Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > What would you suggest?
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brandoneson   09-04-2009 at 10:54:41 PM

Hey everyone, I'm not very smart when it comes to computers, so i thought i would ask you guys the best graphics card i can get for this computer that is maybe a little over $100, or maybe a little less. But that's the most I'm willing to spend.

My Computer Specs

Im upgrading to 2gigs of ram soon. I just want to get one that will let me play some TF2 and some CS:S. Don't really want to go overboard. So i thought i would get some suggestions. Thanks.

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godless   09-04-2009 at 11:07:53 PM
- 0 +

well ur using pci express interface so you can pretty much get any modern graphic card. what will limit you is the power supply. the website doesn't list what the power supply is, the max wattage and how many amps on 12v rail it has. the amps is the limiting factor right now. not enough amps to a high end card and nothing happens. you would have to upgrade the power supply as well.

what you can do i take a picture of the power supply and the wattage break-up table that it has, and then post it here. this will let us know what is the max card that this computer can handle.

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
godless   09-04-2009 at 11:25:34 PM
- 0 +

but right now for the price you can get ati hd 4770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121326

or the hd 4850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161259

with these cards, the bottleneck in your computer should be the processor.

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
dndhatcher   09-04-2009 at 11:37:44 PM
- 0 +

You need to see if you have any PCIE power connectors off of your power supply and what is wattage is. That may limit your choices severely.

Reply to dndhatcher
dndhatcher   09-05-2009 at 12:10:06 AM
- 0 +

Its a 300W powers supply, I think. There might be a card that would work.
It has to be pciex16 ver1 not 2.0 and not require extra power. Im looking.

This 7600 is about as good as a 9500.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814187072
I'm not sure how well it will play a game like counterstrike, though. You may have to play 800x600 with minimal graphics settings to get playable FPS.


Message edited by dndhatcher on 09-05-2009 at 12:24:19 AM
Reply to dndhatcher
megamanx00   09-05-2009 at 12:16:50 AM
- 0 +

You have 180W (15A) on the 12v rail. That's rather low. You need to get a new PSU if you want to run a decent card. If you can't afford to get a new PSU then your best bet is to go with an NVIDIA 9500GT. Anything more power hungry than that is pushing it.

------------------------------ Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine Athlon 64 X2 5000+ @3.24 Brisbane | GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 | 4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066 | Plextor 760A| 2x 3850 512M CF| WD 1TB Black| Fortron Blue Storm II 500W | APEVIA X-Dreamer Black | Win XP Pro & Vista Buisness 32bit
 Reply to megamanx00
godless   09-05-2009 at 12:25:06 AM
- 0 +

this is a 300watt power supply it can handle 15amps on 12v rail.

http://www.vgaforum.com/showthread.php?p=140837

this forum suggest that the 4770 only needs 10amps and 4850 needs 15. since you only have 15 amps on a cheap power supply, i would definitely recommend the 4770 as the best choice for you.

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
dndhatcher   09-05-2009 at 12:26:03 AM
- 0 +

Does the 12v rail matter on a GPU that does not have its own power cable? All the power is coming though the motherboard, isnt that one of the other rails? The 12v rail would be the HDD/CD/Floppy?

A 4800 series is not an option, he doesnt have any PCIE power cables.


Message edited by dndhatcher on 09-05-2009 at 12:29:15 AM
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godless   09-05-2009 at 12:28:21 AM
- 0 +

no pcie power cable? try to get the adapter for it. costs only a couple bucks.


Message edited by godless on 09-05-2009 at 12:32:23 AM
------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
dndhatcher   09-05-2009 at 12:32:04 AM
- 0 +

The 4770 specs I see say it needs one power cable.

The ATI Radeon 4670 seems to be the most powerful card I can find that doesnt require an extra power cable.


Message edited by dndhatcher on 09-05-2009 at 12:34:28 AM
Reply to dndhatcher
godless   09-05-2009 at 12:48:11 AM
- 0 +

this webiste suggests that there is a pcie power cord

http://www.supernotebook.com/power [...] upart=2656

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
godless   09-05-2009 at 12:50:57 AM
- 0 +

yeah in any case i'd use the power adapter.

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
dndhatcher   09-05-2009 at 12:51:05 AM
- 0 +

I would decisvely say "maybe". The PSU is so questionable. If the CD comes on while you are playing a game it may overload. Then again everything may work fine.

Though if that PSU does actually have a 6pin PCIE adapter I would say its likely to work.


Message edited by dndhatcher on 09-05-2009 at 12:53:35 AM
Reply to dndhatcher
godless   09-05-2009 at 12:52:15 AM
- 0 +

branDONEson, can you check if you have a pcie power connector from your motherboard. this will answer your question.

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
godless   09-05-2009 at 12:55:28 AM
- 0 +

heres a power calculator that you can use to find out if your power supply will handle the new system with 4770.

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
brandoneson   09-05-2009 at 01:00:18 AM
- 0 +

Wait, the 4770 is PCI-E x16 2.0 and i don't have a 2.0.


Message edited by brandoneson on 09-05-2009 at 01:01:11 AM
Reply to brandoneson
dndhatcher   09-05-2009 at 01:03:33 AM
- 0 +

It will still work, just wont be as fast as uit would on a 2.0 motherboard.

Reply to dndhatcher
godless   09-05-2009 at 03:36:29 AM
- 0 +

well 4770 is 40nm gpu, it uses very little power. if you can;t power it up, through the pcie power adapter and your power supply, then you will have to get a new one.

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
redwine01   09-05-2009 at 10:38:39 AM
- 0 +

@ brandoneson yes u can use that adapter to get it work and u can run 4770 with that psu.

Reply to redwine01
godless   09-05-2009 at 05:00:32 PM
- 0 +

yep just use that adapter

------------------------------ Phenom II 955 @3.8 ghz|MSI K9A2 Platinum|500Gb Seagate 7200.11|2Gb OCZ Ram|Diamond HD3870 @800Mhz|CM 690|OCZ 700Watt |Scythe Mugen 2|
 Reply to godless
thesupermedium   09-05-2009 at 06:20:01 PM
- 0 +

I used to have the EXACT same setup to be honest. I ended up buying a 9500GT, which served me well for a while, but lacked the power for some of the newer games. An ATI 4850 will serve you very well. I'm assuming since you have the same specs as I did, you have a 250watt PSU. That's probably not nearly enough for a new card, so I would suggest going to at least 450 watts.

Reply to thesupermedium
redwine01   09-05-2009 at 06:52:38 PM
- 0 +

a 4770 will run with 300W non brand psu but it is always a risk to run a non brand psu becoz anything can happen and if it does then a non brand psu dont have the safety things like good brands to save ur other components. thats the thing thats why people recommend good psu. it will run my friend is running 8600gts in a non brand 420W psu without a problem for more than a year. just if ur luck doesnt support u u may see disaster

Reply to redwine01
brandoneson   09-06-2009 at 02:28:30 AM
- 0 +

hey, i just want to thank everybody so far for the replies. and i found this 9400 GT card that is under $50 that is a minimum of 300W power supply. It doesn't look like it needs an extra power cable. So would this be perfect or no?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121292


Message edited by brandoneson on 09-06-2009 at 02:28:49 AM
Reply to brandoneson
dndhatcher   09-06-2009 at 05:13:33 AM
- 0 +

A 9400 is considerably slower than a 9500 or 8600 which are both slower than a 4770. I have no idea if a 9400 is capable of playing a game like counterstrike.

Reply to dndhatcher
ohiou_grad_06   09-06-2009 at 05:18:51 AM
- 2 +

Might want to grab a new power supply. Newegg has a 370 watt PC Power and Cooling unit for 45 I think, but with 27 amps, along with that grab a 4670 for your card, or maybe a 9600gso, should put you right around 100 bucks, give you a better card than the 9400gt, and not have to worry if your power supply will go out and take the computer with it....

 

Better yet, found this deal. Corsair makes a great PSU, 30 amps, so double the power basically of your current power supply, regular 50 bucks, 30 now after a mail in rebate.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139008

 

For the video card, grab this perhaps. ASUS 9600 gso, regular 55, 35 after the rebate.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121320

 


So if you get the rebates, then still under 70 bucks, and should destroy the 9400gt.


Message edited by ohiou_grad_06 on 09-06-2009 at 05:23:01 AM
Reply to ohiou_grad_06
redwine01   09-06-2009 at 06:37:10 AM
- 0 +

^ +1 go with that.. it will play most of the games in 1024 or 1280 resolution in high settings

Reply to redwine01
brandoneson   09-06-2009 at 09:06:26 AM
- 0 +

thank you ohiou_grad. Seems good, but is there any chance that my motherboard can't handle that power supply? or does the motherboard have anything to do with this. As you can see, i still don't know what I'm talking about. haha.

Reply to brandoneson
redwine01   09-06-2009 at 09:37:14 AM
- 1 +

dont worry that psu and gfx will run fine in ur system. u need to put off ur old psu while installing the newer one. u may sell that psu or just keep it in a showcase :) and after psu and gfx is installed from the bios u need to disable the onboard graphics card ( that is integrated graphics card 6150) then install the driver in ur windows for the new graphics card. restart ur pc after installing the driver and u r ready for gaming :) happy gaming

Reply to redwine01
dndhatcher   09-06-2009 at 09:47:52 AM
- 0 +

I agree with OhioU and RedWine. As long as the plug s the same (and that PSU has the same plug) your motherboard will handle it.

Reply to dndhatcher
brandoneson   09-06-2009 at 11:30:14 AM
- 0 +

ok, im finally done here. Thanks again everyone!

Reply to brandoneson
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