Help me select a "Best graphics card for a 400W, +12V 18 amp PSU".
I was keen on getting a new 9600gt but it requires atleast 26 amps on the 12 rail, my PSU having only 18. Upgrading my PSU is out of the question as I just bought my new system recently, don't want to spend much money, and just need something moderately powerful to play the latest games, it is also a nice disincentive to upgrade all the time. The 8600gt looks likely as it doesn't require auxillary power(draws power from PCI-E slot) and i think uses 48 watts max. The new 9500gt, which I am sure is equivalent to the 8600gt, is extremely power efficient, around 30 watts I believe, due to the smaller chipset technology and power saving features, only it is too overpriced for such a relatively underpowered card(when you can pay a bit more and get the mainstream high end equivalent such as 8800gt, which is way better). I don't know much about Ati cards, haven't really studied their older models. I think I have answered my own question in a roundabout way, as you can see I have been reading up alot on this. I just thought it would be helpful to get some other opinions, recommendations, and maybe some info about comparable Ati Radeon and Nvidia chips. BTW, this is an excellent article which shows the power draw of all the major GPUs, it is only an average or estimate, not exact, but still very useful.
The Truth About Graphics Power Requirements V2 - Graphic Hardware - Forums - www.atomicmpc.com.au
The power requirements of GPUs is growing rapidly, more so in the enthusiast segment, rather than the low-mid end cards. Atleast manufacturers have made breakthroughs in regards to the chip cores to make them smaller and more dense, thus reducing power. With all the rage of dual, tri, and my god, QUAD SLI the power requirements are going through the roof, atleast for the high end segment!
I was keen on getting a new 9600gt but it requires atleast 26 amps on the 12 rail, my PSU having only 18. Upgrading my PSU is out of the question as I just bought my new system recently, don't want to spend much money, and just need something moderately powerful to play the latest games, it is also a nice disincentive to upgrade all the time. The 8600gt looks likely as it doesn't require auxillary power(draws power from PCI-E slot) and i think uses 48 watts max. The new 9500gt, which I am sure is equivalent to the 8600gt, is extremely power efficient, around 30 watts I believe, due to the smaller chipset technology and power saving features, only it is too overpriced for such a relatively underpowered card(when you can pay a bit more and get the mainstream high end equivalent such as 8800gt, which is way better). I don't know much about Ati cards, haven't really studied their older models. I think I have answered my own question in a roundabout way, as you can see I have been reading up alot on this. I just thought it would be helpful to get some other opinions, recommendations, and maybe some info about comparable Ati Radeon and Nvidia chips. BTW, this is an excellent article which shows the power draw of all the major GPUs, it is only an average or estimate, not exact, but still very useful.
The Truth About Graphics Power Requirements V2 - Graphic Hardware - Forums - www.atomicmpc.com.au
The power requirements of GPUs is growing rapidly, more so in the enthusiast segment, rather than the low-mid end cards. Atleast manufacturers have made breakthroughs in regards to the chip cores to make them smaller and more dense, thus reducing power. With all the rage of dual, tri, and my god, QUAD SLI the power requirements are going through the roof, atleast for the high end segment!
