help picking a GPU for SimCity, Civ 5, etc...

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cmross13

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May 1, 2011
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basically im upgrading my machine from a Core i5-540m to a Core i5-3330S. no monster horsepower under the hood, i know, but most of what i do revolves around web browsing and media streaming.

occasionally i find myself in the mood for a few hours of Civilization IV/V, SimCity, or Spore, and i would like to take advantage of the new computers PCI Express slot, if the juice is worth the squeeze.

im not looking to spend a grand on a graphics card. id like to keep my budget under $100 if thats even possible, willing to stretch to $200 if its worth it.

i have a single PCI Express slot available, and length/height shouldn't be an issue.

;)

 
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hang-the-9
Yes, a 7750 is probably your best bet to run on a 250 watt CPU for a gaming card. If you wait a bit, for the games you want, the 7730 will be out soon from several vendors (right now I think there is only one card on newegg), and it's an even lower power part than the 7750 but will run your strategy games well. It should be around $60-70
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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For those games and what you do with the system, a CPU upgrade would be wasted, and you can get a cheaper video card like a Radeon 7750 that will run them just as well. Plus a 650 ti will use up a lot more power than a 7750 and since you did not list your power supply, it may not even run in the system.
 
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cmross13

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well, i didn't really upgrade the mobo/cpu in the old machine, i just bought a new computer. i had been planning out a new computer build once i get my car finished and tuned(October-ish), but my old computer started freezing/crashing/rebooting whenever i would try to download large files("something something netio.sys" would crash). i just spent $2,600 on a new turbo Friday and don't have the funds to build the computer i want, i got antsy and just ordered a new Dell.

from what i gather it has a pretty weak 250 watt PSU, but at the same time i keep reading about other people using the 7750, most notably the Sapphire HD 7750 Low Profile. i figure once i swap out the legacy 1TB HDD for my Vertex 4 SSD i should have enough spare juice for the 75w GPU. i'd be willing to remove/unplug the optical drive if it would be beneficial
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

Titan
Mar 25, 2010
60,387
1,081
152,940
Yes, a 7750 is probably your best bet to run on a 250 watt CPU for a gaming card. If you wait a bit, for the games you want, the 7730 will be out soon from several vendors (right now I think there is only one card on newegg), and it's an even lower power part than the 7750 but will run your strategy games well. It should be around $60-70
 
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