adding new video card - power supply concern

[mlody]

Hello,

I am exploring a possibility of adding a gaming video card to my current workstation. I am not a gamer by any means and my current system was originally built for virtualization/general use.

My system is as follows:
i7-4770 (non K version) + Hyper 212+
Asus H87M-E
Intel HD4600 video (on-board)
32 GB of DDR3 1600Mhz memory (4 DIMMS)
1x Samsung SSD
2x Seagate 2.0 TB HDD
Corsair CX430M power supply (430 Watts)

I am interested in playing the upcoming Diablo and down the road WoW Draneor expansion and the max settings at 1920x1200 (Dell U2412M). I am a very casual gamer (I play max 1-2 months when I get something new and then I take a break for several months or even a year) so I would like to keep the investment to the minimum. I would like to buy a video card that does not require any bigger power supply that I have and still allows for playing at max settings the above games. Would either GTX 750Ti or R7 250X/260X be able to handle the task for me? I am concerned that most ATI cards require more wattage than my power supply has. Am I screwed there? I appreciate any help.
Thanks

 

[mfenn]

A GTX 750 Ti would handle the game well and your CX430M would have no problem powering it.

 

[Essence_of_War]

2nd'ing the 750 Ti.

It stands up well in absolute performance for the games you listed, and require NO additional power connections!

 

[Leyawiin]

3rd - its an amazing little card for the performance vs. power usage.

 

[Squeetard]

4th!

 

[coolpurplefan]

A GTX 750 Ti would handle the game well and your CX430M would have no problem powering it.

Doesn't that feel weird when you link to a product and it already says "out of stock"? Haha.

 

[mfenn]

Doesn't that feel weird when you link to a product and it already says "out of stock"? Haha.

Popular recommendation I guess! Looks to be back in stock now.

 

[mlody]

I am glad that GTX 750 Ti is the recommendation here as I am not a big fan of ATI cards (I only had it once back in the day - all-in-wonder pro - good old card with a tv tunner).
I am going to take a closer look at the different variants of that card as it looks like there are few different designs. My primary choice is the Asus card unless someone has something bad to say about it.

 

[mfenn]

I am glad that GTX 750 Ti is the recommendation here as I am not a big fan of ATI cards (I only had it once back in the day - all-in-wonder pro - good old card with a tv tunner).
I am going to take a closer look at the different variants of that card as it looks like there are few different designs. My primary choice is the Asus card unless someone has something bad to say about it.

There's nothing wrong with the ASUS card, but there's also no reason to pay extra for the ASUS name. Given the pricing as it stands right now, I'd get the MSI version becasue its $160 with a $10 MIR versus $170+ for the others.

 

[mlody]

After checking several GTX 750 Ti's, I noticed that most of the overclock versions of the GTX 750Ti were priced higher than what I was willing to pay for this card, so I ended up spending $20 more and got myself Asus GTX 660 (GTX660-DC2O-2GD5). I checked some online power supply calculator and it appears that I should be fine with this card and the power supply I got. the GTX660 looks like is a much better performing card while also very quiet at the full load (I believe I was 27-28 dbA - one of my main reasons to stick with Asus). Thanks

 

[sm625]

Hello,

I am exploring a possibility of adding a gaming video card to my current workstation. I am not a gamer by any means and my current system was originally built for virtualization/general use.

My system is as follows:
i7-4770 (non K version) + Hyper 212+
Asus H87M-E
Intel HD4600 video (on-board)
32 GB of DDR3 1600Mhz memory (4 DIMMS)
1x Samsung SSD
2x Seagate 2.0 TB HDD
Corsair CX430M power supply (430 Watts)

Thanks

That setup is going to pull 140 watts max while gaming, plus any video card. Here are two charts that will break it down for you:

You can probably get away with anything up to a GTX 670 and still be below 300W total. But it sounds like you dont need that much. Consider a GTX 660 Ti or a 7870. Focus on price over power consumption. You do not need to pay a premium for the newest design, they're all 28nm so it really doesnt matter that much.

 

[Cerb]

Another +1 for the 750 Ti. In terms of performance for your money, if and only if you consider AA to be an important part of high settings, would greater than the GTX 750 Ti be warranted, IMO. Your PSU could easily handle a GTX 760, FI, but your games won't make much use of it, without high levels of MSAA (like 16xQ) or SGSSAA. By the time similar future games can, a $100-150 card at that time will beat the current $250+ cards in every way.