# PCI ati x1300 vs x1550 vs 9250...and power issues



## lion149 (Mar 27, 2007)

Hello ladies and gents,
  I am in request of the knowledge of others i don't have any real issue such as my computer just blew up, just looking for some answers. Lets get started

For one the specs of my computer are in my sig, i m looking into the BEST possible graphics card for gaming EXCEPT one thing its must be a PCI bus type.  i have read for hours upon hours over which is the best yet i feel im getting very mixed signals.

I am currently running an ati 9250 pci...the questions i have are...

#1- is it worth upgrading to the x1300 or x1550..aka are that that much better?

#2- can either of these two cards be run on the stock 250watt power supply? (like the 9250 can)

i have more questions, but they are dependent on the aswers to these therefore i will post back later.

i apologize for the length and would like to thank all in advance,

jeff


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## elitehacker (Mar 27, 2007)

Well firstly do you have the right slot for the new graphics card? I don't think there is a X1300 PCI card. I would hold off, the 9250 is good enough for movies, all your other alternatives are not good for games so I will assume that you don't play them.

I would hold off, I don't think you should upgrade.


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## lion149 (Mar 27, 2007)

Yes the x1300 and x1550 both come in PCI versions...the goal is light to med. gaming.  The most hardcore game i would attempt to play would be like "Company of Heros"


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## elitehacker (Mar 27, 2007)

Well the system requirements for "Company of Heroes" is GeForce3 64 MB or Ati Radeon 8500 64MB or greater (True DX8 Graphics Card with 64MB RAM i.e. Video Cards with at least pixel-shader technology - GeForce4 MX isn't supported), so even your current card, the 9250 is enough for it. Why upgrade? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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## lion149 (Mar 27, 2007)

The goal is to have the best possible PCI card out, and get it into my machine.  I would like to upgrade to vista and all that good stuff in the future + you never know what other kinds of games may come out down the road they may have higher requirements.

can the x1300 run off of a 250 watt power supply? if so i could sorta settle in between?


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## Styrak (Mar 27, 2007)

It probably wouldn't be great to run it on a 250W power supply.  That's kinda the bare minimum for any computer, much less one with a dedicated video card (albeit a not very powerful one)


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## lion149 (Mar 27, 2007)

Thanks styrak...just a few last things then...

is it worth it in what i will gain to buy a new good power supply and the x1300/or x1550 over my current setup of ati 9250 and stock 250watt PSU

(please disregard the fact of the old card being an issue do to the fact i have another computer the ati 9250 chip would go into assuming i went through with this therefore i wont be 'wasting' $ so to speak..thanks)

another issue is dual monitors which id like to run but cant on the 9250...


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## Styrak (Mar 27, 2007)

Yes it would make quite a difference I'm thinking, if you were to get the x1550.  But it's still a low-midrange card, so don't expect to do high-quality gaming.
But yes the bottom line is if you're getting one you have to get a better power supply.  (The recommeded PSU is apparently 420W+)


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## lion149 (Mar 27, 2007)

ok thanks that is awesome to hear..and im aware this may begin to get off topic  but...

any 450-500 watt PSU advice?

(the goal would be not to spend a ton of money but willing to pay for quality)


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## elitehacker (Mar 28, 2007)

It depends if you want to pay for premium brands like Antec. Generic 500w PSU's are really cheap. They are around $AU30 for me.


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## lion149 (Mar 28, 2007)

Any suggestions for reliable PSU around $40-50 USD would be greatly appreciated...

in total that would put me around $150 for the card and PSU...that would seem worth it to invest in my book.


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## Styrak (Mar 28, 2007)

lion149 said:


> Any suggestions for reliable PSU around $40-50 USD would be greatly appreciated...
> 
> in total that would put me around $150 for the card and PSU...that would seem worth it to invest in my book.



You might want to spend a bit more on the PSU to get better quality.  I'd say 70-100.  But if you don't care that much, then I suppose a cheap one is fine.


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