Choosing a replacement Graphics card when unable to upgrade PSU

**InstantNoodles** · June 3rd, 2012, 08:03 PM

Good afternoon! I was hoping I could simply go through your history to find a good choice for graphics card however I'm quickly learning it's rather specific so I hope you would be willing to help me out. Disclaimer: I don't really get benchmarks and what the information means which appears to be half my problem.

Specs:
Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5700 @ 3.00 GHz
4.00 GB RAM
64-bit OS (Windows 7 Professional)
Intel G45/G43 Express chipset

So here's the deal, I have an 1 year old desktop that I use to view 720P .mkv movies, browse the internet and play The Sims 2 (all expansions). I have on-board graphics but they obviously suck. My husband put an nVidia graphics card in my tower about a year ago and it took a ... last night. I obviously need a new one but I'm completely confused on what would be best. Unfortunately, my Dell does not allow for a new PSU. I don't remember the why, but I think it's integrated or something. I have a 300 watt PSU. I've done some checking on what card would work with my game because that's the most important (and the heaviest user). I tend to have quite of bit of high-poly items so it can get choppy at times if I'm not careful.

The worst part? I don't know what card was fried because my husband decided it would be a good idea to throw it away without checking to see what it was. All I remember is the brand. Anyway, some constructive suggestions would be great and to help me with my quest, here is the link to the verified "okay" graphics cards for Sims 2/3. I don't play 3 but figure it's not bad to keep in the back of my mind for the future. Thanks!

Sims 2
Sims 3

**RicheemxX** · June 3rd, 2012, 08:07 PM

What is the model number for your Dell? What is your budget?

We'll need to know what expansion slots are available, the size of the case, and we might be able to figure out why you can't add another PSU.

**InstantNoodles** · June 3rd, 2012, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by RicheemxX

What is the model number for your Dell? What is your budget?

We'll need to know what expansion slots are available, the size of the case, and we might be able to figure out why you can't add another PSU.

I have a Dell Inspiron 560. The tower is a mini-tower that I don't have the exact size of due to lack of tape measure. I have 3 slots, but only 1 PCI Express X16 slot. The reason I couldn't add another PSU? Dell's motherboards are proprietary and Fareed was trying to upgrade the graphics card on his computer (which is a comparable Dell) and the Dell PSU fried his motherboard. Since we'd rather avoid that situation with my computer, we don't want to take the risk. Obviously the Nvidia card I was using previously worked fine on 300watt PSU and was likely middle of the road. I don't really have a budget yet since I've seen prices all over the map but $100 is probably fair. I'd consider going up or down in price for something that would work well

I think I'm aiming for either nVidia or ATI tbh, that way I know I'm purchasing something that will be compatible with my game

**RicheemxX** · June 3rd, 2012, 09:37 PM

Is this the standard Dell 560 (like this one) or is it the 560s (slim model). If its the first one then it uses a standard ATX power supply, dell does not use proprietary units in their standard desktops anymore. If its the slimline model then unfortunately it is a proprietary unit and with the smaller case and smaller PSU you'd have a few less options.

If you are looking for just a basic no frills add-on and not wanting to mess with a new PSU something like this card would be fine
Newegg.com - XFX HD-645X-YNH2 Radeon HD 6450 512MB 32-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
I think the 6450 generally says 400w unit but several people run them in low end dell and HPs without issue and since it's low profile ready it could be used with either model I listed above.

**InstantNoodles** · June 3rd, 2012, 09:47 PM

That's probably way lower than I had in mind. I'm fairly certain the one I was using was better (it did have a fan). Like I said, I don't mind spending more if necessary. Plus it is not sufficient to run Sims 3, and probably not enough for all expansions of Sims 2 (see links, it's in the No/Maybe column which bad). I'd rather try for something that's yes's across the board for Sims 3. I appreciate your help though

Oh and I don't have the slim case, it's the standard.

**Edit: We THINK I was using an nVidia GEForce 8600...but don't quote me on that.

**RicheemxX** · June 3rd, 2012, 11:08 PM

Well just about anything you buy that can run on that power supply is going to give you about the same performance. The 5450's 6450's ect are a shade better than your 8600 was

Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart : Best Graphics Cards For The Money: May 2012

Obviously if you want to spend a bit more money and upgrade the power supply you could get a better card. If you wanted to stick to the $100 range you could go with these

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - XFX HD-667X-ZHF3 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

if you want to spend a bit more money you could get a better card, however you aren't going to want to buy a $100 card just to slap it in your computer with that low end power supply. You might be able to run that 6670 in there w/o upgrading IDK forsure though

**InstantNoodles** · June 4th, 2012, 12:25 AM

Hmm, the 6450 is a definite no, and the 5450 is okay but with reservations. I did notice that ATI's site suggests 400+ watt PSU for both those cards...and the 5550 which would probably be ideal. Is there a reason why the 5450 would be okay despite the fact is states I need 400 vs 300 watt PSU?

**RicheemxX** · June 4th, 2012, 01:57 AM

Originally Posted by InstantNoodles

Is there a reason why the 5450 would be okay despite the fact is states I need 400 vs 300 watt PSU?

Because the cards themselves just don't use that much power. The use about 40w at full load

You can look at the Newegg PSU calculator and see your system really only needs about 225w at full load. With a low end card you'd still need under 300w. It wouldn't be the ideal setup, as generally you want a bit more cushion especially with an OEM power supply that most likely doesn't even push out 80% of its power at peak but it would be better than nothing.

**InstantNoodles** · June 4th, 2012, 04:23 PM

Thank you very much! I appreciate the help and this should give me exactly what I need.

**SoloCamo** · June 5th, 2012, 02:51 PM

Maybe I missed it, but if it's a slimline it may simply be a TFX psu.

My brother's slimpc (acer, not dell though) uses TFX and it's a standard size among most slim models. See here for reference;

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Power Supplies, Power Supplies, TFX12V

The 6670 is the best you can buy for a slim pc - assuming your power supply is up the task. Any quality 300w psu will be fine though with it. For example this psu - Newegg.com - SeaSonic SS-300TFX Bronze 300W TFX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies that I swapped out in my bro's pc.

Powers the following fine;

Athlon II x4 3.1ghz (quad core)
4gb DDR3
1gb 6670 GDDR5
1tb HDD
DVD-RW

___

Depending on the 8600 model, a 6450 should be better anyways, not by much though.

Also, the 6450 is quite a bit more powerful than the 5450

**RicheemxX** · June 5th, 2012, 03:08 PM

They have the standard case, but yeah either way there shouldn't be an issue swapping out PSUs. I'm just guessing they don't want to. If they did they could go with a much better setup.