Which Graphics Card for my System?

Hey there, I have recently been given a desktop computer by my parents (They both brought laptops).

Now this is a packard bell from 2007, pre made.

The specs are as follows -

Athlon 64 3800+ (2.4 GHz) (Single Core)
2GB DDR2 RAM (Support for 4GB)
Asus Motherboard - Asus M2NS-NVM
Integrated Video - NVIDIA GeForce 6100 GPU
Expansion Slots - 1x PCI Express 16X, 1x PCI Express 1X, 2x PCI

Windows Vista OS 32 Bit.
160GB HDD

So I want to get a graphics card for it, I have never had the money to fully make my own PC, so I guess upgrading this would be the next best thing - that is if it can be upgraded.

So knowing nothing about what I'm doing I have decided to come here for help.

I was looking at these graphics cards -

ATI Radeon HD 5570 1024mb GDDR3 PCI Express (2.1) Clicky

ATI Radeon HD 5670 512mb GDDR5 PCI Express (2.1) Clicky

NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 512mb GDDR5 PCI Express (2.0) Clicky


Now these cards are all around my price range (50 GBP - 75 GBP), there are more but I'm sure you don't want to trawl through loads of them, if you do then here is the site I was looking at (Clicky) As I said, 50GBP - 75GBP price range.

Now a good card which will work with my PC would be great, reccomend other cards if need be. I am looking to run games like Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Valve games.

Any help is much appreciated, thanks.

Did you take a peek at the power supply?
With the 5570 the same price as the 5670 there's not much reason to pass on the 5670 if your PSU can handle it.

Ok I think I have the right thing, it says on the back of what I presume is the power brick, 100 - 240v. If this isn't what you're looking for could you tell me how to find out?

5570 performance summary compared to 5670 and GT 240
5570 power requirements vs 5670 and GT 240

That same article has specific benchmarks you'd probably want to see as well. ET:Quake Wars is one of them. Valve games usually seem to run well on mid-range video cards.

Is inside the desktops case itself I will have to look?

You'll have to dive inside the case sooner, or later, to install the new video card anyway.

Ok, I looked earlier actually. Guess I'm going in again.

No I didn't , just that whatever it is, it's not very good.

115W max on +12V? "should not exceed 250w" is maybe a hint its a 250W PSU?
Model number required I think. Also the MFGR 'cause it's not likely to be Packard Bell.
You might was well list the entire data label (the electrical values and any notes) in case we can't find enough info on that PSU online.

The reason for that is we're up against advice from the video card MFGRs that a 400W PSU is recommended even for a 5570.
We know there are PSUs rated lower than can safely run that card - we just don't know if your PSU is one of those.

Model Number is FSP350-60HEN

I have other numbers for various things if they help. Thanks.

Ok, I'll be back in about 15 mins. Have some things to do, then I'll be back to help.

Ok, I have full power details -

AC Input 220-230v -, 2A, 50HZ

DC Output +3.3v ------ 17.OA (ORG), +5V ------ 18.0A (RED), +12V1
8.OA (YEL), +SVSB - 2.OA (PURP) -, 12V ------ o.3A (BLU), +12V2
- 14.OA (YEL/BLCK)
PG Signal (GRAY), Ground (BLACK)

(3.3V & 1SV 115 Max) Total Output shall not exceed 250 Watts.

Also, I got the model No. wrong, sorry WR2. The No. is FSP250-60HEN

+12V1 = 8 Amps +12V2 = 14 Amps. FSP250-60HEN shows up a lot more frequently on web searches.
The only card I could find that mentioned a successful upgrade into the iStart 2380 was a 8600GT.
If we look up the peak power consumption of that card it's somewhere around 50watts.
Other more recent cards in the same power consumption bracket would be
Geforce 240 512MB = 57watts or Radeon HD 5570 = 46watts Radeon HD 5650 = 63watts.

I don't feel good about suggesting anything other than the HD 5770.
And I can't guarantee it will work, but it's a "best guess" based on the numbers available.

If you want to consider either the Geforce 240 or Radeon HD 5650 I think it would be wise to look around the Packard Bell Support forums and see what other iStart 2380 owners have used and had success doing video card upgrades.
The forums there are down for maintenance at the moment but they can be reached through http://www.packardbell.co.uk/ and choosing Support and then Forum from the home page menus.

Ok I'll look at the PB forum, I guess building a PC would be better.

Well after opening my current pc's case I'm not as worried about building my own, I guess this one is too terrible to bother upgrading though, I don't want to waste my money on it for nothing.

Yeah I guess It has always seemed intimidating. If I did make one my budget would be 400 - 500 GBP, I already have a 19 Inch moniter and mouse, keyboard and speakers. Could I also use a RAM stick which I put in my PC a couple of days ago if I eventually got a new one?

When you get ready to build, I recommend tecmo's guide.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] e-building

Just because you are building a new system doesn't mean the old one is at all useless. A lot of the parts can be recycled. If you go for an AMD system(probably a good idea) you can use your ram, the hard drive(s), dvd drive/burner and even the case. Basically you want a new motherboard/processor, 2 more gigs of ram, a video card and a new power supply.
I'm not sure if it's the best/cheapest place to order stuff from over there but I took a look at;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
To get a rough idea of the prices you'll be able to get. An Athlon II x4 + a good AM2+ motherboard + 2 gigs DDR2 ram + a 500-600w PSU of a good brand + an HD5770 comes in at around £380. That's probably along the lines of what you should be looking for. If you are willing to go up to £500 that leaves you a bit of money if you'd prefer a Phenom II or would rather replace the case or want a new hard drive ect.