Upgrade GPU when upgraded PSU

I just upgraded my Power supply in my Dell Inspiron 530s from the original 250w to a 400 w power supply. I want to upgrade the video card. I've got a GeForce 9400 gt. What card can the computer now handle with the new 400w power supply?

 

That depends.

What is the make and model PSU? Does it have a six pin connector to power a graphics card?

What will you be using the card for?

 

PSU is KENTEK 400 Watt 400W TFX Power Supply Upgarde Replacement for Dell Inspiron 530s.

I'll have to open up the PC to see how many pins on the connection from the PSU.

I'm Trying to Play Lord of the Rigs Online.

 

Being that this is a slim case, you are going to have trouble getting a killer graphics card installed. You really are at the bare minimum wattage requirement for a middle of the road card, and that PSU will not have a six pin connector, nor can it power one that does.

You're going to need a low profile, single slot card for this to work, and which doesn't need a lot of wattage. Most any card with a fan in the heatsink will be rated for 400W. Also, you will be hard pressed to find a card with a 128 bits worth of bandwith under $50. Also, the least expensive 500W TFX PSU I've found is $100 minimum.

I dug up this little gem, but like most any card it requires a 400W minimum.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7762584&CatId=3585

 

Thanks. Amazon has it for $00.40 more. I'll have to check on shipping at tiger direct. I also should see if the moitor works with my Laptop, but with PSU and a upgrade being better then what I have....?

One thing, if this card takes a minimum of 400w is that bad or neutral since I only have the 400w? Should a card that need 300w work better? Or do you mean the specs on this card are under 400w. I don't see what kind of power it needs.

 

That card should be "neutral" with your PSU. At most it will draw 75 watts running full bore.

As long as you're not overclocking, or doing anything crazy it should be fine.

 

Thanks for all the information Mekanic.

 

If you do have any additional concerns, here is a link for estimated power requirements:

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

The bus-powered graphics cards (like the HD6570 above) cannot use more than the 75W supplied by the motherboard, they must be restricted below that, most of the better ones I've seen tested use ~65W maximum.

For best performance, buy a card with (G)DDR5 not DDR3, more than 1GB isn't needed unless you need to game on a very high resolution monitor, like 2560 x 1080 or above (2x full HD).

An HD7750 (example) would be about the best performing card to buy, there may be better offers around in a few weeks (providing someone releases low profile R7 240/250 cards or the price drops in the band above has a knock-on effect).

 

I was going to link the R7 card, but wanted to stay low on price per the bandwith, and go with the extra RAM.

There are a couple 4GB cards out there that look promising.