Graphic card advice

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

HI,
Im new to this whole gaming and graphic card scene and ive been spending the whole week on the internet researching what graphic card to buy,i came across many details before buying a graphic card.

my specs,
4gb ram
500gb hardrive
3.2ghz
intel core i5

so i decided to get a graphic card coz i really want to play games like call of duty black ops 2, far cry 3, assasins creed etc etc

i dont know what graphic card is good for a noob like me.

im facing two major confusions,
1.what graphic cards will fit in my cpu (coz its not a normal one its the type that u can stand as a vertical tower or lie flat)
this is how my cpu looks -

http://decpu.com/dell-optiplex-745-pentium-d-3400-mhz-80gig-serial-ata-hdd-4096mb-ddr2-memory-dvd-rom-genuine-windows-7-professional-32-bit-19-flat-panel-lcd-monitor-desktop-pc-computer-professionally-refurbished.html

and this is how my slot space is -

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=299338816877519&set=a.299338793544188.1073741827.100004042106907&type=3&theater

2.power supply?(i just read about it what does this mean,my specs say 240w power,is this bad or good?)
what can i do to increase my suppy of power,shuldi change the power supply unit?

ive found info on my graphic card slot,
4.0 (total) / 1.0 (free) x PCI Express 2.0 x16 - Low-profile.

so what do i do?

(please dont recommend really costly ass graphic cards, and try to use minimal technical terms as im new

)

thanks guys,

want-to-game-desperately.

luckiest charm · Jul 24, 2013

Ah well, it seems like your PSU is very full already.

Now you have two choices -

Buy a decent GPU like GTX 650 Ti Boost. It costs around $170.
Add another $50 for a 550W Power Supply Unit. Preferably XFX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified PSU.

Another choice is to buy ATI Radeon HD 7750. Again add $30 for 500W Power Supply Unit.
I suggest you to go for the latter option. It would cost you around $70 + $30 after rebate from NCIX -

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax77501gbd5dh
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu500cxv2

Retail price in US for GPU is in between $90 - $100.

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

hey lucky charm but will this go with my pci e?
coz this powercolor ati radeon is PCI-Express 3.0 x 16 and mine is PCI-Express 2.0 x 16?

thanks

sourodip · Jul 24, 2013

well whether u buy a hd7750 or 650ti boost u will have to upgrade ur psu to at least a CX500W or CX430W.
u can get these:
1.hd7770->120$
2.hd7750:=100$
3.hd7790: 130$
4.gtx650ti(non-boost):130-135$
5.gtx650ti boost:>170$
tell us ur budget and we would be able to help u more accurately

sourodip · Jul 24, 2013

yes your mobo's 2.0 gen. will support all latest gpu's. the 3.0 is 0-3% faster than the 2.0. the more imp is the x16 lane.

luckiest charm · Jul 24, 2013

Definitely.

Your GPU would be compatible. I made sure of that since all GPU's are backwards compatible and most of them are not even capable of taking full advantage of PCIE 2.0.

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

i live in dubai so the currency difference would be hard to explain my budget lol

anyways the corsair 500w and the powercolor ati radeon 7750 seem to be in my budget.

my question now is if the corsair builder 500w fit in my cpu case (check the 2nd link provided)

luckiest charm · Jul 24, 2013

Ah well that is very crammed but I guess it would fit in ...

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

can u please check this link and tell me if this is a good alternative?

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3338#kf

feel free to tell me what i must opt

sourodip · Jul 24, 2013

well the psu you listed is also good but the CX500W has 2*6+2 pin pci-e connectors which means it would leave path for upgrading in the future....

luckiest charm · Jul 24, 2013

Gigabyte stuff is always good.

I don't know if they make good PSUs though. I would stick to Corsair / Seasonic / XFX in here.

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

Thanks guys yall are great

luckiest charm · Jul 24, 2013

Anytime mate.

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

Hey one more question what does low profile mean? Shuld I buu a specific graphic card for low profile? Please elavorate ehat low profile and normal ones mean?

Thanks

luckiest charm · Jul 24, 2013

There are two type of GPUs, low profile and high profile.

There is nothing like performance stuff, its just the difference in design. Low profile GPUs fit in slim desktop boxes like yours. High profile GPUs demand more space like a Mid Tower ATX or Full Tower ATX Case.

In other words they denote the difference in breadth of the video card.

This picture should get the concept clear -

http://storage.hw-lab.com/pr/leadtek/gt-640/winfast-gt640.jpg

Best Wishes!

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

So the powercolor is low profile or is there a diff brand? Any suggestions??

luckiest charm · Jul 24, 2013

Not sure about the above one but this one definitely is -

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax77501gbd5hl

This is PowerColor HD 7750 1 GB LP (Low Profile)

Since PowerColor has a separate low profile variant then the above one must be usual.

Cloudy69 · Jul 24, 2013

Alright understood.
Is power color better than sapphire?
Shuld I get something better than power color? What iare some good ones if so?

Kisianik · Jul 24, 2013

luckiest charm :

Cloudy69 :

Sapphire is more reliable, I think we are talking about the same one SAPPHIRE 100357LP Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202002 link provided for your understanding.
Also, it would be good for you to know that you can not place any more powerful card into your PC, because of size!

I was thinking about previous poster here and decided to talk about this.
Best Solution post is completely incorrect, it is advised by the person completely unfamiliar with Optiplexes. None of the advices in that post are applicable to your PC, sorry luckiest charm, but it is true.

[strike]Now you have two choices -

Buy a decent GPU like GTX 650 Ti Boost. It costs around $170.
Add another $50 for a 550W Power Supply Unit. Preferably XFX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified PSU.

Another choice is to buy ATI Radeon HD 7750. Again add $30 for 500W Power Supply Unit.
I suggest you to go for the latter option. It would cost you around $70 + $30 after rebate from NCIX -

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax77...
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu...[/strike]

Somehow, when you, Cloudy69 asked about low profile, luckiest charm corrected one problem - GPU. However, luckiest charm advised power supply upgrade as well.

Well that power supply is much larger than the case.
Optiplex SFF power supply is not upgradable.

Not a big deal, since Sapphire 7750 low profile was reported to work on 165 watt power supply, and you have above 220 watt at least.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

I can provide explanation and proof of my words upon request.

Graphic card advice

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