you back, I don't think you'll have that issue with the 6850 as much per say. I

 

[digitaldurandal]

I'm no expert but it always seems like PSU requirements are way blown out of proportion. Couldn't he run something a little more powerful like a 6950 or GTX 560 on a good quality 450w, even with that quad core (assuming your not overclocking the quad)? I seem to recall running an 4870 and e8400 setup and not pulling more than 280w from the wall under full load. With the PSU efficiency that would mean a real PC use of something like 210 - 230 w.

Maybe I'm wrong but I think you could go pretty high end with that PSU. What really starts to hurt PSU's are a) many HDD's that could require a strong single 12v rail instead of split or b) multiple GPU's. Otherwise it seems like PC's don't actually use as much as we all think, at least not going with a "normal" build.

Take a look at this pic from an anandtech article

This is using an i7-920 and I believe represents power pull from the wall so the PC is actually using less. Looks like you could even run a 5970, 480, or 580 with that 450w assuming 80% efficient... though I would not recommend it

Do not forget to take into account AMPS. This is what is important with his small PSU. Not the wattage. Typically a low wattage PSU is not going to have the amps to handle a high end graphics card.

 

[Rezist]

Well that depends what rail they put the amps on most modern day PSU's have it on the 12V but yeah if they don't your in trouble.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Better off with the 6850, that PSU is only rated at 33 amps.