Hardware Low power graphic card

[Magsor]

I was thinking of upgrading my graphic card but looking on what is available has made me doubt a lot.

My PSU is only 280W and most cards require 400W! I am not ready to change that might as well change the whole rig and im not ready for that,

I also want hdmi out and stereoscopic 3d but its not stated if it is supported; any card will be faster than the one I have now... geforce 6150 ftw

I have 3 gig ram athlon x2 5400.

What do you guys think?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Get a new PSU. I know you say you don't want to, but there aren't a lot of very powerful cards that would work with 280W. PSUs aren't really that expensive, anyways, and it's not like their hard to change out (unless you have some kind of slim-case with a TFX PSU, you're fucked then lol). But if your adament on waiting, I know the GT 240 has a rather low power draw, 9W idles and...70W when in use IIRC. That should get you by on your PSU, however it can be a big problem to proceed without the proper PSU wattage available.

 

[Magsor]

I don^t want a powerful card just one that does the 3d

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

http://www.nvidia.co...quirements.html

EDIT: You'll need a monitor that supports it and one of the graphics cards listed. If you want 3D you're gonna need a higher-power GPU.

 

[Jugarina]

Just change out the PSU. They are easy to install even for a novice. If you've never done It before you just take off 4 screws with a phillips screwdriver then set that old paper weight on or near the tower case. Pull out the new PSU and screw It back in where the old one was, ( I have done many PSU upgrades and go with the Corsair 600 watt and never had any issues they are around 70 dollars retail, cheaper online). Anyways, you just pull out the new PSU and then unplug/plug each new connection one at a time until you have the old PSU free then plug in your last connnection and your done. If you go with Corsair there is a seperate power switch and optional blue light on the PSU.

As far as the graphics cards go, most of the Nvidia cards can do the 3D and have hdmi outputs. I recently installed a 560 gtx on my sisters tower that works great. The 550ti overclocked ones are not bad either for almost half the cost. There is a bunch of cards though that would work between the 100-300 price range.

If you got a card without the 3D you could still do stereoscopic with tri-def 3D program. My brother uses that off his gaming laptop connected to his 3Dhdtv connected hdmi. It was impressive watching him play Skyrim in 3D on a 60 inch screen. I tend to spend a lot of time over there lately.

 

[Magsor]

okay you convinced me. Ill get another psu.
By googling a bit i found the "older" nvidia 3d cards call geforce 3d vision
eForce 8 Series >
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT•
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS•
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512•
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX•
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra•
GeForce 9 Series >
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT•
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT•
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX•
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+•
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2•
All GeForce GTX 200 Series
I think ill look for one of these as the new gtx cards are just too powerful for my old cpu.

 

[Xoo00o0o0o]

If you look at my thread in WTS I have a GTX 260. If this isn't allowed just say something.

Edit: Well it seems my card doesn't have HDMI but if you still might be interested just drop by the thread

 

[Deleted_171835]

The 6570 is a good GPU that supports 3D and shouldn't require you to get a new PSU.
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/amd-radeon-hd-6000/hd-6570/pages/amd-radeon-hd-6570-overview.aspx#2

 

[Magsor]

If you look at my thread in WTS I have a GTX 260. If this isn't allowed just say something.

Edit: Well it seems my card doesn't have HDMI but if you still might be interested just drop by the thread

Thanks but yeah HDMI is a must

The 6570 is a good GPU that supports 3D and shouldn't require you to get a new PSU.
http://www.amd.com/u...overview.aspx#2

From the little search i did i does require 400W but i'll change so it looks like a good card for me

 

[marcus134]

stereoscopic 3d on your computer seems hardly recommendable to you, 3d doesn't just work because you have a 3d compatible card, you also need a proper monitor or tv to get the 3d and looking at how you try to skimp on spending I doubt you're properly equipped.

1st problem, low power card. gaming on those card is already at its limit, some last gen game have trouble playing at 60 fps on normal settings and stereoscopic effectively halves the compute power of the card, meaning poor performances in games with lowered details, the only thing they're worth for is 3d blu-ray playback.

2. the full setup.
NVIDIA

1. 120 MHz lcd display with dvi-dl input (3d vision certified) + Nvidia 3d vision kit (150$ + 100$ for additional glasses)
2. 3d display (monitor or tv) with hdmi 1.4a

AMD
...... 3d display (monitor or tv) with display port or hdmi 1.4a + third party driver ( like tridef 50$)

3d over hdmi is limited to 1080p30/24 or 720p60
3d over dvi-dl or display port can be rendered in 1080p60

 

[Originality]

FYI, any card that has a DVI port is also compatible with HDMI (they're practically the same port, just with a different pin layout). DVI/HDMI adaptors are standard in any graphics card sold in the last several years.

This is the reason that saying "HDMI is a must" is redundant these days.

 

[emmanu888]

stereoscopic 3d on your computer seems hardly recommendable to you, 3d doesn't just work because you have a 3d compatible card, you also need a proper monitor or tv to get the 3d and looking at how you try to skimp on spending I doubt you're properly equipped.

1st problem, low power card. gaming on those card is already at its limit, some last gen game have trouble playing at 60 fps on normal settings and stereoscopic effectively halves the compute power of the card, meaning poor performances in games with lowered details, the only thing they're worth for is 3d blu-ray playback.

2. the full setup.
NVIDIA

1. 120 Hz lcd display with dvi-dl input (3d vision certified) + Nvidia 3d vision kit (150$ + 100$ for additional glasses)
2. 3d display (monitor or tv) with hdmi 1.4a

AMD

...... 3d display (monitor or tv) with display port or hdmi 1.4a + third party driver ( like tridef 50$)

3d over hdmi is limited to 1080p30/24 or 720p60
3d over dvi-dl or display port can be rendered in 1080p60

fixed that for you

 

[gloweyjoey]

If you look at my thread in WTS I have a GTX 260. If this isn't allowed just say something.

Edit: Well it seems my card doesn't have HDMI but if you still might be interested just drop by the thread

Thanks but yeah HDMI is a must

The 6570 is a good GPU that supports 3D and shouldn't require you to get a new PSU.
http://www.amd.com/u...overview.aspx#2

From the little search i did i does require 400W but i'll change so it looks like a good card for me

Check out the 5450. It says 400W but im running it with a 300w. maybe 280W would work for you.

 

[Magsor]

I found the 5450 for 10$ shipped... Even if its a low end card, it many many times more powerful than the one i currently have. thanks everyone for the help.
If it can help anyone this website is some kind of indicator on how good cards are

 

[gloweyjoey]

I like this chart too. Compares GPUs side by side.

 

[Celice]

Get a new PSU. I know you say you don't want to, but there aren't a lot of very powerful cards that would work with 280W. PSUs aren't really that expensive, anyways, and it's not like their hard to change out (unless you have some kind of slim-case with a TFX PSU, you're fucked then lol). But if your adament on waiting, I know the GT 240 has a rather low power draw, 9W idles and...70W when in use IIRC. That should get you by on your PSU, however it can be a big problem to proceed without the proper PSU wattage available.

When I put together my computer last winter, the case came with its own PSU, and as I was getting ready to switch it out, one of the screws wouldn't unscrew from the PSU, making the case and it effectively stuck together. The screw would just endlessly turn but it never gave way--and it was securely locked into the PSU, 'cause that thing did not give an inch if I tried to wiggle it free.

I've been getting by with the default one, but it's definitely not a safe option. Got any tips for that specific problem?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Get a new PSU. I know you say you don't want to, but there aren't a lot of very powerful cards that would work with 280W. PSUs aren't really that expensive, anyways, and it's not like their hard to change out (unless you have some kind of slim-case with a TFX PSU, you're fucked then lol). But if your adament on waiting, I know the GT 240 has a rather low power draw, 9W idles and...70W when in use IIRC. That should get you by on your PSU, however it can be a big problem to proceed without the proper PSU wattage available.

When I put together my computer last winter, the case came with its own PSU, and as I was getting ready to switch it out, one of the screws wouldn't unscrew from the PSU, making the case and it effectively stuck together. The screw would just endlessly turn but it never gave way--and it was securely locked into the PSU, 'cause that thing did not give an inch if I tried to wiggle it free.

I've been getting by with the default one, but it's definitely not a safe option. Got any tips for that specific problem?

Short of ripping the screw/PSU out, there's not much you can do...I've never really heard of a case doing that to a PSU though TBH, are you sure you aren't mistaken?

 

[Celice]

Short of ripping the screw/PSU out, there's not much you can do...I've never really heard of a case doing that to a PSU though TBH, are you sure you aren't mistaken?

I don't think it's so much the case, as much as the screw grooves in the PSU itself weren't... normal? It's certainly wedged in, but there was absolutely no friction while turning--it just kept going forever. I assume there's something inside that was the matter, but, even if I wanted to, I couldn't get to the PSU because the case was in the way. The screw-in-question was at the top-left of the case, the corner where there is now way to access it without removing the PSU... which is rooted to the spot because of said-screw.

XD Very weird. I'm guessing the most violent solution would be to wait until I am absolutely sure to buy a new PSU, and then unplug the computer, leave it be for a while, then come back and just try to physically wrench the screw out, damaging the PSU in the process (dangerous!) or I could try and clip open part of the casing to allow the screw's head to just "slip out". Actually, I'm guessing if I could just ply off the head of the screw, nothing would be holding the PSU in anyways

Too bad I can't afford a PSU

 

[moose3]

When I put together my computer last winter, the case came with its own PSU, and as I was getting ready to switch it out, one of the screws wouldn't unscrew from the PSU, making the case and it effectively stuck together. The screw would just endlessly turn but it never gave way--and it was securely locked into the PSU, 'cause that thing did not give an inch if I tried to wiggle it free.

I've been getting by with the default one, but it's definitely not a safe option. Got any tips for that specific problem?

I can think of 3 things:

1) Use a screwdriver wedged between the PSU and case at the top to try and put some pressure on that screw since what ever was anchoring the screw or the screw itself has stripped. So if there is some pressure then what is remaining might grab hold when you try to unscrew it. Might want to take your motherboard out just to prevent any damage should something slip.

2) Use a power drill same size as the shaft of the screw and drill it out. Definitely remove everything from the case to keep from getting any metal shards where they don't belong and use an air compressor to blow any loose shards out of the case for this method and the next!

3) Use a dremel tool to grind/cut off the head of the screw.

 

[Originality]

Last time it happened to me, option 1 worked for me. Took a bit of effort though.