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Best video card to run on a 180watt PSU?

Washoe

Washoe

Senior member
I have a budget PC from newegg... 180 watt PSU. Currently has an onboard ATI Radeon 3000. Wondering if it is at all possible to find an upgrade to the video card. I don't expect to be playing Crysis 2 on it or anything. Just wondering what my options might be (if any).


btw I'm thinking of something like this:

HIS H545H1G Radeon HD 5450 (Cedar) 1GB 64-bit DDR3

Thanks!
 
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Thanks nanaki ... I found a 5450 that's 32-bit here:

HIS H545HO512 Radeon HD 5450 512MB 32-bit DDR3

My biggest concern is with the power supply though - would it be handle that 6670 or this 5450? The 5450 says 400 Watt or greater power supply recommended. Is the answer: "Duh - it says 400 watts and you have 180 watts, therefore it won't work", or is this something I can overlook and still get away with?
 
HD6670 is going to be the most you can get performance wise with low power.

36850.png


As far as power requirements, they are basically done with really bad PSUs in mind.
Since you have a budget PC from Newegg, the PSU might not be that good, so you would be advised to check what it says on the side it can output (specifically at 12v).
Also the other specs are important to make sure overall system power use won't be too high.
The 6670 itself doesn't use masses of power though.
 
i've got a custom rosewill mini-ITX case with 150W PSU using a 45w AMD x2 that has a 6650 in it and it does just fine. they mainly wanted it for dual display and watching netflix HD and flash games and such. it's never had a problem or shown any signs of such.
 
Washoe said:
Thanks nanaki ... I found a 5450 that's 32-bit
Click to expand...

LOL, I think nanaki meant you should look for something with a 128-bit memory interface. 64-bit memory = slow low-end cards (maybe that's all your PSU can handle, or all you need), but 32-bit... sheesh, ack!

And the 400W "requirement" for a 5450 is a joke. They have minimal power requirements - perhaps someone can confirm just how low.
 
I ran a 5670 on a very small PSU with a machine that idled at 35watts. its max TDP isnt that high

with a 6450 etc you are probably going to be able to do it easily, when teh gpu maxes out under 50w TDP.

the 6670 maxes at 66w, the 6570 is 44w.
 
betasub said:
LOL, I think nanaki meant you should look for something with a 128-bit memory interface. 64-bit memory = slow low-end cards (maybe that's all your PSU can handle, or all you need), but 32-bit... sheesh, ack!

And the 400W "requirement" for a 5450 is a joke. They have minimal power requirements - perhaps someone can confirm just how low.
Click to expand...

DOH! i was wondering why he mentioned a 32 bit card too. it didn't click until now.
 
betasub said:
LOL, I think nanaki meant you should look for something with a 128-bit memory interface. 64-bit memory = slow low-end cards (maybe that's all your PSU can handle, or all you need), but 32-bit... sheesh, ack!
Click to expand...

LOL ok I get it now :forehead smack:

betasub said:
And the 400W "requirement" for a 5450 is a joke. They have minimal power requirements - perhaps someone can confirm just how low.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I still have my eye on a 5450 just to be safe about power requirements. Totally budget build here. For my aunt who does light gaming (Railroad Tycoon, adventure games, I think she plays some WoW too)
 
btw this is the rig:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883108456

The PSU is Lite-on 180w. Regarding output it says +12V === /14A MAX

later it says +3.3v/+5v/+12v Power shall not exceed 170W

I double checked to make sure it has a pci e slot! Has one that says 16x.

Only one problem is - I do not see a PCI-E power connector! Checking newegg to see if there are adapters that might work... (or do I even need one for these budget cards...?)
 
Last edited:
Zargon said:
washoe what else is going in this rig?
Click to expand...

Lenovo H405 (7723-1AU)

Processor AMD Athlon II X2 255 3.1GHz
Memory 2GB DDR3 1333MHz
Hard Drive 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive DVD±RW Drive
Integrated ATI Radeon 3000
Sound card - Integrated
Power Supply 180 watts, universal, manual switch
Keyboard PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse USB Optical Mouse
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

That's it
 
unless the mobo is an utter POS you should be fine I would think

the aII x2's are super powersippy

you have a kill-a-watt?
 
its a little power meter you can plug into the wall then plug the computers power cord into, to get a watt reading
 
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