Recommend a GPU for a 250W PSU

[railven]

I have a friend that has an HP 6520F PC:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...216278&lang=en

After finding out he had a 250W PSU my first recommendation (due to his price range) flew out the window.

At the moment he seems only interested in playing WoW on high/Ultra settings. His computer has good muscle, I just see the PSU holding back any recommendations I can think off the top of my head.

Suddenly a GTS 450 or Radeon 5770 seems suitable. He said he wanted to buy a new monitor down the road and put his prince range at $350 max for his new GPU purchase.

If he gets a 1080p monitor not sure how good a GTS 450 or Radeon 5770 will do him. (I run WoW on a 5870 with Ultra Settings and occasionally dip under 50 FPS in high populated areas.)

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Petey!]

Not gonna happen. That processor isn't particularly strong and the best your gonna get for a video card is the bottom of the barrel.

Tell your friend to buy a new psu, you can get a decent 5-600w for under $50 bucks.

There's no way your playing WoW on High setting with that.


$350 is MORE then enough to get a GPU/PSU that will max that processor. You could easily fit a 6850/6870/6950 and a good PSU for $350. It'd recommend a GTX 560 except that the new NV cards tend to really favour fast CPUs, and that processor is kinda old. WoW is extremely CPU intensive, so that's where most of the work is gonna land.

 

[yh125d]

Yeah you're gonna want a new PSU.

Corsair/Antec 350-450w and a GTS450 sounds good

 

[railven]

I'm not even sure what kind of PSU would fit into his case. The only HP PC's I've ever dismantled were custom form factors and didn't use regular sized PSUs.

I'll probably recommend a Radeon 6870 + a PSU. Thanks for the input.

 

[Concillian]

If you want to keep the 250W PSU, I wouldn't go over an AMD 5670, which is the fastest current card that doesn't require a PCI-E power connector.

It will play WoW okay, but ultra is NOT going to happen on that CPU + power supply.

It will be much better than integrated graphics, and WoW is "cartooney" enough that you don't need everything ultra for the graphics to be good enough that they don't detract from the gameplay. mix of good and high doesn't look terrible.

If he's doing 25 man raids, an Athlon II will hold him back regardless of GPU. 10 mans or arena, he's probably okay with that CPU + 5670 at high settings, maybe a few (shadows and particle density are the worst offenders) only set to good. Certainly playable if you're on a strict budget and don't need the absolute best performance.

Even if you change PSU and get an awesome card, the CPU will likely hold him back just as much. I wouldn't spend too much on a video card + PSU just to find out his CPU is a severe limitation. Given how little a 5670 costs, I'd give that a try first before he ends up replacing his whole computer. Performance drops in raids (with a decent GPU) are often associated with logging mods like recount or skada. Make him aware of that.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Without a new PSU, go with a 5670 or any card that doesn't require an external connector.

With a new PSU (and it looks like it should fit a standard ATX PSU), you can get any card. But you'll be limited by physical size, and to an extent the processor, so I suggest you go no higher than the midrange offerings of the GTX 460 or HD 6850. They would be a good balance for this system. You also don't need a particularly strong PSU to run these. I would suggest you go for the OCZ ModXStream Pro series, because they are decent units, cheap, and have modular cabling (helpful for the cramped case).

 

[RavenSEAL]

None

 

[happy medium]

Without a new PSU, go with a 5670 or any card that doesn't require an external connector.

this ^^^^^^^for about 75$ or..............

If you want a cheap quality psu, I've had a few Enemax psu's and never had a problem with them. Here is a 450 watt one with a 360 watt 12v rail @ 30 amps, for 50$ shipped. If you want to go the 6850/gtx460 route it will do nicely.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194090

Thats 50$ for the psu and about 175$ for the gtx460 or 6850.

 

[RavenSEAL]

this ^^^^^^^

Even then it'll be a tight fit. HD5670 takes up somewhere around 70-90w @ load. All that other stuff running in there...IDK...

500w PSU only cost around $50 and will allow him to upgrade WAY higher.

 

[happy medium]

HD5670 takes up somewhere around 70-90w

65w to be exact. Thats less than 6 amp's. I'm sure the hp 250 watt unit has like 15/18 amps to play with. My 250 watt Dell does.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Something like this maybe would work.

But I'm going to agree with the above posts. You can get a solid PSU and a lot of GPU for $350. Or hell, even $250. Or $150.

WoW runs fine on max settings with my GTS 250. A 450 is (oddly enough) on par, a 5770 slightly better. I'm only running @ 1280x1024, though.

 

[Arkadrel]

I recammend getting a new PSU first

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Even then it'll be a tight fit. HD5670 takes up somewhere around 70-90w @ load. All that other stuff running in there...IDK...

70-90w?

No. Its TDP is 61w. Its real world usage is more like 40-50w, perhaps even lower depending on the board design.

 

[zagood]

Judging from this thread it looks like that case will take a standard ATX psu. There isn't much room to work with though, so I'd try to get a modular PSU instead of trying to find a place for all the extra wires.

Good modular PSU for under $100, but there are some other good ones out there as well:
Strider 500

Then just get the best GPU you can find for around $200. He's even under budget at that point.

 

[JRW]

He needs a better PSU, I went through the same thing when helping a friend upgrade his Compaq desktop.

 

[toyota]

those oem psus that HP/Compaq use are very cheaply made. those 250 watt units are "rated" for 14 amps and dont even make that in real world conditions when brand new. with that X4 cpu, using even a 5670 in that system would push it right to the edge under load.

 

[-Slacker-]

That psu doesn't put out more than 170w, unless it's brand new, and even then it probably wouldn't be enough.

95w cpu+5w ram+10w mobo +15w hdd +15w dvd rw = 140w

Not enough headroom for a 60w hd5670.

Your friend should get a new one and stop buying pre built computers.

 

[Red Hawk]

Something like this maybe would work.

But I'm going to agree with the above posts. You can get a solid PSU and a lot of GPU for $350. Or hell, even $250. Or $150.

WoW runs fine on max settings with my GTS 250. A 450 is (oddly enough) on par, a 5770 slightly better. I'm only running @ 1280x1024, though.

It might work, but I don't think that's worth buying. It has just twice as many stream processors as the integrated graphics already in the PC. It might be worth buying that extremely low-power graphics card if the computer relied on Intel graphics at the moment, but not ATI integrated graphics.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

It might work, but I don't think that's worth buying. It has just twice as many stream processors as the integrated graphics already in the PC. It might be worth buying that extremely low-power graphics card if the computer relied on Intel graphics at the moment, but not ATI integrated graphics.

Yeah, I didn't mean to endorse the idea, I'm just saying it would technically work with the PSU he has. :\

 

[jrodfry]

I'm not even sure what kind of PSU would fit into his case. The only HP PC's I've ever dismantled were custom form factors and didn't use regular sized PSUs.

I'll probably recommend a Radeon 6870 + a PSU. Thanks for the input.

The HP case wasn't designed for standard ATX PSUs, but they will fit. I purchased a similar hp computer 4 months ago, and decided I wanted to upgrade it. I was able to find a 585W PSU for around $25.00, give or take. it worked just fine. An HP case probably won't fit a larger GPU like the GTS 450/HD 5770 or above. It should fit a card around the same form factor as an HD 4670. The Case will fit a standard ATX PSU, but there will be a small amount of space left at the upper air duct. Though I did it and didn't have any issues with it. Though if he is looking for a higher end card, he should probably have a different case. There isn't much space available in the HP Mid tower.

Good Luck!

 

[Arkadrel]

The HP case wasn't designed for standard ATX PSUs...

first a new gpu,... then find you you need a new psu,... then find out case doesnt support atx psus.

Id be ripping my hair out in anger....

This is why you dont buy OEM... but build your own instead.

 

[catnapper]

I don't know what the case was designed for...but it looks exactly like the case for my HP P6610f, and the motherboard listed (Aloe) is the same.

So I can tell you that my case accommodates an Antec Earthwatts 380W "Green" and an XFX 5770 "single slot" without issue, because that's what I put in it last November.

No issues with either the Antec or the 5770.