FX 5500 for Biostar small form factor?

I'm putting together a Biostar iDEQ 210V small form factor machine. This
will have a Sempron 2300+ and one 512MB stick of PC3200, and will be running
WinXP Home Ed. SP2. I want a card that will take advantage of the 8x AGP but
not one that gobbles a lot of power, as this box only has a 200W power
supply.

I thought I'd get one without the extra-input Molex connector since that
seems to imply heavy power usage. So I bought an Apollo GeForce FX 5500, 256
MB and 128-bit memory interface. But the specs for this card call for a
minimum 250W power supply and 300W recommended. I'm wondering how seriously
to take that, as it seems to me I've read of other users installing more
potent cards in these SFF boxes without problems. Any comment on this?

I'll try the FX 5500 in another system first anyway, then see how it goes in
the iDEQ. If it does seem to need more than the 200W PSU can put out, what
are my best choices? I tend to favor Nvidia-based cards but would not rule
out ATI if they have something more suitable to this particular situation
(which is why I'm cross-posting).

N.

'Nostrobino' wrote, in part:
| I want a card that will take advantage of the 8x AGP but
| not one that gobbles a lot of power, as this box only has a 200W power
| supply.
_____

As it happens, 'Ed Light' posted a very valuable set of URLs on power
consumption a few threads earlier; they ought to steer you right.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...powercons.html
(ATI card power consumption by actual measurment)
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...-nv-power.html
(nVidia card power consumption by actual measurment and ATI:nVidia
comparison
http://takaman.jp/D/?english
(calculator to totalize system power consumption, perhaps a bit iffy)

The recommendation for minimum power supply capacity by display adapter
manufacturers is more cover-your-ass rather than anything exact. The
measured nVida power consumption, according to Ed's cite, for an FX5700 is
25 Watts under load.

Phil Weldon

"Nostrobino" <> wrote in message
news:3dWdnb4DoZNXe6zeRVn-...
> I'm putting together a Biostar iDEQ 210V small form factor machine. This
> will have a Sempron 2300+ and one 512MB stick of PC3200, and will be
> running WinXP Home Ed. SP2. I want a card that will take advantage of the
> 8x AGP but not one that gobbles a lot of power, as this box only has a
> 200W power supply.
>
> I thought I'd get one without the extra-input Molex connector since that
> seems to imply heavy power usage. So I bought an Apollo GeForce FX 5500,
> 256 MB and 128-bit memory interface. But the specs for this card call for
> a minimum 250W power supply and 300W recommended. I'm wondering how
> seriously to take that, as it seems to me I've read of other users
> installing more potent cards in these SFF boxes without problems. Any
> comment on this?
>
> I'll try the FX 5500 in another system first anyway, then see how it goes
> in the iDEQ. If it does seem to need more than the 200W PSU can put out,
> what are my best choices? I tend to favor Nvidia-based cards but would not
> rule out ATI if they have something more suitable to this particular
> situation (which is why I'm cross-posting).
>
> N.
>

Phil, thanks a million! Looks like exactly what I need.

N.


"Phil Weldon" <> wrote in message
news:HnmYe.2238$ nk.net...
> 'Nostrobino' wrote, in part:
> | I want a card that will take advantage of the 8x AGP but
> | not one that gobbles a lot of power, as this box only has a 200W power
> | supply.
> _____
>
> As it happens, 'Ed Light' posted a very valuable set of URLs on power
> consumption a few threads earlier; they ought to steer you right.
> http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...powercons.html
> (ATI card power consumption by actual measurment)
> http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...-nv-power.html
> (nVidia card power consumption by actual measurment and ATI:nVidia
> comparison
> http://takaman.jp/D/?english
> (calculator to totalize system power consumption, perhaps a bit iffy)
>
> The recommendation for minimum power supply capacity by display adapter
> manufacturers is more cover-your-ass rather than anything exact. The
> measured nVida power consumption, according to Ed's cite, for an FX5700 is
> 25 Watts under load.
>
> Phil Weldon
>
> "Nostrobino" <> wrote in message
> news:3dWdnb4DoZNXe6zeRVn-...
>> I'm putting together a Biostar iDEQ 210V small form factor machine. This
>> will have a Sempron 2300+ and one 512MB stick of PC3200, and will be
>> running WinXP Home Ed. SP2. I want a card that will take advantage of the
>> 8x AGP but not one that gobbles a lot of power, as this box only has a
>> 200W power supply.
>>
>> I thought I'd get one without the extra-input Molex connector since that
>> seems to imply heavy power usage. So I bought an Apollo GeForce FX 5500,
>> 256 MB and 128-bit memory interface. But the specs for this card call for
>> a minimum 250W power supply and 300W recommended. I'm wondering how
>> seriously to take that, as it seems to me I've read of other users
>> installing more potent cards in these SFF boxes without problems. Any
>> comment on this?
>>
>> I'll try the FX 5500 in another system first anyway, then see how it goes
>> in the iDEQ. If it does seem to need more than the 200W PSU can put out,
>> what are my best choices? I tend to favor Nvidia-based cards but would
>> not rule out ATI if they have something more suitable to this particular
>> situation (which is why I'm cross-posting).
>>
>> N.
>>
>
>

'Nostrobino' wrote:
| Phil, thanks a million! Looks like exactly what I need.
_____

Glad to help, but thank 'Ed Light'; that's where I got the URLs.

Phil Weldon

"Nostrobino" <> wrote in message
news:e5KdndRdZYrAaqzeRVn-...
> Phil, thanks a million! Looks like exactly what I need.
>
> N.
>
>
> "Phil Weldon" <> wrote in message
> news:HnmYe.2238$ nk.net...
>> 'Nostrobino' wrote, in part:
>> | I want a card that will take advantage of the 8x AGP but
>> | not one that gobbles a lot of power, as this box only has a 200W power
>> | supply.
>> _____
>>
>> As it happens, 'Ed Light' posted a very valuable set of URLs on power
>> consumption a few threads earlier; they ought to steer you right.
>> http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...powercons.html
>> (ATI card power consumption by actual measurment)
>> http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...-nv-power.html
>> (nVidia card power consumption by actual measurment and ATI:nVidia
>> comparison
>> http://takaman.jp/D/?english
>> (calculator to totalize system power consumption, perhaps a bit iffy)
>>
>> The recommendation for minimum power supply capacity by display adapter
>> manufacturers is more cover-your-ass rather than anything exact. The
>> measured nVida power consumption, according to Ed's cite, for an FX5700
>> is 25 Watts under load.
>>
>> Phil Weldon
>>
>> "Nostrobino" <> wrote in message
>> news:3dWdnb4DoZNXe6zeRVn-...
>>> I'm putting together a Biostar iDEQ 210V small form factor machine. This
>>> will have a Sempron 2300+ and one 512MB stick of PC3200, and will be
>>> running WinXP Home Ed. SP2. I want a card that will take advantage of
>>> the 8x AGP but not one that gobbles a lot of power, as this box only has
>>> a 200W power supply.
>>>
>>> I thought I'd get one without the extra-input Molex connector since that
>>> seems to imply heavy power usage. So I bought an Apollo GeForce FX 5500,
>>> 256 MB and 128-bit memory interface. But the specs for this card call
>>> for a minimum 250W power supply and 300W recommended. I'm wondering how
>>> seriously to take that, as it seems to me I've read of other users
>>> installing more potent cards in these SFF boxes without problems. Any
>>> comment on this?
>>>
>>> I'll try the FX 5500 in another system first anyway, then see how it
>>> goes in the iDEQ. If it does seem to need more than the 200W PSU can put
>>> out, what are my best choices? I tend to favor Nvidia-based cards but
>>> would not rule out ATI if they have something more suitable to this
>>> particular situation (which is why I'm cross-posting).
>>>
>>> N.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>