I dinnae have the power! ...or do I?

P

PiSquared

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 15, 2002
Messages
269
My computer plans were thrown out of whack because I had to help family members pay for a funeral and wake. That's fine, I'm not complaining - I was happy to help. That doesn't mean I like gaming on my 8600GT, though. It drives me nuts that I have to put everything on minimum settings just to play at 1280x1024 (yes, I know, a monitor upgrade is on the list, too).

I can spare around $100 for a new card max, but my Shuttle system (long story, all you need to know is that the system cost me nothing in January of 2008) has a 250w power supply. Here's a link if anyone wants a blast from the past:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101055

I'd dearly love to put something like a single-slot 5670 in there (and get another one for Crossfire when I upgrade sometime early next year) but I suspect it'll kill my power supply. If it helps, I'm using a 65W Core 2 Due (E6750) at 2.66GHz. Since SFFs are so integrated, I'm hoping this means I can overlook the 400w minimum and stuff it in there anyway...but I'm not sure I should. All I have to suck up power is the case/motherboard, DVD burner, HD, and video card; nothing else.

If anyone has any other thoughts, I'd love to hear them. If you've read up to now, thanks, and have a great Labor Day!
 
Shuttle PSUs have generally been pretty capable. 250w should be plenty for that CPU and a 5670. The 5670 only pulls ~65w under full load, so it should be easy.

How were you planning on doing crossfire? That shuttle only has one PCIe and a PCI slot. Though I'd bet you could even run all that off 250w (65w x 3 (CPU+GPUx2) = 195w... 60w headroom for MB+drives, cutting it close, but possible. PSU calc agrees).
 
Necere, he said he'd crossfire when he'd upgrade later.

OP: I'm not sure I'd bother with crossfire, and for now I suggest selling the 8600gt for whatever you can get for it and pick up an used 4850.

EDIT: 4850 might be too much power.
 
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I had been planning on a whole new system, but that's been delayed until next year, probably March-ish. That's the computer I would use Crossfire on, not this Shuttle. I didn't know about that site, tho - thanks for the linkage. It seems to confirm that the card shouldn't be a problem. :)

Are the estimates from the site generally good to rely on? If my computer somehow dies, I have absolutely nothing to fall back on, which is why I'm asking...
 
450 said:
Necere, he said he'd crossfire when he'd upgrade later.

OP: I'm not sure I'd bother with crossfire, and for now I suggest selling the 8600gt for whatever you can get for it and pick up an used 4850.
Click to expand...

I can't find a single slot 4850 that has a fan small enough so that the card is considered "single slot." Cards with a single physical slot have fans that hang way over the edge. I can't find any new 4770s and the 4670s are considerably slower as far as I can tell. Anything under the 5670 probably wouldn't do AA/AF at my 1280x1024 resolution, and even that is limited by game title.

Of course I'm open to other card suggestions if they have the performance I need for about $100. What I really need is a whole new computer...
 
PiSquared said:
It's a tiny little Shuttle box. If anyone has a better idea for a single slot card for about $100, I'm happy to listen...
Click to expand...

I know it is a tiny box but looking at the pix from your newegg link it has 2 expansion slots right?
 
Necere said:
Two slots, but it looks like the PCIe slot is on the outside
Click to expand...

Exactly the issue. As it gets closer to upgrade to a real computer (read: bigger) next year I'm planning on trying to pick up another 5670 through Freecycle or for trade (I have a billion spare computer bits laying around) for a Crossfire performance boost.

Unless I hear of a better value for $100, I'll probably make the purchase tomorrow. Many thanks to all who replied! :)
 
Do you know of anyone with a power meter you can borrow? It could put your mind at ease to hook the PC to it and see how much it's actually drawing(plus PSU inefficiency of course).
 
Well the question is do you want to mod your shuttle case? From personal experience, I had the Shuttle SN78SH7 http://us.shuttle.com/barebone/Models/SN78SH7.html and an ATI 5770 installed in there. You would need to chop some metal off the case and modify the 2 slot bracket thingy. (this is easy if you take it off the card and get a blank spacer and trace it on the metal piece.

According to the power supply calculator http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
With a e6750, 2 ddr2 sticks (no oc) 1 hdd and the ati 5750 you are looking at a load of 203 watts... now a dvd burner will increase that a bit. So you would be well within the 250 watt limit of the ps (btw i believe these are 80+ certified so you have a little more real power than 250watts).


Now if you dont want to mod your case, the 4850 is a nice one, but they are hard to find in a single slot config.... as with a lot of the other cards in the range.


You will also need to leave the lid of the system off, or cut a hole in it to let the vid card fit.

Also can you do a 15 mir? http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2230839 ewiz has a 5750 for 94 AR ($15) This shoudl give you way better performance than a 5670

Just a though, but the 5670 should be a more drop in solution and should run fine in your box.
 
Thanks for the thoughts, rhansen. I have no tools that would cut through the case unfortunately, since I'd do that in a heartbeat if I did. I tried to find a single slot 4850 and failed. :(

Ultimately I think I'll get the XFX 5670 for $82 after MIR just so I don't have to spend all $100. Thanks for your thoughts! :)

EDIT: @Mr. Perfect: I'll have to ask around and see...my computer is kinda old and I really should see what the actual power draw is. Thanks for the idea!
 
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