5 Best Graphics Cards Without External Power in 2021

(Image credit: Zotac)

Upgrading your old gaming rig is a must if you want to enjoy your gaming moments in modern games. And as we all know, the graphics card is the main component that determines if your PC can handle modern titles or not. However, changing this latter may not be as simple as it looks like. Needless to say that you cannot change or upgrade your graphics card without considering your PSU’s limit. And if you are among gamers that are stuck with a stock power supply, don’t worry because we got you covered. What you are about to discover below is a list of the best graphics cards without external power. These GPUs will be able to take all the energy needed right from the motherboard.

All the graphics cards that you are about to discover below will offer you a fantastic gaming experience. And the only factor that will determine which one you should choose will be your budget.

1-Zotac GTX 1650 OC

The best compact yet powerful graphics card, the GeForce GTX 1650! It is designed for gamers looking for top-notch gaming performance without spending a significant amount of cash.

What makes it good?

Based on the NVIDIA Turing architecture, the Zotac GTX 1650 graphic-card offers ideal performance for Full HD resolution. This GPU features the NVIDIA 12nm FF TU117 graphics processor, accompanied by 4 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, a 128-bit memory interface, and 896 stream processors (Cores CUDA).

In addition, it is equipped with lightning-fast GDDR5 VRAM. DirectX 12 pushes further realism in games with innovative effects.

Even if you are a beginner, you will not face any issues keeping this GPU updated, thanks to GeForce Experience. It’s user-friendly software, and it will automatically update your graphics card. You can also record and share videos as well as your fantastic screenshots with ShadowPlay. I

Plus, this device can fit into a mini PC thanks to its dimensions contained with a length of only 151 mm. Due to its reduced consumption, it does not need an additional power connector.

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2-Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 Ti

The Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti OC 4G graphic-card is made specifically to allow casual and avid gamers to experience smooth and high gaming performance. You can thus enjoy your preferred PC games with amazing quality settings.

What makes it good?

Designed with Pascal architecture, the Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti graphic card is another great option that doesn’t require an external power cable. It offers gamers an interesting, striking gaming experience as well as low energy consumption.

It is armed with the new NVIDIA Pascal chip that offers a turbo frequency of 1455 MHz (in OC mode)! Regarding memory: the GTX 1050 Ti has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. The “NVIDIA GPU Boost 3.0” mode is also part of this device for extra power available when your most demanding games require it! You can also get immersed in your games and good quality image at 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Fully DirectX 12 compatible and incorporating the latest technological innovations from the brand to the chameleon, the GTX 1050 Ti delivers excellent performance while benefiting from optimized energy efficiency thanks to controlled consumption.

It has 3 video outputs: 1 DisplayPort 1.4 port, 3 HDMI 2.0 port as well as a classic DVI-D port! Besides, it arrives with a fantastic cooling system equipped with a single 90mm fan of formidable efficiency. Better cooled, the card supports higher frequencies than the basic models and allows obtaining superior and stable performance even under heavy loads.

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3-MSI Radeon RX 560 

Launched in April 2017, the MSI Radeon RX 560 is designed for exceptional performance and high fidelity gaming. You can take control of this graphics card and enjoy powerful and high gaming performance without leaving you with an empty wallet.

What makes it good?

Gain a competitive advantage of a reduced input latency with AMD Radeon FreeSync technology, available on over 900 displays, and the latest Radeon software for incredibly responsive and wonderfully immersive game-play. It eliminates any choppy game-plays and broken frames.

It also provides stutter-free and tear-free gaming. The latest version of Radeon ™ software unlocks the full potential of your GPU, with optimized drivers for the launch of new games and a highly customizable gaming experience.

Designed according to AMD’s latest GCN 4 architecture, this technology prevents choppy gameplay and broken frames with fluid, artifact-free performance. Also, it uses Graphics Core Next 1.3 architecture and has a 1272 MHz graphics clock frequency. Besides, it features 1024 stream processors, 16 color ROPs, and 64 texture units. It supports PCI Express 3.0 interface.

Featuring a 14 nm process, basing on the “LEXA” graphics processor, and supporting DirectX12, this GPU enables all modern games to run smoothly. Paired with 2,048 MB of advanced GDDR5 memory, this device provides high bandwidth achieving 112.0 GB/s.

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4-Gigabyte GT 1030 Low Profile

The Gigabyte GT 1030 Low Profile 2G is a budget-friendly graphics card. Designed primarily for entry-level gaming machines, this GPU is the ideal choice for 1080P displays and will even allow you to play your eSport games in excellent conditions.

What makes it good?

This model is composed of high-quality chokes and capacitors. It thus delivers impressive performance and durable system lifespan. As for the advertised boost clock, it is 1506 MHz in OC Mode and 1468 MHz in Gaming Mode. And regarding the ports, it is equipped with a DVI-D and an HDMI port.  

This device contains a single Fan Cooling System. You can thus benefit from low-noise cooling. Besides, this GPU is privileged with a Low profile design with 150 mm card length, perfect for small form factor gaming builds.

Also, you can record your best gaming sessions with Shadowplay! Thanks to Kepler’s hardware acceleration, it encodes up to 20 minutes of gameplay in HD H.264 format! You can choose the quality, the recording duration, and broadcast all your exploits on Youtube with ease!

Forget your old integrated chipset with the GT 1030 and surf the web at lightning speed! It delivers better performance than modern iGPU, such as Vega 8. Not to mention rock-solid reliability and stability with the GeForce Experience app. This innovative application gives you one-click access to the latest NVIDIA drivers for peak performance and flawless stability.

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5-MSI GeForce GT 710

The MSI GT 710 graphics card offers you solutions for a more immersive and great gaming experience on all your eSport favorite games! In Low Profile format and equipped with a completely silent passive cooling system (no fan), this graphics card is ideal for entry-level gaming machines. So enjoy a good performance at an affordable price!

What makes it good?

With a 146.05mm x 111.15mm length, this graphics card will fit in most PC cases, leaving you with enough space for large components such as CPU Coolers. As for the ports, it has D-SUB, one DL-DVI-D, and one HDMI, which results in dual monitor supports.

The GeForce GT 710 is manufactured on a 28 nm technological process and embeds 1 GB of DRR3 memory. This graphics card has been clocked at 1600MHz. Also, it is privileged with 192 CUDA cores, 8 ROPs, and 16 texture units.

With a max of 20W energy consumption, the MSI GeForce GT 710 is the perfect option for users with budget PSU. It also doesn’t require a fan for cooling the GPU, and therefore, you won’t face any noise problems. Besides, thanks to its low profile build design, this graphics card will not occupy a lot of space.

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Conclusion

Before you make your last call on one of these GPUs, we highly recommend taking a look at the recommended specs of the games you wish to play. By doing this, you will have an idea about what performance you should expect from your selected graphics card.

If somehow we forgot to mention a good GPU that doesn’t require external power, you can let us know in the comment section below.

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