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Old PC with Old Graphics Card Upgrade

Tags:
  • Nvidia
  • Computers
  • Graphics Cards
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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January 20, 2014 1:37:24 PM

Hey guys I have an old computer(from mid 2000s?) at home that I am looking to put a small bit of change into to upgrade the video card.

Right now I am running a 256mb 7800GTX GeForce along with AMD X2 4800+(2.4ghz dual core) and 4GB DDR. Motherboard has one PCI Express x16 slot.

A lot of you are probably thinking it would be a waste to put money into this but I am only looking to make a small upgrade. As of now the computer plays 720p videos fine on my 23inch monitor and I would like to make a nice upgrade to allow it to play 1080p video smoothly while easying the load of the RAM.

I am not sure if I am understanding this correctly but the dedicated video memory is 256 MB GDDR3 and the shared system memory is 1279MB totaling an available graphics memory of 1535MB. So if I am understanding it right 1279MB is coming from my 4GB of DDR RAM and if possible I would like to reduce that number to free up the RAM.

So my question would be what would be a good video card for my goal. Thanks guys.

More about : graphics card upgrade

a b U Graphics card
January 20, 2014 1:43:43 PM

Hd 7750 is pretty much ideal for you.... Get it, with it you will be able to do everything just fine and it even uses less energy.
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a b U Graphics card
January 20, 2014 1:44:21 PM

If you want to play an HD 1080p video, an HD6670 should work. Honestly, I wouldn't bother putting a nice card in that machine.
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January 20, 2014 1:44:28 PM

Well i'm not sure about those memory calculations. If you are looking to be able to offload video decoding to the video card and you are not doing any gaming then there is plenty of options available to you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

A card like this will allow video decoding to take place on the video card and free up your processor. As far as I know when you have a dedicated card none of your system RAM is used for the video card.
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January 20, 2014 1:45:24 PM

Thanks for the quick reply! Would i encounter any major issues switching away from nvidia?
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January 20, 2014 1:50:21 PM

You will want to use a driver sweeper software to make sure that the nvidia drivers are removed so that it will not mess with the AMD drivers. Be aware that if you are using a 32 bit operating system (like most versions of XP) it only has the ability to address 4 GB of RAM in the whole machine.
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January 20, 2014 1:57:51 PM

Thanks guys I am definitely looking into the 6450 as its around the price range I am willing to put into this old machine.

I am a bit confused with the 32bit only addressing 4GB..I believe my motherboard only allows up to 4GB to be installed so this should not be an issue for me and is more suited for motherboards allowing for more RAM to be installed right?
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January 20, 2014 2:04:07 PM

It depends on your operating system. If it's 64 bit you are good, if it's 32 bit your system is going to see less RAM.
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January 20, 2014 5:11:40 PM

Great thanks really appreciate the help!
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