Need Help Picking a graphics card for my 300w psu

[Horton91]

I just bought a HP Pavilion p7-1120 and I was just wondering what would be the best graphic card for the 300w power supply. I do not plan on updating the power supply just yet. The built in graphics card is the intel 2000HD. I've looked into the nvidia gt 520 and it looks to be my best bet so far but I wasn't sure if there were any better. Thanks for any help you guys can give!

Here are my Pc Specs.

Processor Intel Core i3-2130 Processor (3.4ghz sandy bridge)
RAM 8GB
Hard Drive Size 1.5TB

also can be found here -
http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-p...product_375556

 

[mrjoltcola]

300W should handle a 9800 GT. I have an nvidia 9800 GT "Performance Edition" that is a single slot card without PCI-X power requirement, and I have run it successfully in low power rigs. It will perform better than the 520 or the Intel 2000 or 3000 HD.

Don't waste your money on a 520.

 

[mrjoltcola]

This is the card I have, and I recommend it. http://www3.pny.com/9800-GT-EE-1024M...P2860C331.aspx

 

[nanaki333]

you can get a GT 440. i just grabbed one for an HTPC for $50. happened to glance at the back and it says it requires 300W PSU minimum. no external power required. you can probably look at a 5570 as well. those are near a 9600GT performance and require no external power.

 

[toyota]

those OEM 300 watt power supplies are pretty crappy. luckily your cpu uses hardly any power so you can get a decent low end gpu without getting a new psu. a 520 is a horrible choice for any remotely modern gaming so just forget about it and AMD has better low power options than Nvidia. I would probably go with something like a 6670. a gt440 uses about the same amount of power but is a little bit slower.

 

[Leyawiin]

HD 6670. As long as a card doesn't need an external power connector it'll run on an HP 300W.

 

[-Slacker-]

hd 6770/5770 tops. That thing probably doesn't output more than 220w, and it will only get weaker with time...

 

[Horton91]

Thanks for all your replys guy. I'm kinda of noobish when it comes to computers. Althought the 9800gt requires a 400w psu it still should work on my 300? I just don't want to fry anything

-Thanks

 

[happy medium]

Thanks for all your replys guy. I'm kinda of noobish when it comes to computers. Althought the 9800gt requires a 400w psu it still should work on my 300? I just don't want to fry anything

-Thanks

Yes I think you can squeeze by with that. You have a low power cpu, so you should be ok with a 9800gt.

edit: I'm gonna tell you a secret, a 5750 uses less power than a 9800gt and is much faster.
I would grab a 5750 or a 6750, they are the same and they only use about 70 watts.

80$ AR and free Dirt 3 game and come with the pci-e to molex adapter.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161379

 

[nanaki333]

Thanks for all your replys guy. I'm kinda of noobish when it comes to computers. Althought the 9800gt requires a 400w psu it still should work on my 300? I just don't want to fry anything

-Thanks

go with happy medium's advice. a 5770/6770 would be a much better investment. or if you still want to keep power down, the 6670/5670 are below a 9800GT and even/sometimes above a 9600GT and use very little power.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I would go with the 6670.

I would not trust that power supply with a 5770, and I know that the 5770 requires an external power connector, which I am sure that the HP power supply does not have. I dont know if the HD5750 requires an external power supply or not, but I believe it does.

The 6670 is slightly faster than the 5670 and does not require external power.

The low power (EE) 9800GT will work also. Just make sure it is one of the low power cards that does not require an external power connector. I have been running one of those on a 300 watt power supply for a year now without problems, but I would just go with the more modern 6670 unless you can find a cheap EE 9800GT.

 

[happy medium]

I would go with the 6670.

I would not trust that power supply with a 5770, and I know that the 5770 requires an external power connector, which I am sure that the HP power supply does not have. I dont know if the HD5750 requires an external power supply or not, but I believe it does.

The 6670 is slightly faster than the 5670 and does not require external power.

The low power (EE) 9800GT will work also. Just make sure it is one of the low power cards that does not require an external power connector. I have been running one of those on a 300 watt power supply for a year now without problems, but I would just go with the more modern 6670 unless you can find a cheap EE 9800GT.

Your pci-e slot give 75 watts and the 5750/6750 uses about 70 watts, the extra power connector is just a precaution. I have seen them with just a single molex connector for extra power.
The molex to pci-e connector comes with the card and the card will run off of that 300 watt power supply with the low power cpu that he's running.

I do not recommend the 5770/6770 and the 9800gt (EE) uses the same power as the 5750/6750.

The card I linked will work easily with his psu, with no overclocking.

 

[Horton91]

Thanks for all your feed back. I plan on installing a new psu after winter some time, like a corsair 600w. How would you rate my i3? I know its nothing spectacular but whats the differnce between a sandy bridge than one without.

- ik ik noob

 

[happy medium]

How would you rate my i3?

its very fast