• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Best video card that does not need external power

Fardringle

Fardringle

Diamond Member
Is the GTX 750ti still the best video card available that does not require an external power connector? I'm looking at upgrading the video card in a Dell Optiplex 9020 desktop and I'm curious what is the best option available without having to make any modifications to the system (like replacing the PSU) since it is still under warranty, and the DELL PSU doesn't have any 6 pin power connectors, and it's only rated for 290 watts so I'm not sure it could handle the power draw of a higher spec card even if it did have the connectors. Is there anything more powerful than the 750ti that would work in this system?
 
750ti is still the most powerful that can run off the slot power. I'm not sure how a 9xx rebrand of the 750ti will go, or if it will be different or simply a name change. In any case, I cant imagine it being all that much more powerful in the same power budget with the 750ti already being based off of Maxwell.
 
Fardringle said:
Is the GTX 750ti still the best video card available that does not require an external power connector? I'm looking at upgrading the video card in a Dell Optiplex 9020 desktop and I'm curious what is the best option available without having to make any modifications to the system (like replacing the PSU) since it is still under warranty, and the DELL PSU doesn't have any 6 pin power connectors, and it's only rated for 290 watts so I'm not sure it could handle the power draw of a higher spec card even if it did have the connectors. Is there anything more powerful than the 750ti that would work in this system?
Click to expand...

750Ti is still the most powerful card that does not require an external power connector. However, if you are concerned about the warranty, opening the case and adding a care may void the warranty as well.
 
Fardringle said:
and the DELL PSU doesn't have any 6 pin power connectors, and it's only rated for 290 watts so I'm not sure it could handle the power draw of a higher spec card even if it did have the connectors.
Click to expand...
There are molex to vga 6pin adapters also sata power to 6pin adapters.
Just saying, cause 290W is pretty low,even the 750 Ti asks for 300W.
 
if the psu has a decent 12V rail, shoud be good. It would be a shame that a 290W psu couldn't run a gpu with only 60W tdp. With those crap psus we never know though.

Man i did run an HD 7790 (85W tdp) on a 150 W pico psu (with a 55W tdp dual core pentium, this thing barely draws 30W fully loaded) for the lolz 🙂

Pico psus are crazy efficient though.
 
Last edited:
Kallogan said:
Man i did run an HD 7790 (85W tdp) on a 150 W pico psu (with a 55W tdp dual core pentium, this thing barely draws 30W fully loaded) for the lolz 🙂

Pico psus are crazy efficient though.
Click to expand...
Yet, they are crazy limited in connections and expensive.
 
Let me clarify something that I forgot to put in the original post. The PC currently has an old ATI HD5670, which (I believe) actually has a higher power draw than the 750ti so I'm sure the PSU can handle the 750ti, I just wanted to make sure the 750ti is still the best option right now. I don't do any heavy gaming so I don't need a big power card (my most demanding game is Skyrim and it actually runs fairly well on the 5670), but I'm in the mood to give myself a Christmas present. 🙂


p.s. Dell's official policy is that adding or changing add in cards like RAM or a video card will not void the warranty as long as the card itself doesn't actually cause the damage, but changing the PSU or motherboard will void it.
 
Wikipedia says the TDP of the 5670 is 65W, so it is higher than the 750 Ti, but barely.

Now, nVidia COULD release a 640 core Maxwell 2 model; but I imagine they will just rebrand.
 
I just put a 750 Ti card in my computer. It performs better than expected and at a very reasonable price.
 
GTX750ti is your best bet,since it's already based on Maxwell Arch.
I don't think we'll see anything more powerful than that from nvidia.
A rebranded card maybe but not something new.
 
Specifically for fardringle 🙂

I have the same setup and had the same question that got answered in this forum... but now the followup question... does it perform as expected and is the psu really enough
 
Just FYI, a 750 Ti will not work in the Optiplex 9020.. Dell is using a custom motherboard and a custom PSU in the 9020.. The 290Watt PSU only provides 16 amps on the 12volt rail and a 750 Ti requires at least 18 amps. I tried it and the computer boots up then the moment Windows is loaded it just freezes completely. I had to return the 750 Ti.

Next thing i'm going to try is my backup Radeon 260X which requires a 6-pin PCI-E connector.. Obviously which the Dell PSU does not provide.. But I have a Sata to 6-pin PCI-E adapter to provide power being shipped to me tomorrow and will let you know if this works.. I'm certain it won't work either as the 260X has stronger PSU requirements than the 750 Ti does but I will update and let everyone know.
 
Geephile said:
Specifically for fardringle 🙂

I have the same setup and had the same question that got answered in this forum... but now the followup question... does it perform as expected and is the psu really enough
Click to expand...

If you got yours to work (halfway) anyways.. read my above post.. The issue is because the 12-volt rail on the Dell PSU only provides 16 amps.. Nvidia specifies that 18 amps is required for the card to function properly.

Edit: Read your message wrong, thought you had a 750 ti in your 9020. 😛
 
Last edited:
My Dell Optiplex 9020 came with a OEM Nvidia GTX 645.. and I believe so far this is our only most powerful discrete option with this motherboard/PSU combo.. And it's very underwhelming.. Although it does handle League of Legends at 1080p with all graphic settings set to max and vsync turned on.. Runs the game beautifully and no different than my Titan Z does in my main rig. That being said, we may be stuck using a GTX645 for the life of the 9020.
 
Diversion said:
Next thing i'm going to try is my backup Radeon 260X which requires a 6-pin PCI-E connector.. Obviously which the Dell PSU does not provide.. But I have a Sata to 6-pin PCI-E adapter to provide power being shipped to me tomorrow and will let you know if this works.. I'm certain it won't work either as the 260X has stronger PSU requirements than the 750 Ti does but I will update and let everyone know.
Click to expand...
As someone who's tried both cards in a HTPC (perfectly with a 360w PSU), the 260X draws roughly 20-30w more power under load and is about 10% slower. I'm wondering if your problem is more your motherboard as merely booting a 750Ti won't draw anywhere near its maximum power. However, if the motherboard is not providing enough juice because its VRM's / power circuitry has been "designed down" to just what it came with, then it may well fail no matter what PSU you get. You could always try a 750Ti with external 6-pin connector (eg, Asus twin-fan non-Strix variant GTX750TI-OC-2GD5).

If you want a real world example of the 750Ti, the card itself barely pulls 74w in Furmark, nearer 50-60w in most games (that's 5-7 amps at 12v). "At the wall" whole system power draw is often 120w when gaming (just about maxed out with Skyrim on Ultra + 2K HD texture pack) even with an i5-3570. Lighter games + VSync on = under 100w. In short, you've either got a very flaky PSU or a very flaky motherboard, as some people are successfully using the 750Ti even on 180-200w SFX PSU's in Mini-ITX cases.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top