Upgrading my graphics card with $200 budget

[iEdwin]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Probably in 2 weeks

BUDGET RANGE: Under $100-200 USD

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Usually full-screen shooting games like COD4 : Modern Warfare 2 & everyday use

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: nVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (I really need an upgrade ) 300w (Upgrading to 650w)

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: HP Pavilion a6230n PC

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com or maybe Best Buys

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I picked out 5 cards but other than that, I don't have much of a clue for graphics card. What would be the difference between a 512MB and a 1 GB for the memory size? Feel free to submit your own ideas And if you need more information please tell me

 

[real world]

A quick google states that your PC has a 300 watt PSU. Some others in here could probably tell you whether or not a stand alone GPU would be too much wattage for your system. Aside from that, what games are you looking to play?

 

[iEdwin]

In the future I'd like to be able to at least run Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 , maybe Crysis and similar games

How could I upgrade my power supply and how much would it cost?

 

[jaguarskx]

For a 300w PSU, your best bet is the HD 5670 @ about $90 - $100.

For under $200 you can get a good quality 500w PSU and a HD 5750.

For under $225 you can get a good quality 500w PSU and a HD 5770.

 

[iEdwin]

For a 300w PSU, your best bet is the HD 5670 @ about $90 - $100.

For under $200 you can get a good quality 500w PSU and a HD 5750.

For under $225 you can get a good quality 500w PSU and a HD 5770.

Can you tell me the major differences between those three and would it be able to run Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2?

 

[Emperus]

Why don't you open up the case and check out all the info mentioned on the power supply..!! That'll help getting you a precise recommendation..

 

[Petey1013]

As long as your PSU can handle it, a 5770 for sure.

 

[ahmadumair]

you are trying to use a PCI Express 2.1 card on a PCI Express 1 slot which can produce undesirable consequences.
Pci express 2.1 is forward compatible with PCI EXpress 3.0 (when it will be released)

I d rather that you get a 4850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-824-_-Product

&

A corsair 650 watt supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Good luck

 

[randomkid]

For a 1440x900, a 4670 will be enough but since the OP can afford >$100, I'd say go for the HD5750. Its the best for $130 price range.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-radeon-hd-5870-geforce-gtx-480,2621-3.html

 

[iEdwin]

you are trying to use a PCI Express 2.1 card on a PCI Express 1 slot which can produce undesirable consequences.
Pci express 2.1 is forward compatible with PCI EXpress 3.0 (when it will be released)

I d rather that you get a 4850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-824-_-Product

&

A corsair 650 watt supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Good luck

Well right now I'm leaning to upgrading my PSU to the corsair 650 watt supply, so what options do I have now?

It says that the 4850 uses 2 slots, and I'm not sure if I have 2 slots... what are some alternatives? Direct links would be awesome

And is nVIDIA bad? Everyone's recommending Radeon

And how much of an increase of performance would there be between 512mb cards and 1GB cards

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Radeon has the best cards for the money at your price range.

For the money,
$70 - 5670
$90 - 4850
$120 - 5750 1GB (4850 performance but has DX11)
$130 5770 512mb
$150 5770 1GB

 

[iEdwin]

Do you have any direct links to the 5750 1GB and the 5770 512mb

How much of an increase of performance would there be between 512mb cards and 1GB cards?

 

[randomkid]

Do you have any direct links to the 5750 1GB and the 5770 512mb

How much of an increase of performance would there be between 512mb cards and 1GB cards? (More specifically the 5750 1GB/5770 512mb)

The link I posted hve links to the 5750 and 5770 that leads you right to it...
But here they are:
HD5750
http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_attrib.php/form_keyword=Radeon+5750/page_id=5/st=sort/sortby=priceA
HD5770
http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_attrib.php/form_keyword=Radeon+5770/page_id=5/st=sort/sortby=priceA
For the same model, the higher memory will work better in high resolutions. At your 1440x900, the HD 5750 512M is more than enough.

 

[iEdwin]

Ah thanks but now I have a new problem : Which brand is the most trustworthy?

What I mean is like the brands XFX, Sapphire, Asus, and so on

 

[iEdwin]

So right now I'm thinking of the HD5750 and the 650 watt power supply.

But do I really need that much power?

 

[Emperus]

So right now I'm thinking of the HD5750 and the 650 watt power supply.

But do I really need that much power?

A good 650 watt PSU will be able to handle two 5850's in crossfire.. So if you are planning on getting the 5750 then a 650 watt unit is an overkill.. However, it does gives you the freedom to upgrade to more powerful video card(s) in the future so i won't say that it'd be completely useless..

 

[amnotanoobie]

you are trying to use a PCI Express 2.1 card on a PCI Express 1 slot which can produce undesirable consequences.
Pci express 2.1 is forward compatible with PCI EXpress 3.0 (when it will be released)

LOL, even AGP was backwards compatible with older slots (8x card on a 4x slot). The only instance AGP was not backwards compatible was when the signaling voltage was changed (which was a long long long time ago).

PCI-E video cards are backwards compatible with older versioned slots. They are also forward compatible, older PCI-E video card on a newer slot.

@OP, if the 650W is not much more expensive than the 550W, then go for it. Most likely 650W is overkill for your current system and you'd probably even make it with a good 500W power supply.

 

[ahmadumair]

hey you!!! i tried using a 5670 on my DG31PR and CRASH there it goes. That also happened to 5570 and 5750 so that is why i am telling the OP to be cautious.
He's got a PCI EXpress x16 slot not PCI Express 2.0
have a look 4 yourself:-

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/12132708-12133156-12133158-12133158-12133158-80626463-81048856.html

 

[amnotanoobie]

hey you!!! i tried using a 5670 on my DG31PR and CRASH there it goes. That also happened to 5570 and 5750 so that is why i am telling the OP to be cautious.
He's got a PCI EXpress x16 slot not PCI Express 2.0
have a look 4 yourself:-

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/12132708-12133156-12133158-12133158-12133158-80626463-81048856.html

Are you sure it wasn't because of a weak psu? Or some other component, i.e. dirty ram contacts, loose cpu hsf, etc.

My 3870(v2.0) on my G31(v1.0) seems to be working fine.

 

[randomkid]

A good 650 watt PSU will be able to handle two 5850's in crossfire.. So if you are planning on getting the 5750 then a 650 watt unit is an overkill.. However, it does gives you the freedom to upgrade to more powerful video card(s) in the future so i won't say that it'd be completely useless..

+1. The PSU is the best investment in a PC, I would say, because the PSU does not depreciate as fast as CPU and GPU's and its features does not get outdated as fast as CPU's and GPU's. You can bring it along several builds where your older CPU's and GPU's are long gone...

 

[ahmadumair]

man try to understand. Your 3870 is NOT PCI Express 2.1. It is PCI EXpress 2.0.And i checked my PC in every way i could. Mind you that my PSU is 750 Watts.
The Radeon 5xxx are PCI Express 2.1 meaning that they are forward compatible with PCI-E 3.0 when it is released. they are known to have problems of compatibility with PCI EXpress 1.0

 

[ahmadumair]

For the PSU that is why i suggested the 650W supply so the OP would be more future proof

 

[iEdwin]

Well my dad for some reason doesn't want to buy from newegg..

So are these good alternatives?

Corsair 650W ATX
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Corsair+-+650W+ATX+CPU+Power+Supply/9358269.p?id=1218090911783&skuId=9358269&st=corsair%20650&cp=1&lp=2

XFX - ATI Radeon HD 5750
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/XFX+-+ATI+Radeon+HD+5750+1GB+GDDR5+PCI+Express+Graphics+Card/9715789.p?id=1218156773765&skuId=9715789&st=hd%205750&cp=1&lp=1

 

[randomkid]

Looks very good to me...
I tried to find some review for the Corsair but can not find one easy on the 650TX. Although there is good review on the 650HX ( which is the modular ). But anyway, coming from Corsair, I think it is fine. I got a 620HX myself and happy about it.

I found this review on the HD5750 with the ultimate recommendation that if you can afford it, go for the HD5770.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/24214-xfx-radeon-hd-5750-1gb-gddr5-review-21.html
But I think its no big deal if you stick to the HD5750.

 

[iEdwin]

My final questions for upgrading...

For Best Buys the 5770 is $40 more than 5750, is that normal?

And how much longer would the 5770 last into the future than the 5750?