A hard drive went bad in a computer that is used to run Microsoft Flight Simulator X. While I'll replace the HDD, I was also asked if I can provide an upgrade to allow him to run the flight simulator at higher quality settings, so the current specs are as follows. Pentium 4 @ 2.8 GHz 1 GB DDR RAM Windows XP ATI All-In-Wonder x600 Pro 128MB DDR PCI-e Card The best bang for the buck seems to be a more current GPU. CPU is ancient, but a new PC is apparently not an option at the moment. Considering the paltry 200 watt PSU and the small form factor case, I am stuck in between the Radeon 6450 and the Radeon 6570. Would either of these two cards draw enough power from the PCI slot to be concerned about?
Just some real quick numbers I found: Radeon 6450: Idle: 90W Load: 135W Radeon 6570: Idle: 144W Load: 204W If I remember correctly a PCI-e slot can provide 75W, so either way you'd have to take some power from the PSU.
Mind telling me where you got those numbers. I did some research this morning, and the 6450 draws about 20-30 watts under load. In fact, the Radeon 6850, a high end card, barely hits the 120 watt range under full load, so I don't see how a low end card with barely any cooling and no direct power connections can even reach 90 watts.
Holy sh*t, what the hell did I write there? Probably a copy & paste issue. Radeon HD 6450: Idle: 6W Load: 28W Radeon 6570 (numbers are somewhat weird and sites have very different numbers): Idle: Anything from 85W to 165W Load: Anything from 135W to 208W
