Powering a 4770 on a HP 300w PSU

[Magusigne]

Hey Power Guru's,

Trying to cheap out on this pre-build that I got for a steal on BF for my Dad/Brother. My Brother wants to do a bit of gaming on it..it comes with a stock 300w PSU spec's are pretty vanilla

HP Pavilion p6270z PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• AMD Athlon(TM) X4 620 quad-core processor [2.6GHz, 2MB L2, up to 4000MT/s bus]
• 4GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs]
• FREE UPGRADE! 640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 500GB
• Integrated graphics - ATI Radeon HD 4200
• LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
• 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, audio
• No TV Tuner
• Integrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio ports
• HP multimedia keyboard and HP optical mouse
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• No additional security software
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

According to my source, 4770 will only draw 80w on full load. I suspect that it would work fine for the life of the PC (2-3 years) and thus be my best bang for my buck without having to upgrade the PSU.

Thoughts?

 

[schenley101]

if the power supply has a pcie 6 pin then you should be alright. personally i would not do it but you will probably be alright.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Considering the PC had integrated graphics its likely the PSU doesn't have a PCI-e connector available. I beleive its recommended you have a 400W PSU to run that video card.

Looking at the available customization options for that PC none of the offered upgrade cards has the need for additional power threw a PCI-e power connector so i think its safe to say the PSU doesn't have one. If you want to put in something better then say the 4650 you'll need to upgrade the PSU as well. You'll also need to make sure the case will hold a standard sized ATX PSU.

http://www.costco.com/CTO/HPConfigur...00AV%23ABA

 

[mpilchfamily]

Dp

 

[jvroig]

According to my source, 4770 will only draw 80w on full load. I suspect that it would work fine for the life of the PC (2-3 years) and thus be my best bang for my buck without having to upgrade the PSU.
Thoughts?

Any card drawing more than 75w will need a 6-pin power connector, so I think you should check if your PSU has one, otherwise, you need a low-power card without such a connector like the 4670.