Upgrade from intergrated

[tianhui]

My younger brother has integrated graphics and has been dying to upgrade--
I've been offered some good deals on decent cards but declined as GPU power consumption has become an issue.

He has a pcie slot
and a 450W PSU w/o pcie connecters

he has a budget of about 60$

i am looking for new or used parts at a budget of about 60$

i was looking into the 5550 but am open to suggestions.
I am not looking for a high end GPU but on that'll play most games on at least 'low' setting w/o any lag.

criteria:
low power consumption (especially at idle)
does not require pci-e connectors
fits budget
please also state price for used/new


thanks !!


EDIT: added PSU img

 

[slyfox2151]

go for a 5750 or 5770, just use the Molex to PCI-E connector to hook it up, they use very little power.



can you specify the exact brand and Amps on the PSU, mainly the 12 volt rail/.

 

[Papahyooie]

Find an 8500 or 9500gt. Not bad for most games on low settings (i was able to play crysis on medium with mine with halfway decent framerates) and they don't require pci express plugs (or any power plug for that matter.) And also, with a modded heatsink, it overclocked like a mother lol.

 

[theonedub]

The info Sly asked for would be extremely helpful.

Have you looked @ the Buy Sell Trade Forum for deals? There is a 8800GS for $50 shipped (USED) that is not a big power hog. Link: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=123883

That card will serve him well, PSU permitting and with the use of a single dual molex to PCIe adapter.

 

[mlee49]

9600GT is a great low power graphics card. I think you can find one around that price range.

Might look into a GTS 220 as well, does very little power draw and should be able to play COD4 or L4D.

 

[tianhui]

Thanks!
EDIT

added image of PSU
!

more suggestions

remember 60$ budget
lower idle power consumption
no pci-e Pin connector required
can play most new games on Low or medium w/o lag

 

[Kantastic]

HI SAM!

I completely forgot about adapters. You can actually get a cable adapter (4-pin molex to 6-pin PCI-E) and use it that way (provided the GPU doesn't draw too much power because your bro has a pretty crappy PSU).

Thank you slyfox for bringing that up.

 

[tianhui]

how much would one of those molex to 6 pin cost?--
honestly i haven't decided so im still very open to ideas.

if i get one w/o pci-e w/ decent performance i'd go w. that if not then the adapter would open up more choices.

listening fer more..

Kant get on AIM !

 

[Kantastic]

how much would one of those molex to 6 pin cost?--
honestly i haven't decided so im still very open to ideas.

if i get one w/o pci-e w/ decent performance i'd go w. that if not then the adapter would open up more choices.

listening fer more..

Kant get on AIM !

I'm on, you could've called if you wanted me to get on.

The adapters would run you like $5, I'm sure someone on TPU would donate one for less or even free if you have absolutely no room to squeeze in your budget.

Oh and Sam shame on you for spelling integrated wrong. :shadedshu

 

[xBruce88x]

i have to agree with the 9600GT suggestion, i have one on a 400watt psu, and it runs fine with a quad cpu. then again mine has 2 12v rails, a 14a and a 15a.

what cpu is in the rig?

if you can get an extra $5 i'd go with this

POWERCOLOR AX5550 512MK3-H Radeon HD 5550 512MB 12...

edit, just noticed it also has a $20 rebate so there's a chance you'll get it for $45 in the end

 

[Kantastic]

i have to agree with the 9600GT suggestion, i have one on a 400watt psu, and it runs fine with a quad cpu. then again mine has 2 12v rails, a 14a and a 15a.

what cpu is in the rig?

if you can get an extra $5 i'd go with this

POWERCOLOR AX5550 512MK3-H Radeon HD 5550 512MB 12...

edit, just noticed it also has a $20 rebate so there's a chance you'll get it for $45 in the end

If I recall correctly, it was either a C2D or a Pentium dualie, one of the lower end models.

 

[codyjansen]

how much would one of those molex to 6 pin cost?--
honestly i haven't decided so im still very open to ideas.

if i get one w/o pci-e w/ decent performance i'd go w. that if not then the adapter would open up more choices.

listening fer more..

Kant get on AIM !

if you look in your 4870 box im sure you would find a molex to 6 pin adapter.

 

[tianhui]

dun have that box anymore ><--- no worries on the cable tho.
i think the CPU was e5200

 

[xBruce88x]

the gfx card should work fine with that then. C2D are still decent for gaming. (then again i've never been too picky about high res.) i've always been the type that'd rather play at 800x600 with max settings then play at 1280x1024 or w/e at med. settings.

of course he could OC the cpu

bump the base bus speed from 200 to 233 and that'll give you 3.0ghz., if its bottlenecking w/e card you get (pent. dual e5200)

 

[tianhui]

Yes - i believe it was OC-ed
pulled out mobo once and it was reset X/

hopefully getting it OCed soon.
thanks for some viable options- all noted.

 

[xBruce88x]

if it resets that easy from pulling the board you may want to put in a fresh cmos battery

i think a lot/all of 775 boards were capable of running 1066fsb cpus, err designed to, so you may be able to push the bus to 266 for about 3.3ghz, but i'd make sure you have good cooling and you may need a voltage bump for stablility

 

[Kantastic]

The board is an Asus P5KPL-AM, not sure how that clocks.