Best Low Power Graphics Card 2024 (GPU w/o External Power)

Do you think about building your own computer one day? Are you someone who loves video games and wants the best experience possible? Then you should take a look at the best low-power graphics cards of 2024. Having a powerful low-watt GPU in your computer makes the world of a difference visually, as well as how your games and programs run. If you are building your computer, you will want to find a graphics card that doesn’t use a lot of power. Here, we’ll compare the best low-power graphics cards, making the decision easy for you.

Gotta run? The best low-power graphics card is the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1650 OC. With its overall better specs than its competitors, it is a great choice for someone who wants to build their PC and loves gaming as well. A great choice for those who love content creating is the Biostar Radeon RX 550. It has proven itself more efficient in Adobe applications than its competitors and can handle its own in the newest lines of games and VR technology.

Best Low Power GPU: Quick Comparison


BEST RATED	ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1650 OC GPU – GeForce GTX 1650 CUDA Cores – 896 Slot Size – Dual Slot Power Consumption – 75W Memory Bus – 128bit Cooling – Single Fan Video Memory – 4GB GDDR6	Check Price
RUNNER UP	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti OC (low profile) GPU – GeForce GTX 1050 Ti CUDA Cores – 768 Slot Size – Dual Slot Power Consumption – 300W Memory Bus – 128bit Cooling – Single Fan Video Memory – 4GB GDDR5	Check Price
	MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 Series CUDA Cores – 768 Slot Size – Dual Slot Power Consumption – 75W Memory Bus – 128bit Cooling – Dual Fans Video Memory – 4GB GDDR5	Check Price
	MSI GeForce GTX 1650 4GT LP OC GPU – GeForce GTX 1650 4GT LP OC CUDA Cores – 896 Slot Size – Dual Slot Power Consumption – 75W Memory Bus – 128bit Cooling – Dual Fan Video Memory – 4GB GDDR5	Check Price
	ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 460 4GB OC CUDA Cores – 768 Slot Size – Dual Slot Power Consumption – 75W Memory Bus – 128bit Cooling – Dual Fan Video Memory – 4GB GDDR5	Check Price
	MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2G OC GPU – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 CUDA Cores – 640 Slot Size – Dual Slot Power Consumption – 75W Memory Bus – 128bit Cooling – Single Fan Video Memory – 2GB GDDR5	Check Price
	Biostar Radeon RX 550 GPU – Radeon RX 550 CUDA Cores – 512 Slot Size – Dual Slot Power Consumption – 75W Memory Bus – 128bit Cooling – Air Cooler Video Memory – 4GB GDDR5	Check Price

Top Rated GPUs Without External Power 2024: Reviewed & Ranked

1. ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1650 OC GPU

Best Overall Low Power Graphics Card

When looking for a low-wattage graphics card, the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1650 OC takes the cake.

With its Turing Shaders, you can guarantee that you will have a dynamically visual, quiet experience.

Turing Shaders are a more modern architecture that has impeccable flexible technology.

When combined with a GPU such as the GeForce GTX 1650, this offers you gameplay with the highest frame rates.

This low-watt GPU comes with the GeForce Experience.

The GeForce Experience is a top-of-the-line software that lets you intertwine applications seamlessly, letting you do anything you want whenever you need to.

With its easy-to-use interface, you can optimize and customize your experience for exactly your needs.

Another notable feature of this graphics card is the low RDS. This means that you are losing less power through distance traveled over your MOSFET. This is incredibly power efficient, as well as giving off less heat overall.

Pros

Installing this GPU into your computer, you don’t have to worry about upgrading for a long time
Price is quite reasonable for the power and performance this unit gives
If you are an avid gamer, this low-watt graphics card delivers the huge potential to your gaming needs.

Cons

While newer than some others on this list, unless you use your computer to its full potential, the price point might be a bit high

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2. Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti OC (Low Profile)

Best Low Power Video Card

When it comes to video, the Gigabyte GeForce GTX takes the cake. With its 4GB DDR5, you never have to worry about the quality of your streams or your video games.

This low-wattage graphics card comes with a powerful single fan. Its low-profile design helps you make a compact gaming build with a large potential.

The XTREME Engine has an easy interface, letting you customize your GPU for your overclocking needs.

With its sleek design and easy-to-learn functions, bringing your computer to its best has never been easier.

The GeForce GTX 1050 is built with Lower ESR Solid Capacitors, ensuring that your graphics card will have a longer lifespan, and giving you your money’s worth in longevity.

A low ESR is important for your computer because ESR is a time constant that it takes to charge and discharge (and therefore react) to the changes in voltage and electrical current.

The GeForce GTX 1050 is compatible with the Intuitive XTREME Engine Utility. This system helps you monitor your power, fan(s), clock speed, and more. With an easy hotkey, you can put on the overlay to check everything, even from your game.

Pros

While the ZOTAC may have RRD6, this one is an overall better option for video capabilities.
Low ESR means faster GPU reaction time

Cons

Single powered fan means that it will need to use more power to cool your computer, and maybe a louder option than some dual fan setups.

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3. MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Graphics Card

Best Budget GPU Without External Power

When it comes to building a PC on a budget or updating your current model, this GPU is hard to beat.

The MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, has UHD (Ultra High Resolution) and gives you 4x the resolution of 1080p.

This means no screen tearing, no input lag, or display shutter.

This GPU comes with Real-Time monitoring for you to make sure that your GPU core, DRAM frequency, GPU, and CPU temperature are all up to your code.

This function is fully customizable for your preference.

This low-watt GPU has two powerful fans, and a custom LED system to enhance your gaming aesthetic.

The fans feature ZeroFrozr technology, which keeps your fans silent on light use, and only kicks in during intense gameplay or benchmarking.

The MSI GeForce also includes MSI Dragon Eye, which lets your multi-task without ever needing a second monitor.

With the application, you can move a youtube video or twitch stream into the corner of your game, all while the GPU keeps your FPS stable.

Pros

This budget buy comes with extreme power, making it worth every penny
With the dual fan system, it holds up against some of the top competitors in its line
Although almost the same price as the ZOTAC, its capabilities and features make it very worth its price.

Cons

Only slightly less than the ZOTAC

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4. MSI GeForce GTX 1650 4GT LP OC Graphics Card

Lowest Wattage Consumption GPU

While most of the new-line GPUs have around the same amount of power needed, the MSI GeForce 1650 delivers so much more for the amount required.

To start, its smaller designed GPU means that you can build a smaller PC unit more effectively.

It comes with a low profile bracket, so you can customize and arrange your PC to better suit your needs.

This GPU features VENTUS dual fans, which work hard silently to give you a powerful cooling system for your computer.

The Afterburner Overclocking Utility finds the highest stable overclock setting for you. As well with this function, you can go in and set your customization for overclocking your GPU and turn it on whenever you need.

This low power consumption GPU comes with GeForce Experience and is 70% faster than the GTX 1050 when put up to the test by the newest games out now.

Another feature of this GPU is the direct contact heat pipes, which maximizes heat transfer to give you the least amount of issues in your PC unit.

Pros

In the low wattage category, this GPU does not give up capability for power
With all the applications that Nvidia GeForce offers, you can guarantee that what you’re buying is worth every penny.

Cons

A pricey option to make unless your career is centered around gaming and your computer

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5. ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 460 4GB OC GPU

Best GPU For New Gamers

If you are interested in dipping your toes into the metaphorical gaming pool, then this is the GPU for you.

Its low-profile build doesn’t compromise anything to give you more possibilities.

This GPU, commonly found in newer gaming laptops, is a great choice for people who want to build their first gaming computer or add on to a computer they already own.

Its specifications match up well to others in its line and category, making it a great competitor in the best GPUs of 2024.

This low power consumption GPU features a dual fan system, which gives you doubled airflow for a quiet gaming experience.

This unit is built with aerospace-grade Super Alloy Power II components, meaning it has incredibly good longevity.

The ASUS ROG Strix comes with FreeSync technology, eliminating screen tearing issues and giving you a high frame rate, more consistently.

Pros

A great GPU for a budget buy
Also a great start for someone who wants to get into gaming

Cons

If you want to do gaming or content creating, you may want to go with a more up to date GPU

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6. MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2G OC GPU

Best Low Power Graphics Card For PC Building

The MSI GeForce is a great competitor for PC building.

This low-wattage GPU includes military class 4 components in its hardware, which has proven to be durable even under the most extreme gaming and overclocking sessions you may have.

The graphics card features 4K UHD, giving you the sharpest image when you need it.

You don’t have to worry about screen tearing with the Nvidia G-sync which the GTX provides.

A handy application that this low-watt GPU comes with is the MSI Afterburner. This brings you the potential for top-of-the-line content creating right at your fingertips.

The Afterburner gives you full control of your GPU, letting you record and share those epic moments in gaming with the world.

This GPU is DirectX 12 ready, letting you have the most up-to-date games, paired with the potential to have the maximum framerate at any time. Even if your other monitor is streaming while you are playing, this GPU can handle the challenge.

Pros

This GPU is a great edition if you are comfortable with PC building and want a powerful system
For its price point, this GPU is a great steal

Cons

Its single fan limits the ability to overclock as much as some of the dual fan competitors

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7. Biostar Radeon RX 550 GPU

Best Graphics Card For Content Creating

If you are someone who enjoys content creating or are looking to do it as a career, then you know how important the right graphics card is.

Look no further than the Biostar Radeon RX 550.

This GPU has proven to be 19x more efficient in Adobe Premiere Pro, and 7x more efficient in Adobe Photoshop than its competitors.

These statistics make it a great choice for content creating since you can get more done in less time, and have better results.

If you are someone who likes to stream, and wants to stream the newest VR games, then this low-watt GPU has you covered.

It supports the most up-to-date VR technology, and promises no screen tearing or input lag issues, even on the newest triple-A title releases.

With its compatibility with DirectX 12, you don’t have to worry about needing a new GPU for a long time.

Pros

This model is great for any kind of content creation and gives you numerous personalization options for the things you need.
With its proven statistics, it is a safe choice

Cons

Although it promises great potential, some of its competitors have a bigger name and a bigger following.

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Graphics Cards That Don’t Need External Power FAQ

What graphics card has the lowest power consumption?

One thing to note about GPUs is that most of them have around the same power consumption nowadays. Unless you’re looking into a super bulky, powerful GPU that will give you incredible performance at the price of higher power consumption, most of the low-power GPUs sit at around 75W.
This being said, the best one to choose for a position like this would be the MSI GeForce GTX 1650 LP OC. This GPU gives great performance for the low power consumption of 75W.

Can the GTX 1650 run without a power supply?

Yes, the GTX 1650 needs an external power supply. All GPUs require power, as your PC unit also requires power to run. This being said, 1650 is a power-efficient card, needing only 450W. Anything below that is not recommended, and as always more means that you can safely overclock without running the risk of harming your unit as a whole.

How much power will the 3060 need?

A GTX 3060 requires about 540W to safely run all of your applications and games without worrying about causing internal and external damage. Anything below that amount is not recommended unless you plan on only using the PC to write documents. Even then though, you may want to check out a different type of GPU, since these are mainly used for people who regularly push their graphics cards to the limit.

How much power does the 3090 use?

A 3090 card will need at least 720W to run it, meaning if you choose to buy this card, you will need a beefy PSU to run it. This is one of the newest cards out now, and therefore hasn’t been optimized to run with any less power. As well as the 3060, these cards are recommended for people who use their PC heavily and tend to run many applications at a time. As well as being a powerful GPU, it also consumes a lot of power, so you may have to build a special PC for it to run smoothly.

Final Words About The Best Low Power Graphics Card

In conclusion, all of the low wattage GPUs above are great for beginner to professional-grade gaming. These all require 300W or less power from your computer, and most if not all of them are a more compact design, letting you build a slim but powerful PC.

To recap, the top 3 low-power graphics cards for 2024 are the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1650 OC, the MSI GeForce GTX 1650 4GT LP OC, and the Biostar Radeon RX 550. If you are an intermediate to a professional gamer. Or an up-and-coming or established content creator, then these are the GPUs for you.

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