Best video card for my POS!

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bensfriend1

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my computer is a hp pavilion a6244n completely stock with a 250w powersource and a geforce 8400 gs card, what is the best card and powersource i can get to upgrade this thing that wont break my bank? also i believe it doesnt have a pci e 2.0 slot so you're going to have to deal with pci and pci e x16

Thanks guys!

this is what i was thinking?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161354 video card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028 psu


also if its fanless i need some info on what to do about that, or if it will be fine?

andd i do some avid gaming, im not hardcore like needing maxed settings on crysis 2 or anything, just need to upgrade my card because its a failure at games like civ 5
 
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bensfriend1

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Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.101014-0432)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP-Pavilion
System Model: GN702AA-ABA a6244n
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
Memory: 3070MB RAM
Page File: 2703MB used, 3654MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode

Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8400 GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0422&SUBSYS_C7353842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 1520 MB
Dedicated Memory: 241 MB
Shared Memory: 1279 MB
Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: HP w17e Wide LCD Monitor
 
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Emperus

Emperus

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Pci-e 2.0 cards are backward compatible with 1.0 slots. Having said that, these are my recommendations -

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127527

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

I guess you have the E4500 as the CPU here. Although not a very ideal gaming CPU, its fast enough to keep pace with a GTS 450.
 
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wolfram23

wolfram23

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Well I'm sure his CPU will bottleneck Civ 5 lol. But not all games. Still you do have a point, a 5670 is an alright partner for his system and is still plenty better than the 8400gs.

Actually I see he's running 1440x900, so that makes the 5670 an even better choice. Basically any of these, whichever is the best price: 5670, 5750, 5770
 
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k1114

k1114

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Civ being a turned based game would not necessarily need 30+ fps although a 5670 can get 30+ fps on high with no aa. And the cpu is really mainly used at the end of the turn which you would be sitting doing nothing anyways. Even on my 2500k on big/full maps I sit for awhile at the end of the turn.

Nonetheless a better card would help on other games as well; but I'd still recommend a 5670 at that res/cpu. No point in putting too much money in a computer that is outdated.
 
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bensfriend1

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alright thanks so much for all this help guys! next question... if i were to upgrade a part a month... how would you go about doing it and which part would you upgrade too? prolly about 50 to 100 dollars a month to upgrading. thanks!
 
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k1114

k1114

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Upgrading the rest of the components? That will not do, all that stuff is obsolete from a couple generations back. You'd need to buy all new stuff which will not be compatible. Save up for a whole new computer.

You aren't too serious of a gamer so what you have now with a new gpu should do you fine till you save up enough.
 
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k1114

k1114

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It makes no difference that it's oem for replacing the cpu. If you want better old stuff, buy it off craigslist or something, you'd save a lot of money. The prices don't drop if you're buying new. Why waste money on old stuff that will be outdated faster (if it's not already) when you could just save a little more for new stuff and have an upgrade path after that. If you're saying 50-100 per month, cpu+ram+mobo could be ~$300 for an i5 or phenom x4.

You could even find used stuff of last generations i5 and still be a better buy than upgrading your old pos. It's just too outdated to do anything worth the money. Anything that could be upgraded is such a small improvement.
 
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bensfriend1

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bensfriend1

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wolfram23

wolfram23

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I think that's a pretty good plan for now. Don't expect it to be a whole new computer, but you should notice games are running smoother.

My girlfriend had an HP computer with a 1.8ghz dual core, 2gb RAM, and no GPU.
We first made an upgrade to a Biostar 775 mobo ($70) and an E5400 (2.8ghz, $80) along with 4gb RAM ($40) and Windows 7 64 bit ($100, she had Vista before). That alone made it run quite a bit better. After that, we got her a 5770 ($95) which gave better video quality - but she doesn't really game (except Sims 3 lol). But one of the best upgrades was we got her a new HDD. She went from a 5400rpm 320gb drive that her PC came with to a 7200RPM Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black HDD ($70) and honestly it made the PC quite a bit faster. So I guess my point in telling you this, is that after you get these parts you might consider a new fast HDD as your next upgrade.

Well, there's always places to improve. I think your plan is a good start point and definitely good prices.
 
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