Help finding Compatible GFX Card

[Whosatm]

I have a Emachines W5243 (specs here: http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=W5243) and I desperately need a new graphics card. I am currently using the onboard and I seriously need an upgrade. All the cards I find use PCI express 2.0 x16, but my computer only has PCI express 1.0 x8. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you have any suggestions, email me at whosatm[at]hotmail.com. I may forget about this post.

Thanks for any help.

 

[shadow187]

I would get an HD5670. It will be compatible with your PCI-E x8, will run off your PSU, and will only be bottlenecked a bit by your CPU.

 

[Whosatm]

I just ran a search on the HD5670 on Newegg, and they all say PCI express 2.1 x 16. This is still compatible with what I have? If so can I get a very basic explanation? I'm not too educated on how everything works.

 

[shadow187]

Physically the PCI-E 1.0 is the same as 2.0. Electrically the 2.0 provides more bandwidth. This is of no concern to lower-end cards such as the HD5670.

 

[Whosatm]

What about the PCI Express 2.1 x16? Is there any difference, or is it still compatible?

 

[shadow187]

It's fine. 2.1 and 2.0 are virtually the same.

 

[megamanx00]

^+1 for the 5670.

Even a 5670 will be bottlenecked by your old CPU though. Since you have an AM2 board you may also want to look into upgrading to a faster CPU. The BIOS probably wont' accept AM3 or AM2+ chips, but it should still accept most of the older Windsor and Brisbane chips. I'd check for BIOS updates and see about perhaps an Athlon 6000 or 5400. If you have the default 1GB of RAM though I suggest you upgrade the RAM first and then upgrade the CPU only if you have money left over to do so.

 

[Whosatm]

I have 2GB of RAM on Vista. So will the 5670 work, and is there any specific one I should get?