What Graphics Card

Johnnyboy 1

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I have an ATI 1550 Series graphics card which is not suitable to run windows aero effects in Windows 7, sgestions for suitable upgrade please
John
 

Johnnyboy 1

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350 watts, PCI-E, 2GB of Ram , Running XP Media Centre edition. Fu-Jitsu Siemens ScaleoP Approx. 3Years old. It was Microsofts Windows Upgrade Tool which said card was not suitable to run Aero Effects, but would run Windows 7. I mainly use the PC with video.
JON
 

x-nitrous-x

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How much money do you want to spend on your upgrade?

Are you planning to upgrade your power supply unit in the near future and what wattage do you currently run?

What resolution do you run / what size monitor do you have?

What do you use your computer for? do you play any games?

these are all questions that i would ask myself when going for the graphics card upgrades..

I would go for something like a HD4670 or a HD5750 from ati if your looking to have it last for the years to come
 

KidHorn

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I doubt your computer has a PCIe 2.0 slot. Almost all video cards use this. They could probably work for you, but would be crippled. You're going to be paying a lot for whatever gain you get. Even if you can get Aero to run, your computer will run like a turtle with windows 7.

My advice is to get a new computer or live without aero.
 

JofaMang

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From the sounds of it, and until further clarification, he is using the computer for videos, not gaming, or folding@home. There is no need for a massive overhaul or replacement if that is the case. Please be careful about giving horrible advice without all the information present.

To Johnnyboy 1:

You can get a very cheap, low power card that will support Aero in Windows 7, if you are not interested in playing graphics intensive 3d games.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102817 - 34.99 with free shipping. Will not need a new PSU.

If you are a gamer, you can have some cheap fun with a card like this without replacing the PSU, as it is low power and gets its juice from the motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102854 - 56.99 after MIR
 
^+1

A 4670 would be a great upgrade as it would be more than enough to support Aero and would actually let you play some games, albeit at lower settings. If you have a power hungry CPU though, like a high clocked hot running P4, then a more miserly card like a Radeon 4550 would be a better choice.
 

KidHorn

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I'm sorry, i didn't realize any advice other than your own was horrible.

I still say his computer, even with an upgraded video card will run Win 7 very slowly and I think it's a good suggestion to consider getting a new computer rather than waste money.
 

JofaMang

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He wasn't asking for anyone's opinion on the performance of his computer, just asking a simple question about video cards. Stick to what your given, otherwise you just come off looking arrogant, answering questions that weren't being asked.
 

JofaMang

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For some reason this thread is stuck in my update box as unviewed since my last post... anyone know what I can do to get it out of there?

EDIT: Nevermind, posting in here again fixed it.
 
Just to let you know if all you're dong is Win7 with video watching, then the X1550 is fine, it's just the whole 'officially supported' crap for certification (which they have to pay for testing).

Aero will work (no problems with either the X700 or X1300 at work when testing), but you will need to load the Vista drivers from what I hear about the final build, due to the whole official support issue.
 

Johnnyboy 1

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U AR right Jofa Mang, I mainly use the PC for video and am not a gamer, I may have made a mistake on the power rating, as it is given in amps. 2.5 amps. as I am IN uk where supply is 230 volts. Correct me if I am wrong but to get watts U multiply amps by volts so that should give me psu of about 450 watts???
Johnnyboy1