New Graphics card

tmarz

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Sep 9, 2011
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Hello , I am looking to buy a new graphics card

MSI 890FX GD70 Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Processor
2x4GB RAM Kingstone HYPERX
GTS 250 (This is my old graphics card)
HEC 500 Watt powersupply

I bought this pc about a month ago, the pc freezes randomly with a strange noise from the speakers, i was told it is the powersupply since the GTS 250 need 450Watt by itself, so i am looking to buy a new powersupply and have my eyes on a 1000watt one, the problem is that i dont know which graphics card will be good for this computer spec.I have around 200-250usd that i can spend on the graphics card.


edit: Many people here told me that the 1000psu wont help, idk what i could do to solve this problem, My computer randomly freezes and I cannot move the mouse, the keyboard doesnot respond either and I have to do a rough restart with the button on my tower. CTRL+ALT+DLT does not work, it is totally frozen.

I am sure it isnot overhealing the cpu temprature is always around 30-40.
I am sure it isnot the windows, i installed a different copy of windows and the problem is still there.
I am sure it isnot the ram, i took off one of the 4GB ram , tried the computer and it still froze.
I am sure it isnot the graphics card as i had it on my old pc (intell duelcore) a month ago and the pc never froze.
I tried to changed the ram voltage from 1.5 to 1.65 on the bios but cpuz reading was 1.5 still and the pc still froze.
 
A quality 500W PSU will be sufficient for either of the previously mentioned GPUs. It will have full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and some level of 80+ certification for efficiency. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are among the better brands.
 

tmarz

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Thx alot for the reply , I am playing world of warcraft and the GTS 250 is giving me 10-20fps in crowded places, normally it is 50-60fps most of the time at 1980-1200 resolution.

About the freezing any1 know if it surely the power supply, some told me it is the ram i tried each ram alone on the pc and it kept freezing aswell, the freezing is kinda rare and random , it happens twice in a row everytime the pc freezes, a guy told me the 500watt power supply is low for that pc spec specially when i told him i installed a Gigabyte 3D Galaxy II Water Cooling System.

http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3860&Itemid=40
 

tmarz

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Ya i tried to calculate the power needed , it was around 400watt but i dont rly know every option in that calculation list, i am kinda new to computers hardware stuff.
 

tmarz

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Ok thanks alot for the help . Any clue why does it freeze then? I have the lastest drivers and i tryed using another windows even, i was using windows 7 and i reinstalled my old windows xp 64, still having the same issue.The pc randomly freeze with a loud noise from the speakers.
 
It looks like your PSU is better than the HEC offerings we usually see, so it should be Ok. 80Plus tests at an unrealistically low temperature, but they do pull the full claimed wattage from the unit. In Real Life, you will likely see lower efficiency than they measure due to the heat, but at least it should hack the load. Besides, you're not pulling anywhere near 500W from it.
You could have a sound driver problem. Have you updated those drivers too? If you can, try lowering any sound quality settings or effects.

 

jamx13

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"i was told it is the powersupply since the GTS 250 need 450Watt by itself"

It bothers me to see comments such as that. All you needed to do was plug something like "GTS 250 power consumption" into google & you'd know how stupidly wrong that 450W claim is. The PCIe slot can provide up to 75W, a single 6-pin PCIe plug can supply an additional 75W. A single 8-pin PCIe plug can supply up to 150W. So a card that actually requires 450W would need the power from the PCIe slot PLUS five 6-pin plugs or two 8-pin + one 6-pin. How many PCIe plugs does your GTS 250 require? One 6-pin? That means your card requires somewhere between 76W - 150W.

Since you're at the Tom's Hardware site, why wouldn't you just look here? According to the following article, an entire system with a GTS 250 under FULL LOAD only draws 237W at the wall outlet.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gts-250,2172-10.html

Anandtech puts the total system wattage at 247w under full load:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2731

It's very unlikely your problem is related to the PSU. Even if it is, you certainly don't need a 1000W unit. But if you insist that's what you need, prepare to open your wallet wide. The PSU is not the place to cut corners & "go cheap". A decent quailty 1000W'er is gonna set you back at least $100-150.
 

tmarz

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Thanks alot for the support guys.

@jtt283 , I have updated the sound driver ya.

@jamx13 ,Well thanks u explained enough, If it isnot the power supply, i dont know what else could it be.
 

farrengottu

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my past experiences of freezing with odd noises is an overheating northbridge or overheating gpu.
check the heatsinks on those. if they are crazy hot to the touch then they need cooled better.
thats a decent processor. overkill for gaming but eventually games will use 6 cores right? damn programmers slacking....anyways.
any card will do. even a dual gpu $600+ card will work fine. granted intel has some processors that would use the card better but its not like there is a certain card where anything beyond that will be bottlenecked by your cpu. i would say grab one that runs cool and fast. as fast as you can afford.
 

tmarz

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Thanks for the reply, the motherboard Has a heat monitor on it and it never goes above 40c, it is 35-37 most of the time. i even open the case and direct a fan at it sometimes but it never goes about 40c anyways :(

Also the pc freezed a couple of times when i just opened it in the morning and the temp wasnot even 33 at that time .
 

tmarz

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The freezing is random, i dont think it is related to the temprature.I tried taking off 1 of the 2 rams i had and it freezed aswell, so i dont think it is the ram, i also tried to reinstall a different version of windows, didnot help either. i am kinda desperate now.
 

tmarz

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I had intel duelcore a month ago, i was using this gts 250 on it, it used to give strange sounds from the fan when it overheats but it never freeze the pc.

edit: My computer randomly freezes and I cannot move the mouse, the keyboard doesnot respond either and I have to do a rough restart with the button on my tower. CTRL+ALT+DLT does not work, it is totally frozen.

something like this guy's case

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f25/computer-locks-up-and-cant-move-mouse-223538.html