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I want to upgrade my graphics card but don't know what to choose

Tags:
  • AMD
  • Devices
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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May 28, 2014 5:00:06 PM

Current Specs

Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
CPU
AMD FX-6100
Zambezi 32nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 667MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
MSI 760GM-P21(FX) (MS-7641) (CPU1)
Graphics
LG TV (1360x768@60Hz)
1024MB AMD Radeon HD 6670 (Gigabyte)
Hard Drives
932GB Hitachi HDS721010CLA330 ATA Device (SATA)
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-224BB ATA Device
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-224BB ATA Device
Audio
AMD High Definition Audio Device

More about : upgrade graphics card choose

May 28, 2014 5:01:50 PM

What power supply do you have? We need the brand, model and total watts since that is critical in determining what your system can power or if you would need a new one.
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May 28, 2014 5:12:57 PM

numanator said:
What power supply do you have? We need the brand, model and total watts since that is critical in determining what your system can power or if you would need a new one.


How do I find that out?
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May 28, 2014 5:24:14 PM

Open up your case and take a look at the power supply. It will looks something like this (http://www.pcguide.com/byop/diagrams/figure7.jpg) with all the cables coming out of it into the various components. Then take a picture of the label and post it here (use a website like imgur.com to upload the picture to the internet and post a link to the upload here).
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May 28, 2014 6:04:15 PM

numanator said:
Open up your case and take a look at the power supply. It will looks something like this (http://www.pcguide.com/byop/diagrams/figure7.jpg) with all the cables coming out of it into the various components. Then take a picture of the label and post it here (use a website like imgur.com to upload the picture to the internet and post a link to the upload here).


This should be it http://imgur.com/OAezcaF also I found an - AC 230V on the back of my case
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May 28, 2014 11:16:34 PM

Alright, so that is a pretty bad quality psu but its stated power is roughly 480w (even though it calls itself a 700w). I would recommend that you replace that also but it depends on your budget.

What is your total budget and what do you hope to get out of the upgrade (High settings in games, Ultra, etc)?
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May 29, 2014 5:42:11 AM

numanator said:
Alright, so that is a pretty bad quality psu but its stated power is roughly 480w (even though it calls itself a 700w). I would recommend that you replace that also but it depends on your budget.

What is your total budget and what do you hope to get out of the upgrade (High settings in games, Ultra, etc)?


I'd say about £300-400 and I'm hoping to get High-Ultra settings on most games as well as a smooth frame rate.
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Best solution

May 29, 2014 8:39:10 AM

So you could get something like this to get the settings you want:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£227.72 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£62.69 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £290.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-29 16:32 BST+0100)

You would need a new power supply for the good graphics cards since yours is not good. A good 550w-600w would be enough to power your system with this gpu but yours outputs 480w or less (whenever a psu gives you a maximum rated power instead of a minimum that is a really bad sign). The gtx 770 will play almost all games at ultra with the most demanding games needing to be turned down to high to get 60+fps.

Do note that you may see some performance drops on cpu heavy games due to your Fx-6100 not having amazing core power but it shouldn't be an issue.

Edit: If you prefer AMD graphics cards you could get a R9 280x for the same price or a bit less than the gtx 770
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May 29, 2014 8:55:30 AM

numanator said:
So you could get something like this to get the settings you want:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£227.72 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£62.69 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £290.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-29 16:32 BST+0100)

You would need a new power supply for the good graphics cards since yours is not good. A good 550w-600w would be enough to power your system with this gpu but yours outputs 480w or less (whenever a psu gives you a maximum rated power instead of a minimum that is a really bad sign). The gtx 770 will play almost all games at ultra with the most demanding games needing to be turned down to high to get 60+fps.

Do note that you may see some performance drops on cpu heavy games due to your Fx-6100 not having amazing core power but it shouldn't be an issue.

Edit: If you prefer AMD graphics cards you could get a R9 280x for the same price or a bit less than the gtx 770


Thank you very much for helping me I have only have another two questions - Which is better Nvidia graphics cards or AMD graphic cards? and Will there be any problems from switching my AMD graphics card to a Nvidia? Once again thank you for your time.
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May 29, 2014 12:19:56 PM

Both AMD and Nvidia are about equal, usually the Nvidia cards are a bit more expensive but a bit more powerful in the same tier. Also, certain games perform better with one or the other (ex: Batman Arkham series do better with Nvidia, Battlefield do better with AMD) but it is usually a minor difference. There shouldn't be any problems switching from AMD to Nvidia, you just need to make sure to completely uninstall the current drivers before installing the new graphics card. I switched from a AMD to Nvidia last year and had no problems with the switch.

Personally speaking, I think Nvidia has better driver support but that is pretty much the only difference.
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