Completely lost and confused about graphics cards.

Hello everyone at Tom's Hardware! I have been looking over this site and forums for quite a while, looking at reviews and computer information. I thought it was about time I posted here.

I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to graphics cards. I know there are different kinds that can go into different PCI slots (I have an x16), that many require certain power requirements, etc, but in general my mind is hazy about them.

I plan on buying a new graphics card [probably with a new power supply] very soon, seeing as my computer is a little on the old side:

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Sony [...] /ps/617486

What I want is enough power and graphics performance on my computer to run games with a Source engine, such as TF2, Garry's Mod, Half-Life 2, etc. I would also like it to be slightly up-to-date for future game releases.

I would like a 512MB kind of card, maybe leaning on the Radeon HD 4850 [or 4830] kind of side.

What would be the best kind of card for a computer like mine? I know the watt requirement for the power supply is around 450, while my power supply itself is around only 300 watts.

If my new graphics card needs a different power supply to run it, what would be the most bang-for-the-buck one around 500 watts? Is it easy to install?

All of these questions would be great if they were answered. Looking over the community and pages on this site, I'm sure I will get many awesome answers to my questions. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Please excuse me for any typos.

Hmm...at 300Watts, the 4850 is pushing i think. I think a 4370 would suffice though...

You're going to want a new power supply to be honest. Chances are, at 300w, you'll be maxing out with any current gen card. That's gonna cause you headaches, and isn't worth it at all. AS for power supplies, bigger is always better. A supply from Enermax, Pc Power and Cooling, or even Coolmax (my PSU is a CUG-950b, love it and was only $120.00 delivered from newegg). A 4850 is a great choice, while a GTX260 will be just a little more horsepower. Both cards will last you for a while, but it all really depends on what resolution you'll be playing at. You can scale either way depending what resolution you're at. Hope this helps!

I don't see why I would really need a new one right now, and I think I can make do with this one until I head off to college in three years. Not to mention I also have a laptop [though, that computer sucks too].

So no computer buying for me right now. Upgrading should do for a little while longer. I actually share this computer with my family, and will consider carefully what computer I should get for college.

Two other people on a different forum recommended me this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371007

What do you guys think about it? As for the graphics card, I'm leaning heavily towards the HD 4830:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102803

Oh, and thanks boulard for the steps. Surprisingly, I didn't get completely lost with what you said, seeing as I've actually opened it up a few times to peek around and remove dust.

And triddle, I think I might actually head to Best Buy [or Radioshack] this weekend to buy a new one. I'm still sticking with the 500w one. Though how will a 500w power supply cope with cards next year, for example?

your better to get this OCZ psu..

Radioshack, as far as i know, only have NONAME psu ... Psu(and mobo) are the base of a computer ...

I don't know if it's been suggested yet, but how about a Radeon HD 4670? It doesn't need a seperate power connector; it might even work on the stock power supply.

Thank you jyjjy and angry_ducky for the information.

So if I did go with the HD 4670, it would run on my stock power supply, and not be a complete waste of money like you said the others were?

So right now, should I be aiming for a RAM and graphics card [HD 4670] upgrade instead of a graphics card and power supply upgrade?

There's nothing wrong with the 4830, its just a little overkill for your computer. It also was a little overpriced, but hopefully the price has come down some. It's up to you, but it is very likely that the 3850 mentioned before will perform the same as the 4830 since they won't be the slowest component.

And just FYI, the low ram is an issue because if you don't have enough the computer must draw from the hard drive (which is much slower) and thus the Graphics card will not perform to its potential since it is waiting for the HD.

Why get more than a 4670 when a 3850 256 mb can run Half Life 2 Episode 2 on all high settings, 2x aa, and 1920x1200! There would be no reason to get a monster like a GTX 260!

It's very likely the HD4670 will be fine with your current PSU but not definite. I don't know the exact specs of the PSU but I doubt they could be trusted anyway.
Honestly the HD4670 is still a bit of overkill for that cpu. You could go with a HD4650 which will almost definitely work with your PSU instead and save a little money without losing much in terms of performance. If you can upgrade the CPU some or might put the card in a better system in the future I'd stick with the HD4670 as it is significantly better for not much more.

Here is a fairly reliable chart for the actual power consumption of various videocards;

http://mark.zoomcities.com/images/ [...] rtby3d.png

It should be fine. I ran a Q6600 with a 3850 with everything but textures on extra at 1920x1200 in CoD4, so you should be fine.

A 305 PSU is normally a dell, if you have a dell, can you tell me what model. This will help everyone.