Using a HD5450 on a Dell P4 with a PCI Express x1 slot + 230W PSU

[Coup27]

My friend has an old Dell Dimension 3100 with a Pentium 4 CPU. He says he can't afford to replace his computer but would really like to get rid of the low res CRT he has and replace it with a modern 1080p flat screen. I did try connecting it to a 1080p screen using the onboard video but either it didn't work or it would not support the full resolution (can't remember now).

I think the cheapest way of doing this is to buy a HD5450; however the board only has a PCI Express x1 slot and the PSU is only 230W. AMD recommends a 400W or greater PSU but I know from experience that I do not need 400W's.

Does anybody know whether the card will work OK on a 230W PSU and if the card can drive a 1080p display using DVI on only a x1 slot?

Thanks.

 

[Phynaz]

Onboard video should work fine. It's specs say it can run 2048x1536 at 85 Hz.

The HD5450 requires an x16 slot.

 

[NTMBK]

You can get something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-Express-Profile-Extension-Adapter/dp/B0039XPS5W It turns a full height x1 slot into a half height x16 slot. (ONLY MECHANICALLY. Electrically, it's still an x1 slot, it just fits a physical x16 card.) No guarantees on performance...

Alternatively, you can get some graphics cards to fit into a PCI slot still. Something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/500953-zotac-gt-610-pci-1gb-graphics-card-zt-60606-10l PCI has similar bandwidth to a PCIe Gen 1 x1 slot, so it's a toss up which will perform better.

 

[Coup27]

Onboard video should work fine. It's specs say it can run 2048x1536 at 85 Hz.

The HD5450 requires an x16 slot.

I'm afraid it did not work. I think he would also like to use DVI over VGA.

It was my understanding that a x16 card is backward compatible with x1 x4 etc only with reduced functionality? Or am I mixing that up with x1 cards in x16 slots?

He is already using both PCI slots for existing cards.