Looking to get some help buying a graphics card?

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Hello! im looking to upgrade my current graphics card. It doesnt have to be anything high end but id like to be able to play games like "ghost recon phantoms" or any other nice fps game.


currently this is my system info:
OS Name Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise
Version 6.3.9600 Build 9600
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name
System Manufacturer MSI
System Model MS-7642
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Processor AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor, 3400 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. V1.8, 12/24/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.5
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode Legacy
BaseBoard Manufacturer MSI
BaseBoard Model Not Available
BaseBoard Name Base Board
Platform Role Desktop
Secure Boot State Unsupported
PCR7 Configuration Binding Not Possible
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.3.9600.17196"
User Name
Time Zone
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 7.50 GB
Available Physical Memory 5.68 GB
Total Virtual Memory 8.69 GB
Available Virtual Memory 7.02 GB
Page File Space 1.19 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed.

and the graphics card is:
Name Microsoft Basic Display Adapter
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9714&SUBSYS_76421462&REV_00\4&1E3388AD&0&2808
Adapter Type ATI ATOMBIOS, (Standard display types) compatible
Adapter Description Microsoft Basic Display Adapter
Adapter RAM 0 bytes
Installed Drivers Not Available
Driver Version 6.3.9600.16384
INF File display.inf (MSBDA section)
Color Planes Not Available
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1024 x 768 x 1 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32
Memory Address 0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF
I/O Port 0x0000B000-0x0000BFFF
Memory Address 0xFE6F0000-0xFE6FFFFF
Memory Address 0xFE500000-0xFE6FFFFF
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\basicdisplay.sys (6.3.9600.16384, 49.50 KB (50,688 bytes), 8/22/2013 7:39 AM)

my budget is realistically $0.00-$150

 
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Pedasc

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You have both too much and not enough information here. The only real, possibly relevant information I see is:

Windows 8.1 x64
MSI MS-7642 Motherboard
AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965
8 GB RAM

I am having trouble with finding what the video card is other than I think it is ATI.

You will also need to know your power supply or at least and idea of the power rating to pick a video card. Different cards require different power requirements so it is fairly important.

The other thing would be the physical space in your case. You are probably fine but you don't want to buy a card and find it doesn't fit. Usually it is the length of the card that can cause issues.
 
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is there program/applications i can run to check this? the adapter is a microsoft basic adapter.

the case is an hp a6300f?
 
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Pedasc

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Oh, I should have figured this out. If you have a HP Pavilion a6300f case an internet search shows me you are most likely running some sort of integrated graphics with 250 Watt power supply. Microsoft doesn't make video hardware so what you are seeing there is just the information for a generic driver.

The problem is that HP will not design a lot of head room for expansion. Your power supply is pretty small for anything other than integrated graphics and the case may have issues. I can't really find any maximum card length numbers for the case. You can actually physically measure the space on the inside if you need to. Just measure the length of the case and subtract the distace for the hard drive cage, usually about 5.25" or so.

Card manufacturers will overestimate the power requirements so you may be able to get one to work. Some more searching found me a few people that were able to run a GT 730 or even a GTX 740 with a 250 Watt power supply but you do risk under-powering the card and not having it run. If you want to try I'd go with the GT 730 64bit GDDR5 version. It has a recommended 300 Watt power supply and will most likely run. It is not super fast but should give you a boost over integrated graphics and it has its own memory.
 
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should i just invest in a bigger Power supply? then base my graphics card off my price + the new power supply?
 
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maxalge

maxalge

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Your monitor's resolution is 1024 x 768?



If so:


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $118.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-30 04:12 EDT-0400



It's $148.98, and has $30 in mail in rebates. ( $118.98 if you ever get them. )
 
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will that powersupply/graphics fit in my case/motherboard?

if soo thats a reallly nice deal!!
 
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Pedasc

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I'd check your power supply you have first to see if perhaps my information is out of date and does not apply to your system. it should be marked somewhere on the unit itself. From what I saw your case uses a standard sized PSU so the one boadicea mentioned should fit. You can measure the one you have and the dimensions for any PSU you would buy are usually right on the spec page.

There is only one further possible issue I can think of, companies like HP sometimes use proprietary connectors. It is fairly rare and I couldn't find any information on that for your system so it may just me being cautious but I'd take a close look and see if anything looks odd. If you have trouble identifying something usually in the product page for the PSU there are pictures of some of the connectors to help.
 
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WHOA! soo i got this computer from my step dad, he had a student of his upgrade it and just gave it to me when he was done teaching(he bought the pc from the school and retired) anyhow i never checked the inside, only had it for like a month now. but it

has a 700w psu, had alot of extra fans and a weird cord/vertical fan that blew next to the cpu cooler, theres another ballbearing led fan and then there was one not even connected on the side of the case which you will see that i removed. but i tried to take as many pictures as i could because this was an unexpected can of worms.. mostly good but just wondering first if the setup is even safe or the best use of airflow.

then we can talk about the grapics LOL.

heres a few pics i got.

https://imageshack.com/i/idjbgHhtj
https://imageshack.com/i/id0spVikj
https://imageshack.com/i/exiqT9kyj
https://imageshack.com/i/idIPLEeIj
https://imageshack.com/i/f0l0y1Dvj
https://imageshack.com/i/eyKAP35sj
https://imageshack.com/i/pcfXs7Qdj
https://imageshack.com/i/ip2eGrdVj
https://imageshack.com/i/p5vwoSrdj
 
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maxalge

maxalge

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OK awesome you don't need to get a new power supply. That unit is actually damn good.


Drop in a 270x. Nice combo with your cpu.
 
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i wish i knew more of what you were talking about haha! sad because i got my A+ last year and am in Net+ and still get clueless as to what some of these non-stock items are in regards to pc builds.

so all those fans are ok? especially that vertical round fan?

and my monitor is a samsung 'syncmaster 912N and the reccommended resolution is 1024 x768 which its on.


so now i can get the Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card that was mentioned earlier or can/should i get something different?


 
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Pedasc

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OK I'm really not sure about the round fan. I can't imagine it being unsafe in any way but it seems an odd placement.

As for the video card you can use the Radeon R7 260X or maybe even a bit higher in your price range. The AMD (Radeon) cards tend to be more economical but more inefficient. You may be able to find a R9 270X in your range. It would be a fair bit faster.

Your monitor's specs that I found seem to say that the native resolution should be 1280 x 1024. If you are not going to upgrade the monitor any time soon you should be able to stay with the 260X.
 
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with my current monitor, i can get the R9 270x or will i have to upgrade my monitor? and would you suggest i do that?


thanks for all the help by the way!

p.s, ill try to take better pics of the vertical stick fan later, cooling never hurt anything but im just wondering "what i need" vs. what i dont.

 
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maxalge

maxalge

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The 260x would give you great performance at your monitor's resolution.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $88.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-01 17:27 EDT-0400



It's $108.99 and also has $20 mail in rebate - If you ever get it -.
 
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Guest

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ok so i cleaned the inside nice with some duster, took out an unnessicary wireless g card and replaced the backing to the case. took off the weird vertical fan its a 3 variable speed Antec. it looks like it was blowing from outside in and someone had drilled holes into the side of the case door. do i need this fan? and what is the best orientation to have it blow, prolly as an intake over the cpu area?
and both the LED annd Antec have variable speeds.

possibly might be looking into a better fan, cooler master maybe?


im definitely gonna go with the gpu!
 
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lets say my budget is now max $200, what am I looking at? i seen this http://pcpartpicker.com/blog/65/radeon-300-series-released

looks like i can get the R9 380?
 
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