Shuttle xpc and its psu

[mikebedwards]

Hi,

I have a Shuttle XPC system that is about 1 year old. I want to upgrade the graphics/games performance, and I ahve a few questtions about suitable graphics cards.

Here are my specs:

CPU: Pentium 4 3.2GHZ
Mainboard: Shuttle SB83VIO
Video: Sapphire radeon x300SE 128MB PCI-E
TV: Hauppage DVB-T
RAM: 1GB DDD-SDRAM
HDD: Maxtor 149GB
NEC DVD R/RW
PSU: shuttle 250Watt

I was thinking of upgrading my video card and ram, but does my psu wattage limit my choices? Ive seen recommendations of a 400w psu on some cards.

which PCI-E card should I go for? I was thinking about a 512MB Radeon - but will my PSU be ok?

I am not particularly concerned about keeping my system quiet.

Many thanks

[Nick Smith]

which 512mb radeon?

[jimbouk]

If you haven't got a graphics card power cable coming from the PSU then I wouldn't get a graphics card that requires one. I think that limits you to around a 7600 class or some X1650s. 512MB or 256MB of ram won't make a difference for power.

[mikebedwards]

Thanks for the replies.

My card does not have a power cable.

Ill check if the card needs this power cable with the manufacturer, but I was thinking about sapphire ati radeon 512 x1950 or the Nvidia ge-force 7950GT 512MB

Thanks for the tip - I didnt realise that some graphics card require a power cable from the PSU.

Mike

[Nick Smith]

Thanks for the replies.

My card does not have a power cable.

Ill check if the card needs this power cable with the manufacturer, but I was thinking about sapphire ati radeon 512 x1950 or the Nvidia ge-force 7950GT 512MB

Thanks for the tip - I didnt realise that some graphics card require a power cable from the PSU.

Mike

how about go for an 8600gt when they arrive? your PSU should cope with that...and from what i heard they are about as good as an x1950, + they are DX10.