Nvidia Geforce 7900 gs upgrade

[Overseer Nathan]

Hey all,

I am looking to upgrade my GPU but being the not so tech savvy person I have no idea where to to start, I currently use the Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS.

I'm not sure what other information to supplu only that I use the ASRock G41C-GS mother board, any advice is welcome.

 

[Overseer Nathan]

Sorry, I also aim to spend about £100 I'm not sure on my power supply
My current CPU is an Intel Pentium 4 3.40GHz
And I intend on using it for gaming mainly Team Fortress 2

 

[djabhi003]

Open The Case, Look At Side Of The PSU, Post The Make And Model, Rationgs Etc. Here

 

[rockyjohn]

You should look at the stickee on this forum about how to ask for advice on video cards:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/290969-33-advice-choosing

Besides this forum, two other good sources of information are:

A good place to start a search for good cards is the THG article on the best video cards for the money, updated monthly to reflect new prices and new cards. Note that it includes a very brief description of the performance level of the card plus links to reviews with detailed performance benchmarks, most often with comparisons to other cards:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html

For more general information about how to upgrade video cards, including determining system limits and comparing, selecting and installing video cards, I recommend this site:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/criteria.html

 

[Overseer Nathan]

Open The Case, Look At Side Of The PSU, Post The Make And Model, Rationgs Etc. Here

When I look at the PSU without opening the case there is a little red switch which says 230V if that's any help?

 

[Overseer Nathan]

You should look at the stickee on this forum about how to ask for advice on video cards:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/290969-33-advice-choosing

Besides this forum, two other good sources of information are:

A good place to start a search for good cards is the THG article on the best video cards for the money, updated monthly to reflect new prices and new cards. Note that it includes a very brief description of the performance level of the card plus links to reviews with detailed performance benchmarks, most often with comparisons to other cards:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html

For more general information about how to upgrade video cards, including determining system limits and comparing, selecting and installing video cards, I recommend this site:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/criteria.html

Thank you for the links! I will check them out, and I noticed the guide after I had submitted my post. Wont happen again!

 

[Onus]

All the little red voltage switch tells us is that it is an older, obsolete design that is inefficient. It may also be overrated, but not necessarily. While not a "good" PSU by modern standards, that doesn't mean it sucks, or cannot handle a modest GPU upgrade. The brand and model, and/or the wattage ratings on the label inside, will give us more information.

 

[rockyjohn]

Since Overseer is in Britain - I beleive - I am not sure it is unusual that he has a PSU with a voltage switch for 230v. Are you suggesting Jtt that all new, quality PSUs automatically switch between 120v and 230v?

 

[Overseer Nathan]

All the little red voltage switch tells us is that it is an older, obsolete design that is inefficient. It may also be overrated, but not necessarily. While not a "good" PSU by modern standards, that doesn't mean it sucks, or cannot handle a modest GPU upgrade. The brand and model, and/or the wattage ratings on the label inside, will give us more information.

I just opened my case and read it is a 400W psu which is made by Octigen.

 

[9_breaker]

that's the recommended wattage on the amd website .that's all I know.

 

[Onus]

Yes, full range active PFC PSUs can run on 100V-240V. No little voltage switch is necessary.
I've never heard of Octigen, but that doesn't mean much. Even if it is a little overrated (e.g. good for only 325W-350W), you should have no trouble with a HD6670 or HD5670. Either of those are vastly superior to your 7900GS; seven tiers higher on the monthly graphics card hierarchy chart.

Edit: If you really want to stick with nVidia, get a GT240. That won't be quite as strong (six tiers higher if it has GDDR5 or five tiers with GDDR3), but will also be safe with your PSU.

 

[Overseer Nathan]

Yes, full range active PFC PSUs can run on 100V-240V. No little voltage switch is necessary.
I've never heard of Octigen, but that doesn't mean much. Even if it is a little overrated (e.g. good for only 325W-350W), you should have no trouble with a HD6670 or HD5670. Either of those are vastly superior to your 7900GS; seven tiers higher on the monthly graphics card hierarchy chart.

It's funny you recomend them as I was just looking at them! thanks for all answers. Will it play Team Fortress 2 though?

 

[Overseer Nathan]

Sorry for another pose but is this the one you are talking about?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11168-02-20R-512MB-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B0032W414O/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1314026048&sr=1-1

 

[Onus]

Oh yes. A Google search for Team Fortress 2 Benchmarks will show some forum posts and videos. You'll have no difficulty.

 

[Onus]

That's the HD5670, and it will do very nicely for TF2.

 

[Overseer Nathan]

That's great! thanks for all the advice everyone !

 

[Onus]

Glad to help.