Best GPU That Doesn't Require SATA Power

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adamkavon

Junior Member
Nov 17, 2009
19
0
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Hello!

So, I'm getting a hand-me-down computer from my sister. The specs aren't the best, but it'll be much better to game on it than on my laptop (MBP that gets HOT!). The relevant specs:

Intel Pentium Duo E5200 (2.5ghz OC'ed to 2.6ghz)
Foxconn 45GMX 945G
PQI 2GB DDR2 800
Linkworld 430 Watt PSU

There are two things I need to consider:
1) The mobo has a PCIe 1.1 x16 slot (NOT PCIe 2.0)
2) The PSU has no SATA PCIe power cables

So, what's the FASTEST video card I can put in there that won't be too fast for the PCIe 1.1 x16 slot and that requires NO extra SATA PCIe power?

Thanks!
 
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VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,571
10,206
126
Don't know what you're talking about. There are no video cards, ever, that have required SATA power connections.

Perhaps you are talking about the PCI-E 6-pin or 8-pin power connectors?
 
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Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
They don't use SATA power, they use PCIe power, just for clarification.

Green versions of the 9800GT or HD5750 would be your best bet.
HD5750:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...lor-_-14131346
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...odlist=froogle

Review of the HD5750 Green.
The 9800GT Green will probably perform about the level of the GT240 for reference (since it's a reduced shader and downclocked GTS250)

9800GT:
http://www.amazon.com/Palit-9800GT-G.../dp/B002VJJO8W
http://www.amazon.com/Palit-9800GT-1.../dp/B002VJJO8M
 
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adamkavon

Junior Member
Nov 17, 2009
19
0
0
Doh! I meant PCIe power. Sorry! I've been reading computing websites all morning and got my acronyms mixed up! Thank you!

Keep the suggestions coming!
 
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jtvang125

Diamond Member
Nov 10, 2004
5,399
51
91
Even if your ps doesnt have pci-e power, all video cards that require external pci-e power will include a dual molex to pci-e adapter. Just gotta make sure your ps has enough spare molex.
 
dpodblood

dpodblood

Diamond Member
May 20, 2010
4,020
1
81
jtvang125 said:
Even if your ps doesnt have pci-e power, all video cards that require external pci-e power will include a dual molex to pci-e adapter. Just gotta make sure your ps has enough spare molex.
Click to expand...

Often the video card will come with the adapters as well. Just check before you purchase and make sure you have enough wattage to run the thing.
 
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adamkavon

Junior Member
Nov 17, 2009
19
0
0
The problem here is that the PSU has 4x MOLEX. The hard drive in there is 120 GB and I have another 120 GB I was hoping to add. These plus the DVD-R brings me to 3 MOLEX used. If the MOLEX to 6-pin requires 2 MOLEX connectors... I'm one short. ><
 
f4phantom2500

f4phantom2500

Platinum Member
Dec 3, 2006
2,284
1
0
might wanna consider overclocking that cpu more. dunno how good that mobo is for oc'ing but the e5200's usually go pretty high.
 
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Herald85

Member
Feb 10, 2010
78
0
0
There are 1 Molex -> 2 Molex convertor
Then you use a 2 Molex -> PCI-E convertor

However, you need to be sure the PSU can handle the draw.

I myself had the same dilemma. I decided against using the convertors on a stock PSU in a Packard Bell pc and found a secondhand Connect3D HD4850 that didn't require a PCI-E power for 50 euro. I was quite lucky to find that I think, they seem very rare in Belgium (not sure about the US). This was the perfect card because the person I was providing the card with has a 1440x900 screen. If you yourself have a monitor with a small resolution you might as well get a lowpowered GPU as was suggested.

However, if you have the budget get a decent PSU and the wonderful world of PCI-I powered 3d cards opens up for you ;)
 
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Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
8
81
I'd say 5770 + a molex splitter.

If there are two independent "chains" from the power supply, get TWO molex splitters so you can have the video card getting power from both chains via the 6-pin to 2x molex adapters . Then put two HDs on one chain and the optical on the other chain. Get long-ish splitters so this is possible.

The 5770 is a decently powerful card that is also reasonable power consumption. Coupled with an e5200 there's a very low chance you'd have any issues with that setup and a 430W power supply.

To get significantly better performance than a 5770, power requirements go WAY up. 5770 is very good for performance per watt, and I think would be a good match with an e5200 too.

I would not worry about the PCI-e slot version. Recent benchmarks have shown relatively minor performance loss by cutting the bandwidth in half, even for the high end cards, granted that was looking at x8 vs x16 and not PCI-e v1.1 vs. v2.0 but it's a similar bandwidth comparison.
 
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adamkavon

Junior Member
Nov 17, 2009
19
0
0
The HD 5770 was the card I was hoping to get before I realized my PSU was... less than desirable, so the splitter idea sounds like it probably will work.

As far as overlocking, 2.6 is the furthest I've been able to get it to go. I don't know if it's the mobo or the stock cooler that's slowing me down. The RAM is ddr2 800, and is running at 750 mhz, so I know it's not that.

I'm wondering: if I throw a CM Hyper 212+ on there (with the new GPU) and try again... will I be using too much power?
 
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Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
8
81
I forget exactly where, but my e5200 was good to around 3GHz on stock voltage. It's not your chip, very likely the 945g. Not exactly the overclocker's choice. Don't worry about it, just get a decent video card for now, see how things look and when you save up the cash for it, upgrade the whole mobo + CPU + memory to modern standards.

I'm running an overclocked e7200 (similar power consumption to an overclocked e5200) and an overclocked 4850 (more power consumption than a 5770) and there are zero issues with that setup on a decent 380W supply. You don't need to be concerned about power with a dual core + 5770. You got plenty of room.
 
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adamkavon

Junior Member
Nov 17, 2009
19
0
0
That 4-pin MOLEX to 6-pin PCIe 5750 looks like it might be exactly perfect for me. It lists a 450w PSU as a req. but 430w is close enough, eh?

And I agree that upgrading the mobo, psu, etc would be nice, but I'm a PhD student and there's not much stipend left after rent, food, etc. I'm basically just trying to get a Starcraft II-worthy computer going before it comes out. I played the beta for a month on my 2010 MacBook Pro and at 1440x900 it would play about 5 games fine with all graphics set to medium, then would become too hot and the game itself would tell me to cool down my computer.

Hell, I'm so broke I'm going to be using a 19" CRT monitor from my old PowerMac G4 that had a GeForce 3 in it! I mean... it'd be nice to have an LCD, but 1600x1200 on the CRT ain't too bad...
 
happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
adamkavon said:
That 4-pin MOLEX to 6-pin PCIe 5750 looks like it might be exactly perfect for me. It lists a 450w PSU as a req. but 430w is close enough, eh?
And I agree that upgrading the mobo, psu, etc would be nice, but I'm a PhD student and there's not much stipend left after rent, food, etc. I'm basically just trying to get a Starcraft II-worthy computer going before it comes out. I played the beta for a month on my 2010 MacBook Pro and at 1440x900 it would play about 5 games fine with all graphics set to medium, then would become too hot and the game itself would tell me to cool down my computer.

Hell, I'm so broke I'm going to be using a 19" CRT monitor from my old PowerMac G4 that had a GeForce 3 in it! I mean... it'd be nice to have an LCD, but 1600x1200 on the CRT ain't too bad...
Click to expand...

The 5750 only uses 80 watts fully loaded. You should be fine.
Be carefull overclocking though, your psu has only a 18 amp rail.

Add video card first ,second harddrive later. :)
 
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Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
8
81
adamkavon said:
That 4-pin MOLEX to 6-pin PCIe 5750 looks like it might be exactly perfect for me. It lists a 450w PSU as a req. but 430w is close enough, eh?
Click to expand...

more than enough. TDP of a 5750 is less than 100W. e5200 + mobo is like 100W max. Your accessories / fans are probably 50W max.

You're probably looking at <250W if you try to make it run max draw with an unrealistic scenario and ~150W in typical gaming.

PSU requirements are overblown for individual components because they don't know what else you might be running. They have to assume that you have a quad core extreme processor, 10 fans, 3 add-in cards, 5 hard drives, etc... Then they add some safety margin on top of that just to be sure, so they don't have people calling tech support 24x7.
 
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Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
8
81
happy medium said:
Add video card first ,second harddrive later. :)
Click to expand...

Hard drives are almost no draw once they're spinning. They only are at max draw when the motor is accelerating the spindle from full stop to normal speed. Conveniently, this is when the video card will be nowhere near max draw. He doesn't have to worry about the power usage of a 2nd HD.
 
edplayer

edplayer

Platinum Member
Sep 13, 2002
2,186
0
0
most powerful (for gaming) videocard that doesn't require power apart from the PCI-E slot is the 5670. Best bang for the buck card that doesn't require added power is the GT240. 5670 is usually $70 +. GT240 is showing up for $40 a lot (after rebate). I just picked up an evga gt240 for a friend for $40 and it came with Street Fighter IV (for which I substituted Resident Evil 5), some video editing software, Shattered Horizons, Cryostasis and Crazy Machines 2.

If you really wanted a 5770, why not just get that and upgrade your PSU also? The Corsair 400W PS is one of the best deals and its on sale right now for $20 after rebate (awesome deal):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139008

use coupon (BIGSAVE20) to bring the price down $10 and there is a $20 MIR


didn't see that Lonyo already posted the fastest card (the green 5750 though $170 for that is silly) and the Corsair PSU
 
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KeithP

KeithP

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2000
5,664
201
106
Another idea, those 120GB HDs probably aren't terribly faster. You might consider selling both and pick up a new 500GB HD.

-KeithP
 
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