Looking for cheap low power gfx card for media box

[etherealfocus]

Nothing fancy. Just want something that

a) doesn't need auxiliary power (I have a cheapo power supply in this machine with no Molex or PCIe Aux).

b) has halfway decent light gaming performance, roughly equivalent to 9800GT or so.

c) $40 or less preferably. It's a light use machine, don't wanna spend much on it.

I prefer buying from Amazon or eBay but got a Microcenter in the area too (Dallas/Richardson location). Links to FSFT posts acceptable too.

 

[Yuriman]

Intel's HD4600 is between a 7800 and 8800 (9800) in performance. Overclocked, I'm thinking it's going to be pretty close to the performance you're looking for. AMD's A8 and A10 APUs are considerably faster, though are attached to slower CPUs.

What is this going to be paired with? I don't think cards in that performance bracket are made anymore, because integrated graphics has come so far. The cheapest you can go new is probably an R7 240 or 250. Going with older used cards might give you issues with accelerated video playback in some formats, though a 6670 might work if you can find one.

EDIT: Just found the R5 230 exists. This isn't GCN though, but a rebranded VLIW4 HD6450, which will be a fraction of the speed of what's build into and free with modern CPUs, so I'd avoid it.

Here's a 240 for $50 after rebate on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-677-_-Product

 

[etherealfocus]

CPU is a Phenom II X2 550 with 4GB DDR2 and a couple 320GB platter drives. Ancient... probably gonna give it to friend's kids and replace with a Stream Mini. The IGP won't even set monitor dimensions correctly over HDMI so there's a half inch of unused space all the way around the screen lol (though maybe that's because I put Win10 9926 on it?). Kids will be happy long as it can handle a little Minecraft and play Youtube.

 

[Yuriman]

To fix the monitor black bar issue, change scaling in CCC to 0%, it happens on my 7850 too.

 

[Headfoot]

To fix the monitor black bar issue, change scaling in CCC to 0%, it happens on my 7850 too.

This ^. Happens on my R9 290 as well when I hook it up to a TV.

For a good card, I'd scrounge through used listings and grab the cheapest GTX 750 (not ti) that you can get. Low power, solid performance matching with a Phenom II X2, newer feature set (important for HTPC duties). In the $40 to $75 dollar range even budget bumps of 5-10 dollars can get you double the card

 

[myocardia]

If I were you, I'd buy one of these. It's >2x as fast as any other $50 card, and about 10x as fast as any $40 card. Buy it fast, though, it's on sale, and they are going fast. http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-P...eywords=GT+740

edit: After googling the part #, the above is a GT 720, NOT a GT 740, making it the same speed as the other $50 cards, and only 4-5x as fast as a $40 card.

 

[Termie]

If I were you, I'd buy one of these. It's >2x as fast as any other $50 card, and about 10x as fast as any $40 card. Buy it fast, though, it's on sale, and they are going fast. http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-P...eywords=GT+740

edit: After googling the part #, the above is a GT 720, NOT a GT 740, making it the same speed as the other $50 cards, and only 4-5x as fast as a $40 card.

The real GT 740 1GB DDR5 is actually the lowest-priced card that matches an 8800GT. It's currently $90: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-G...eywords=gt+740

OP, you need to keep in mind that getting 8800GT-level performance for $50 isn't possible. and reset your expectations - either decide you won't do any serious gaming or double the budget.

As background, neither AMD nor Nvidia bother selling gaming cards under around $100. And even that pricepoint has bought about the same amount of gaming power for the past 3 years. It's not a buyer's market.

 

[frozentundra123456]

According to Toms hardware, the cheapest entry level gaming card is a GT 730 GDDR5 for 70.00. You might be able to get a decent used card for less though. You could look for something like a HD7750.

 

[etherealfocus]

Yeah, what I've been doing. And wasting more time than saving a little cash is worth lol. Was checking ebay, craigslist, FSFT forum posts etc for a good used card. 9800GT is dirt cheap but PSU won't support it... EXCEPT:

I knew there were Molex to PCIe 6pin adapters, but didn't realize you could do that with SATA power too. Boom. http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-S.../dp/B007Y91B80

6 bucks and I can plug in a nice 9800GT or whatever. Still nothing crazy obviously with a cheap OEM PSU, but good enough.

...I'm a hair nervous since the PSU has no labeling of any kind on it... who knows, maybe it's some ridiculously crappy 200-250W unit. Guess we'll find out. lol

 

[Essence_of_War]

I knew there were Molex to PCIe 6pin adapters, but didn't realize you could do that with SATA power too. Boom. http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-S.../dp/B007Y91B80

I probably wouldn't risk it if you don't know the units rating.

 

[Termie]

Also, the 9800GT is not a great GPU to run in an HTPC. Huge idle power consumption, limited video processing capabilities.

 

[NTMBK]

Yeah, get a modern GPU with a hardware decoder. Otherwise you'll be decoding HD video on a crummy old dual-core CPU, which isn't going to be fun.

 

[myocardia]

9800GT is dirt cheap but PSU won't support it...

6 bucks and I can plug in a nice 9800GT or whatever. Still nothing crazy obviously with a cheap OEM PSU, but good enough.

9800GTs use 150-160 watts at idle, and 225-250 under load, all while doing no video acceleration. I can pretty much guarantee you that that OEM PSU won't be able to handle a 9800GT.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Not all 9800GT models were that power hungry. There were later models that came out that did not even require an external power adapter. I actually ran one for several years on an OEM 300 watt psu.

Edit: I think they were call "Green Edition" or EE (energy efficient) editions, or something similar, depending on the manufacturer. I was using one until a couple of years ago, and it was a pretty good match for a core 2 duo cpu. I still think you would be better off though to just buy a 70 to 90 dollar modern card.

 

[myocardia]

Not all 9800GT models were that power hungry. There were later models that came out that did not even require an external power adapter. I actually ran one for several years on an OEM 300 watt psu.

Edit: I think they were call "Green Edition" or EE (energy efficient) editions, or something similar, depending on the manufacturer. I was using one until a couple of years ago, and it was a pretty good match for a core 2 duo cpu. I still think you would be better off though to just buy a 70 to 90 dollar modern card.

Ahh, okay. I was not aware that those existed. The 'normal' cards were that power hungry, though: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...0-gt-roundup-evga-asus-gigabyte-palit-19.html

 

[frozentundra123456]

Dont want to be picky, but those are total system power consumption graphs, I believe. So the actual card does not use that much. If I recall correctly, a normal 9800GT used somewhat over 100 watts at load, for the card alone. Doesnt matter anyway, since it is way more than an OEM psu would handle.

As a matter of fact the OP might be better off to get a cheap, good quality 430 watt or so psu anyway, since the one in that box is probably quite old and could be ready to fail. One can get a 430 watt EVGA or CM psu for 30.00 or less on sale.

 

[myocardia]

Dont want to be picky, but those are total system power consumption graphs, I believe. So the actual card does not use that much. If I recall correctly, a normal 9800GT used somewhat over 100 watts at load, for the card alone. Doesnt matter anyway, since it is way more than an OEM psu would handle.

Pffft, good catch. I should have read the details that they plainly posted. I was wondering how a midrange card (at it's debut), could draw that much power. It turns out that those numbers are with a ~175 watt CPU overclock. I agree about the OEM PSU still not being able to handle it, though, since OEM PSUs nearly always have very weak 12v rails, and all of the power for both CPU & dedicated video cards comes from the 12v rail.

 

[Headfoot]

For HTPC you definitely do not want a 9800GT. Video decoding and HTPC features have come a very long way since then. Not to mention idle power use/ low power when only decoder is in use.

I still think cheapest first low end cards worth buying are the GTX 750, and the R7 260.

 

[etherealfocus]

Oi. Ok, thanks for the feedback guys. Upon reflection I'm thinking by the time I drop neighborhood of $130 on a GeForce 750 and decent PSU I'm better off just selling this thing and buying a new machine. It's in one of those silly blue acrylic chassis with terrible thermal properties so a 9800GT is probably a bad idea from that perspective as well.

I'm thinking Stream Mini for the HTPC (obv with a RAM upgrade; don't need local storage since I stream or pull media off the workstation). I'm not super picky; if it can handle 1080p Netflix/Youtube and maybe let me do some light Excel work on the other screen, I'm happy. Stream Mini has a Celeron 2957U; that should be fine, yes?

I assume the Haswell-based 2957U is significantly better for HTPC than the Ivy-based 1017U in the Lenovo Q190?

For the kids game box, I'm pry better off just giving them the next computer I retire (pry the laptop; even HD4400 should be ok for Minecraft?)

Thanks again for the info everyone!

 

[Sunaiac]

I had a GTX275 in my HTPC for 2 years
Only card I had left at home, and since I built the HTPC with leftovers ...

When I moved form this with its PhII X4 955 to my current A10-6700, noise levels went down so much ... and power from 175W in 1080p movies to 75W.

Do not go GT9800

 

[Termie]

Oi. Ok, thanks for the feedback guys. Upon reflection I'm thinking by the time I drop neighborhood of $130 on a GeForce 750 and decent PSU I'm better off just selling this thing and buying a new machine. It's in one of those silly blue acrylic chassis with terrible thermal properties so a 9800GT is probably a bad idea from that perspective as well.

I'm thinking Stream Mini for the HTPC (obv with a RAM upgrade; don't need local storage since I stream or pull media off the workstation). I'm not super picky; if it can handle 1080p Netflix/Youtube and maybe let me do some light Excel work on the other screen, I'm happy. Stream Mini has a Celeron 2957U; that should be fine, yes?

I assume the Haswell-based 2957U is significantly better for HTPC than the Ivy-based 1017U in the Lenovo Q190?

For the kids game box, I'm pry better off just giving them the next computer I retire (pry the laptop; even HD4400 should be ok for Minecraft?)

Thanks again for the info everyone!

Good idea going with a much smaller, much more efficient streaming box.

I personally recommend the Zotac ZBox BI320. I have one and love it. The Haswell 2957U which it has is actually not significantly better than the 1017U in the Q190, but what is significantly better is having an SSD. Like way, way better. The Zbox has a 64GB SSD, vs. the 32GB model in the Stream Mini. That alone is worth the extra $20 or so, unless you really like the styling of the Stream Mini, but both are better choices than the Q190.

 

[etherealfocus]

Ooh good catch. Another $20ish for double the SSD capacity is great. Too bad about the missing wifi but plenty of USB ports to fix that.

The 2957 is good for 1080p Youtube/Netflix streaming right?

 

[Termie]

Ooh good catch. Another $20ish for double the SSD capacity is great. Too bad about the missing wifi but plenty of USB ports to fix that.

The 2957 is good for 1080p Youtube/Netflix streaming right?

The 2957U is plenty powerful for 1080p streaming. But so is the average tablet.

 

[tweakboy]

Voodoo 7 is what you need. JK JK JK