need video card for old setup

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
S

supremeone77

Distinguished
Mar 22, 2011
24
0
18,510
I have a real old desktop setup:

gigabyte p-35 ds3r mobo
intel dual core e2160 processor
2gb of ddr2 ram (1 module I think)
geforce 8600 GT video card
Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
1 cdrom drive, 1-2 internal harddrives, 1-2 case fans

I want to upgrade the video card for now, since don't have the money to do a complete upgrade. I was looking at the radeon HD 4850 or the radeon HD 5850. But here's the problem. The radeon 5850 might take up 150 watts of power. I've been running some psu calculators and it looks like I would be okay in theory. However, my psu only has 1 6 pin pci-e connector. And I think the radeon hd 5850 requires 2 connectors? Not sure. The other issue is a lot of these newer cards are a lot thicker, makes me wonder if it would even work on my mobo. Probably would but my setup is so ancient ;o.

Anyways could somebody confirm if I could run a radeon HD 5850? And if not, what options would be the next best thing?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
S

supremeone77

Distinguished
Mar 22, 2011
24
0
18,510
Hmm interesting. Haven't seen that many high end cards with low power and no pci-e 6 pin connector needed. Only issue is the price is a bit more than I wanted to spend. Was only looking to spend a max of $80 or so. Might be able to get one of those cards for $100 on ebay. Might just say screw it and get that one. But want to figure out a cheaper option just in case my cheapskateness kicks in later on ;x.

I was looking at this power supply guide.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/279391-28-power-requirements-specs-popular-graphic-cards-guide

It says might be able to use a radeon hd 5770. Also figured out some other options. Here's list of cards for geforce and radeon, added some power usage and benchmark scores:

gtx 750 ti (60 wts) 3,691
gtx 650 ti (110 wts) 2,600
gtx 650 (64wts) 1,836
gtx 550 ti (116 wts) 1,926
gts 450 (110 watts) 1,500
gt 640 (75 watts) 1,200

radeon HD 7770 (80 watts) 2,153
radeon hd 5770 (100 watts) 1,685
radeon HD 4850 1000 pts

Probably going to get one of the geforce ti's or the radeon HD 5770 or radeon HD 7770. Thanks a lot for the recommendation snowctrl.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
snowctrl

snowctrl

Distinguished
Sep 10, 2013
2,059
0
20,460
No worries - the 750Ti is generally considered the best option for upgrading an old machine at present, because it's so much more powerful than other cards that draw a similar wattage (or conversely, because it draws so much less wattage than similarly powerful cards)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom