Upgrading, worried about PSU

[roll_right]

Hey everyone,

I have been charged with upgrading the graphics card in the following pc:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227290

The guy would like to be able to play Borderlands at max (says he can only run it on low now). That is pretty much all he asked for (he must really like Borderlands). I am pretty sure he isn't going to try and overclock anything (not sure he even knows what that means).

The budget for this is around $100 and so far the best thing I've found is the following:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6589096&SRCCODE=SHOPPINGDF&cm_mmc_o=2mHCjCmtB55bETCjCVqHCjCdwwp&cpncode=24-131787063-2

My questions are:

1. Is this an okay card?

2. Little worried about the PSU. Is 480W enough? Not sure of the brand.

Any other input is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Griffolion]

What's the guy's resolution?

That card you have linked to will struggle on anything past 1680 x 1050.

 

[roll_right]

What's the guy's resolution?

That card you have linked to will struggle on anything past 1680 x 1050.

1920 x 1080

 

[Griffolion]

Well, you can either look around on ebay or other sites for a budget/second hand 1GB 460 or 1GB HD 5770 or you're going to have to convince him to up his budget a tad to accommodate a more capable card as that resolution will eat most, if not all of the GPU memory.

I'm just keeping in mind that the guy says he wants to play borderlands on high at that resolution. The 1GB 460 is going to be the bare minimum to getting something near a playable FPS on high.

 

[roll_right]

Well, you can either look around on ebay or other sites for a budget/second hand 1GB 460 or 1GB HD 5770 or you're going to have to convince him to up his budget a tad to accommodate a more capable card as that resolution will eat most, if not all of the GPU memory.

I'm just keeping in mind that the guy says he wants to play borderlands on high at that resolution. The 1GB 460 is going to be the bare minimum to getting something near a playable FPS on high.

How does this look?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

I might be able to get him to bump up the price a bit. Would he need a new PSU though?

 

[Griffolion]

The PSU stated is 480W, that would typically be alright for the 5770, however it could be a crappy no name PSU, i personally would upgrade the PSU to a decent known brand one, but if he can't afford it then he'll just have to run with it for a while.

And if budget is everything, there's one here for $5 cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-150-462-_-Product

 

[roll_right]

The PSU stated is 480W, that would typically be alright for the 5770, however it could be a crappy no name PSU, i personally would upgrade the PSU to a decent known brand one, but if he can't afford it then he'll just have to run with it for a while.

And if budget is everything, there's one here for $5 cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-150-462-_-Product

I don't think price is too much of an issue so much as value (he just said $100 range). The one I listed is only a few bucks more, would it be somewhat better?

Also I saw this in another thread:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127519&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&RandomID=758168212416920110202083904

It is only $10-15 more but someone suggested it is a better value but it might be too much for the PSU.

I'll have the check the brand of the PSU he has later. I only cracked the case once and noticed a bunch of gigabyte stuff but didn't take a look at the PSU.

 

[minitron815]

Brand of PSU? If it's a major brand like Corsair or Antec I'm sure it's fine.

A 5770 is only 108W.

If you can convince him to spend a bit more and if the PSU is good then I would go with a 460

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007323&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

For $10-15 it'll be a big difference.

Check the Amp ratings for +12V; 26 should be sufficient (12 x 26 = 312W).

 

[Griffolion]

I agree with mini, the 460 would overall be a better buy, just make sure it's the 1GB version.

And roll_right, the two have identical clocks and specs, the cooling method is just different.

 

[roll_right]

Okay, thanks for the input Griff and mini. I guess the next step will be to check what brand PSU he's got and go from there.

 

[roll_right]

Best answer selected by roll_right.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar