PCI-E 2.0 Compatible

[azterik]

Hi, i have an old computer that i believe is still useful and was looking at getting a video card for it.

Its an e-Machines T 6520 with a rs480m mobo. Integrated graphics

2.4 Ghz athlon-64 w/ 2 gigs of ram

Running xp-64 (have vista to run on it to but it slows it down alot, much better on xp)

Anyways, it has a pci-e x16 port on it and was unsure if this would accept a 2.0 card or if it would even be worth it on this computer to use a 2.0 card...

Just would like to use it more than my faster laptop, but hd movies and some games are not possible...

Any info would be great thank you!!!

 

[rolli59]

The 2.0 std is backwards compatible to your slot so no issues.

 

[rolli59]

A card like this will not break the bank and will be well suited if your cpu is single core. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106792627%201067944046%201068509618%201068409614&name=GDDR3

 

[JE_D]

A card like this will not break the bank and will be well suited if your cpu is single core. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] name=GDDR3

I have one of those Cards and it works beautifully in my PCIE 16x 1.0 Slot

 

[megamanx00]

Just be aware that your CPU will likely be what limits you from playing games. A 4650 with DDR3 should be a good match though and allow you to play less demanding games.

 

[dkapke]

The 4650 is a decent match, but your processor will definitely still be a bottleneck for it. I've seen one score over 6500 in 3dMark06 (with an Athlon II X4) but I've yet to see it ever get over 4200 with any single core, and I've built machines with a Celeron D 360 oc'd to 3.8GHz, a P4 3.2GHz with HT, and an Athlon 64 4000+ - none of them could push a 4650. That said, anything less would be pointless as the 3650 is nowhere near enough, and any other 4xxx card lower than a 4650 isn't enough either.

If you're going to spend $60 on an HD4650, though, why not spend $65 and just get an HD5570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106793261%201067955283&name=Radeon%20HD%205570

You can push the details up and use DX11 for about the same cost, plus you'll have something quite a bit better than a 4650 for your next machine.

 

[photonboy]

I agree generally with the above. Many games won't run well even with a graphics upgrade but then you only need a few games that you like.

Games like Torchfire will run nicely on lower end hardware.

About DX11. There is no point in running DX11 on a lower end machine. The DX11 features cause a big performance hit so games look better on DX9. DX11 should only be enabled on rigs that can get above 60FPS at maximum settings.

 

[azterik]

Thank you very much for the responses!! I will be generally using this for HD movies and prob SCII at full settings ideally... So that said I would be happy spending the money for the 4653, the 5570's were all in the 80's not 65... but thanks for the info.

I do want to be able to use the card later on for another desktop, so as long as the first card would be better than any onboard graphics that i could get around a year from now, this would be ideal!

Thank you again

 

[rolli59]

Thank you very much for the responses!! I will be generally using this for HD movies and prob SCII at full settings ideally... So that said I would be happy spending the money for the 4653, the 5570's were all in the 80's not 65... but thanks for the info.

I do want to be able to use the card later on for another desktop, so as long as the first card would be better than any onboard graphics that i could get around a year from now, this would be ideal!

Thank you again

It is very unlikely that onboard graphics reach the levels of these cards in the near future. If you are planning on keeping the card for another build in a year or so I would recommend the HD5570 or even HD5670 which is the best performer of the low power cards. Here is a test where most of them are compared http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5570,2552.html

 

[azterik]

Best answer selected by azterik.