Highest spec card for a 200watt PSU

[mrblackbat]

Hi everybody, I'm looking for a bit of advice in potentially upgrading my agp card.

Currently I have an XFX FX5500 256Mb card, and I've had reasonable performance with this for most of my usage (I'm not a hardcore gamer so I'm not so fussed about setting graphics options lower or anything). However, I've encountered my first problems whilst trying to run Elder Scrolls - Oblivion - even on the lowest graphics settings the frame rate is ridiculously slow.

The system spec is P4 3.0GHz Prescott, 1Gb PC3200 RAM and the above card.

The main problem I have is the machine is a small barebones Asus, with only a 200watt psu; and because of the chassis it's a non-standard size so I can't find one to upgrade. According to the bit of research I've done, even the FX5500 requires a 300 watt psu, so my question is whether i'd be able to get away with putting in something like a 6600 (also spec'd as minimum 300watt) as a stop gap to upgrading thw whole lot?

Thanks for your time reading.

[scrandman]

Which ASUS barebones are you using? Most of them use the standard uATX PSU type.

If so, Enermax do a 270W uATX PSU - probably one of the higher rated on the market.

Either way, I found this too very useful for determining power requirements. You should be able to do a comparison for your existing system, then try a few different GFX cards to see the difference.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

[mrblackbat]

It's either the T2P or T2R deluxe (I forget which letter). I'll certainly check out the enermax, thanks.

Will any damage be done by putting a card in which draws too much power, other than general system stability?

[Dark Horse]

I would probably just get a graphics card that will play oblivion at the settings you want to play it at and then replace the psu if you need to. There is no point in getting a card that will definately draw enough power for your current psu if it doesn't actually do what you want it to do - play oblivion.

Depending on budget, a 6600gt would be a decent enough card and shoudln't need you to replace the psu. For about £50 more you could get a 6800gs but that would almost certainly need a new one.

6800gs review:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/314/4/

With the ongoing trend in an increased power consumption we will check the statement that NVIDIA made about power consumption. We simply look at the peak Wattage during a 3DMark05 session to verify those claims. The graphics card consumes roughly 75 Watts at peak during 3D gaming, this is also the reason why we see a Molex power connector on the card.

Of course we do what we always do with new graphics' cards, we monitored the overall wattage peak with the help of a wattage meter. Slight side note, you are looking at the overall usage of the PC. The meter is placed between the power connector and the PSU.

In 3DMark the PC shows a maximum peak use of 215 Watt. A little lower than the PCX model, yet this AGP system uses less power compared to our standard high-end rig!

Now you know why 300 Watt Power Supplies are not sufficient anymore these days, you need 350 at the least as you want some spare wattage. We have confirmed NVIDIA's statement though.

** Using a Wattage meter is not the most reliable way of measuring power consumption. You basically look at how much power is the power circuit from your house pulling from the PSU. Please look at the results as being an indication and not an exact science.

[mrblackbat]

Thanks for the advice; I'll probably try a 6600GT, and put the difference aside for when I upgrade fully at a future point.

[baza]

I found that with my system, 64bit amd 3200, 1gb pc3200 ram, 1 40gb hd and 1 250gb hd and dvd rom, that I needed to go from a 300w psu to a 350w psu in order to use my 6600gt without problems. Just to help you out.

[mrblackbat]

Well I've measured up the psu installed in my box, and the Enermax should fit, so I'm going to replace that then try out a 6600. Fingers crossed.

[scrandman]

Enermax have a good reputation - that 270W will probably outperform a generic 350W PSU.

[mrblackbat]

Well I managed to get it in the case; just. The T2 box has a stupid cradle for the psu which the Enermax was about 5mms too tall for! Anyway, cut off the bottom of the cradle and drilled some new screw holes in it, and the new psu sits nice and snug now. The GFX card is sat right next to me now, should get a chance to put it in tonight and let you know how I get on. Thanks for all the advice!

[Nikolic]

Very good decision to buy a new PSU.

Depending on the quality of the PSU, the 6600GT would have pushed it over the top. If that was the case the computer would probably just refuse to boot.

Hope installing the 6600 goes well for you

[mrblackbat]

Installed it, updated the drivers to the current release and everything seems ok. Had a few minutes to check the settings of a few things, Oblivion will play now.

Will have a check through a few things to ensure it's tweaked right, but the job appears to be a good 'un.

Thanks very much for the tips/suggestions.

[scrandman]

Glad it all worked out well - hope you have fun with it!