is this power consumption chart accurate?

[j0j081]

I've been posting in various threads all over the place trying to find out what the best video card my friend's pc can run with only a 300 watt power supply is. The rest of the specs are a Q6600, 3GB Ram, 2 SATA hdds, and a tv tuner card (that can be removed if it saves power). This is an HP pc, I would help this friend install a new power supply myself but I live too far away right now. To begin with I figured an 8600gt would be the best bet. Not very good for the money but no addition power connector required. Then last night I stumbled upon this chart.

http://www.extremetech.com/art.../0,1697,2217143,00.asp

According to it a full system under load w/a 3850 only requires 302 watts which means it should work with the q6600 pc to right? The 8800gt doesn't even look that far out of reach.

 

[MarcVenice]

The test system is somewhat similar to your friends PC, but with 1 HDD less, and 1gb of ram less. If he has a 300w PSU, you do NOT want it to have to put out all those 300 watts though, it will kill the PSU in no time. How hard can replacing a PSU be though ... Ever seen people take apart a car, or whatever complicated piece of machinery ? No way in hell they can remember what bolt goes where, and which wire goes into what adapter etc. They tag the endings though, and that way they can always put it back completely in the same state as the way they took it apart. Have your friend do the same. But really, a PSU has a 24 pin connector, a 4pin connector running to the motherboard. THen theres the molex connectors for the HDDs, and there will be a 6 pin pci-e connector for his videocard. Then there might be 1 or 2 more molex connectors for casefans. That's it ...

 

[j0j081]

trust me this person will not attempt installing a psu themselves so got to go with the best option considering that for now.

 

[Extelleron]

Running a quad-core processor with ANY high-performance video card on a 300-watt power supply is really pushing it. If it's a good quality power supply, you'll probably be OK with the Q6600 + HD 3850, but you're going to pushing the PSU more than what is recommended.

 

[j0j081]

Do you think the 8600gts would be the best bet then? I don't think this person needs a great card because their lcd is only 1280x1024. UT3 looks pretty playable on a 8600gts and gt at that res.

 

[bryanW1995]

he's screwed either way. if you try it on a 8600gt(s), he'll be disappointed with the gaming capabilities, if you go 3850 then he'll blow the psu. I'd go the 3850 route, however, b/c there's at least a possibility that it'll be ok and NOT blow the psu, while with an 8600gt(s) he'll pay almost the same for the vid card and end up replacing it in 2 mos due to horrible game performance.

ps: does your friend have a laptop/webcam? you could have him set you up to watch him while doing the psu replacement if it becomes necessary. Either that or have him stay at a holiday inn express one day...

 

[j0j081]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
he's screwed either way. if you try it on a 8600gt(s), he'll be disappointed with the gaming capabilities, if you go 3850 then he'll blow the psu. I'd go the 3850 route, however, b/c there's at least a possibility that it'll be ok and NOT blow the psu, while with an 8600gt(s) he'll pay almost the same for the vid card and end up replacing it in 2 mos due to horrible game performance.

ps: does your friend have a laptop/webcam? you could have him set you up to watch him while doing the psu replacement if it becomes necessary. Either that or have him stay at a holiday inn express one day...

is the 8600gts really that bad? this very site shows it getting about 50 fps in ut3 on one of the most demanding maps.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: j0j081

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
he's screwed either way. if you try it on a 8600gt(s), he'll be disappointed with the gaming capabilities, if you go 3850 then he'll blow the psu. I'd go the 3850 route, however, b/c there's at least a possibility that it'll be ok and NOT blow the psu, while with an 8600gt(s) he'll pay almost the same for the vid card and end up replacing it in 2 mos due to horrible game performance.

ps: does your friend have a laptop/webcam? you could have him set you up to watch him while doing the psu replacement if it becomes necessary. Either that or have him stay at a holiday inn express one day...

is the 8600gts really that bad? this very site shows it getting about 50 fps in ut3 on one of the most demanding maps.

In newer games like UT3, it's not that bad compared to previous midrange cards and in UE3 games he'll probably be happy with the performance. But Unreal Engine 3, especially UT3, is very efficient and not too demanding. In games like Crysis, that 8600GTS is going to really suck performance wise, especially compared to the HD 3850. The HD 3850 is truly another league of performance, it's not even close.... the 8600GTS is just a horrible value right now, being only $30-$40 cheaper than the HD 3850.