Which graphics card?

[dyawn]

Hello,
My Gateway 702GE is 6 years old and running great. OS is Win Vista Home Premium (32bit, CPU Pentium 4 3.2 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 232 GB HD half-full. Motherboard is Intel (South Lake) P4 with Intel GMA 900. I am not a gamer unless you count MS Flight Simulator so that is not important. My power supply is 300 watts. I have a PCI-E and a PCI slot open. What graphics cards are available in 2010 that will allow Windows Vista Aero to function on my PC?
Thanks. Tom

 

[hannibal]

I would say 5650 to 5770 from ATI... Nvidia 106 based series is coming later, but you have so little PSU that I would stick ATI brand at this moment. But as I said the new Nvidia that is coming 2011, may be allso suitable... (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gf106-fermi-gts-gtx-gf100,11013.html)
But if you need it now ATI 5650 to 5770 are useable, and they may still be good even after that Nvidia 450? has been released.

 

[dyawn]

I would say 5650 to 5770 from ATI... Nvidia 106 based series is coming later, but you have so little PSU that I would stick ATI brand at this moment. But as I said the new Nvidia that is coming 2011, may be allso suitable... (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gf106-fermi-gts-gtx-gf100,11013.html)
But if you need it now ATI 5650 to 5770 are useable, and they may still be good even after that Nvidia 450? has been released.

Thanks, I will read up on those. That's more info than I have been able to piece together in hours of searching.

 

[dyawn]

I would say 5650 to 5770 from ATI... Nvidia 106 based series is coming later, but you have so little PSU that I would stick ATI brand at this moment. But as I said the new Nvidia that is coming 2011, may be allso suitable... (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gf106-fermi-gts-gtx-gf100,11013.html)
But if you need it now ATI 5650 to 5770 are useable, and they may still be good even after that Nvidia 450? has been released.

The 5770 requires a 450 watt power supply and mine is 300 so that's out.

 

[liquidsnake718]

You can run a radeon 5770 with your specs, however if you do not use many modern apps or modern games, gpus that can still benefit your PC and simply "run" windows aero would be the 9800gt or a 9600gt with an hdmi output. Your Power supply should be able to take those cards.

 

[jyjjy]

Even something very cheap like the HD4350 will be more than fine for Aero;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127436
If you would like a modestly capable gaming card this would be a good choice;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102843

 

[jyjjy]

Why are people even talking about the HD5770 for someone with a P4 and 6 year old 300w PSU who asked for something that can run aero? Even the 9600/9800GT are a bit much for his processor/psu/goal.

 

[dyawn]

Even something very cheap like the HD4350 will be more than fine for Aero;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127436
If you would like a modestly capable gaming card this would be a good choice;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102843

I've researched both suggestions and have decided to try the MSI MD512H (HD4350) for $15 after rebate. If it bombs, I won't be out much. One question - is the D-SUB socket on the card the same pin config as the VGA plug on my current monitor or will I need an adaptor? Thanks for your help.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

I have a 9600GT, and love it (I got it because orginally my PC came with a Geforce 7300LE, so thought anything would be better. I didn't want to bottleneck my slow CPU, so i went with the 9600GT with a 500 Watt PSU. But you wouldn't need an upgrade on the power supply if you didnt want to :lol:.). It runs all older games at full, and most of the modern games i can get it to medium high before i see the FPS dip below 30 (In my opinion 30 is the 'Sweet Spot' lol :lol. Also when SLI'ed (If you so chose) it comes very close to a Geforce GTX 260. If you want i can provide links. But it looks like you have decided on a HD4350.

My Specs
Windows 7 HP
Pentium D 945 3.4GHz (Want to OC to 3.6-3.7)
3GB RAM
Geforce 9600GT 512MB (Want to OC)
500 Watt Power Supply
1TB Internal HDD Space
24" Veiwsonic 1080p Monitor

 

[coozie7]

@ Dyawn: Yes, the pins are the same, you will not need an adaptor.
If you have not already made the purchase, I'd suggest this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102819

More expensive I know but it has better HD decode- so you can use the Gateway as a HTPC when it is 'retired' .

 

[jyjjy]

More expensive I know but it has better HD decode- so you can use the Gateway as a HTPC when it is 'retired' .

Did you mean to link an HD5450 maybe? The only difference between the HD4350 and the HD4550 is DDR2 vs DDR3, they are actually the same exact processor.

 

[dyawn]

I ordered the MSI MD512H Radeon HD4350 card. My net cost will be $15 so if it does not work I won't be any flatter broke than I am now. Thanks for eveyone's suggestions and help. If anyone is interested in knowing how it turns out, just reply.

 

[jyjjy]

It should be more than fine for all non-gaming purposes and while it is quite poor for gaming even for that it will still be worlds better than your IGP.
Take a look at Tom's hierarchy chart;
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676-7.html
You'll find your GMA 900 on the bottom right. The HD4350 is a full 9 tiers higher.

 

[dyawn]

It should be more than fine for all non-gaming purposes and while it is quite poor for gaming even for that it will still be worlds better than your IGP.
Take a look at Tom's hierarchy chart;
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676-7.html
You'll find your GMA 900 on the bottom right. The HD4350 is a full 9 tiers higher.

I received the HD 4350 yesterday and installed it with no glitches. The cd that came with the Catalyst driver on it did not install. It created a program file but none of the items would open. I went on the MSI website and had to fill out a long form before it would take my message. But the reply was worthwhile as I had not changed my BIOS settings to swithch video to the pci-e slot. Then I downloaded the latest software from MSI (actually AMD). After doing that everything got better but there are no clear instructions for gettings the best settings for my system. Primarily, the text on Explorer was fuzzy. I am experimenting with diffeent refresh rates and screen ratios which helps somewhat. Windows Aero is now working. I probably need a larger monitor but that will have to wait. Thanks for all your help.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

I received the HD 4350 yesterday and installed it with no glitches. The cd that came with the Catalyst driver on it did not install. It created a program file but none of the items would open. I went on the MSI website and had to fill out a long form before it would take my message. But the reply was worthwhile as I had not changed my BIOS settings to swithch video to the pci-e slot. Then I downloaded the latest software from MSI (actually AMD). After doing that everything got better but there are no clear instructions for gettings the best settings for my system. Primarily, the text on Explorer was fuzzy. I am experimenting with diffeent refresh rates and screen ratios which helps somewhat. Windows Aero is now working. I probably need a larger monitor but that will have to wait. Thanks for all your help.

The reason that your text is fuzzy is because (Im guessing) that your resolution is off. When you install new video hardware, windows reverts to the lowest resolution possible (not sure why...). After installing all the CURRENT drivers everything SHOULD go back to normal. If not all you need to do is go to the desktop, right click and with with Windows 7 hit screen resolution, with vista click personalize then display settings. Drag the cursor to the top (7) or the far right (Vista). The desktop should resize after hitting apply, then click yes you want to keep your settings. If the resolution is to large (Sometimes windows doesn't get it right ), then you will have to know your monitor's resolution, or start guessing and going down the list until you hit the right numbers .

If you have already gotten the resolution right then i would make sure you have installed the most current drivers. Then make sure that you don't have any updates from Windows. If you are still having issues, try to make sure your card is all the way into the slot, and the cable is firmly in place (Screws tight) on both the card and the monitor. If you have an LCD (or LED), messing with the refresh rates wouldn't do much... If you are still having issues please reply, and ill see what else we can do!

 

[dyawn]

The reason that your text is fuzzy is because (Im guessing) that your resolution is off. When you install new video hardware, windows reverts to the lowest resolution possible (not sure why...). After installing all the CURRENT drivers everything SHOULD go back to normal. If not all you need to do is go to the desktop, right click and with with Windows 7 hit screen resolution, with vista click personalize then display settings. Drag the cursor to the top (7) or the far right (Vista). The desktop should resize after hitting apply, then click yes you want to keep your settings. If the resolution is to large (Sometimes windows doesn't get it right ), then you will have to know your monitor's resolution, or start guessing and going down the list until you hit the right numbers .

If you have already gotten the resolution right then i would make sure you have installed the most current drivers. Then make sure that you don't have any updates from Windows. If you are still having issues, try to make sure your card is all the way into the slot, and the cable is firmly in place (Screws tight) on both the card and the monitor. If you have an LCD (or LED), messing with the refresh rates wouldn't do much... If you are still having issues please reply, and ill see what else we can do!

I had already done the things you suggested and got it working, but thanks for the advice.

 

[dyawn]

Best answer selected by dyawn.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey