Good PCIe video card with 250w PSU?

[DJXFM]

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade my video card but want to avoid messing around with the PSU (no idea what to do!). I currently run on a 250w PSU and most of the cards I've been looking at require a minimum of 300w.

At the moment I've got the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 which was standard with my HP but want to run a PCIe 256MB card as a minimum. 512 would be nice. Most of the Nvidia 9 series or ATI cards require at least 300w to run.

Is there any danger of running a 300w card with a 250w PSU or is it simply a matter of the card not working at all? It's the first time I've tried upgrading any system so need to tread carefully!! I might upgrade the processor to the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz processor as well in which case I guess I'll need a new PSU anyway to run it all. Graphics card first though.

Don't mind about budget as I don't think I'm looking at anything too expensive anyway. Currently running HP dx2300 Microtower with 2GB RAM and Intel Pentium Dual-Core 1.8GHz with Windows XP Pro. Anything I've missed let me know!

Cheers

 

[LinkedKube]

ok umm lets see 300+(200-250) max output. Yeah I see a big problem there.

 

[Rig]

DJXFM I understand your problem as I had a similar situation a while back, in my case I installed an 8600GTS on a 300watt power supply. The graphics card required at least 350watts. It still worked (for the most part). However I still recommend you do NOT proceed with the installation of the graphics card as in many cases the graphics card will fail.
Also running a power supply out of its specification could cause numerous problems which could include damaging your current computers hardware or posing a fire hazard.

Finding a good quality power supply with 400 watts will typically cost you £40 or less. If you encounter problems with the installation of that power supply you can always post on the forums again

 

[DJXFM]

Thanks guys.

I have found a graphics card that HP say is compatible with my computer so have bought it with a view that if they say it can go in the machine it must be ok with the PSU.

I'll look at upgrading the PSU and graphics card together next time!