Want a better card, no idea what I'm doing.

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jwl12345

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So.

I bought a decent Dell computer ~2 years ago. It's still fine for my uses, except the graphics card - it simply cant keep up with games anymore.

It's a Dell XPS 435MT with an i7 920, 12 GB DDR3 RAM (no idea about the speed), and currently a Radeon 4670 with 512MB video memory.

I'd like an upgrade and am looking for cards in the $150-200 range.

Thanks.
 
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spagalicious

spagalicious

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Hey got some questions for you.

What games are you planning on playing and what is your screen resolution?

I googled your computer and it looks like you have a 350 watt power supply. Do you know if this is the case?

Based on the information given, I would probably suggest something with a power requirement of 300 watts, just to be on the safe side. Dell PSUs aren't great.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500218
 
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elbert

elbert

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For your price range some video cards may require a higher output power supply. You may want to check your power supply and post its wattage, 12v amps, and or model.

You may want to set aside about $50 for a new power supply.

I suggest the XFX double D 6850 for 169.99
As for the PSU a Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D for $44.99

I know the prices are high but bobusboy points out these prices should go down when the 7xxx series launches. The 7800's should launch around the first of February.
 
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ko888

ko888

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If you're going to be keeping/reusing your existing Delta Electronics 360 Watt power supply the following cards will work within that power supply's capabilities of a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 25 Amps and one 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector:

GeForce GTX 550 Ti

Radeon HD 6850

The Radeon HD 6850 would be the preferred choice since it has more graphics processing power than the GeForce GTX 550 Ti.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600100181%20600083901%20600083830&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&CompareItemList=48%7C14-150-515%5E14-150-515-TS%2C14-127-566%5E14-127-566-TS%2C14-127-576%5E14-127-576-TS
 
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buzznut

buzznut

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...And I wouldn't put an HD6850 on that power supply. I would consider it unreliable for gaming loads. I like the suggestion of the Earthwatts PSU, but for me if you plan on having this power supply power your PC for next couple of years and through some upgrades I'd recommend a 500W PSU. This is gonna be a sweet spot for many of your mid-range gaming cards and so 500W is pretty standard for gaming systems that have one video card.

I'll list a couple that you should consider for a graphics upgrade:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256061

Modular, highly recommended:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703035
 
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K

kinggraves

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HTPC cases need as few stray cords as possible too, just to point out. Probably not needed in this case, but prebuilt boxes can be small.
 
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jwl12345

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BF3, 1920x1200.

No idea about the power supply.
 
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ighamerz

ighamerz

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so you must consider the 12volt rail or the wattage of ur psu before upgrading ur card, almost of the midrange cards has high power consumption 110watts+ something like that so you need to spent another $50-80 for the psu
 
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A

amd955be5670

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for BF3, on 1920x1200, ULTRA with 4x MSAA and HBAO
even a GTX580 provides a little less than the sweet spot 60fps

if you want to play it seriously on 60fps then I'd suggest
PSU - Corsair TX850V2
GPU - GTX570 in Sli or a GTX560Ti(Twin Frozr II or better) in Sli

But in your budget a GTX560 or a 6870 is only possible, call me crazy but I'd go with nVidia for their 32x CSAA which I do use.
The 5870 is slightly better but consumes more power.
Either way for a 150-200$ you'd want a better power supply unit.
A Coolermaster GX-450 would suffice your consumption, unless if you want to upgrade in the future and require a better PSU for Multiple Cards, Overclocking etc.
Something like above 800W should you have any future plans for dual cards, but its going to cost a fortune(the motherboard, then another card,etc).
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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I did the same thing - bought a Dell and then decided to try PC gaming. Been using an HD 5670 til recently. Bought an Antec Earthwatts 500 and an HD 6870. The PSU is easy to swap out as long as you pay attention to where the connections go on your mobo.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/435MT/en/SM/power.htm#wp1186031

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/435MT/en/SM/cards.htm#wp1188161

Looks like we have very similar cases - just make sure that you have enough room for a long (10+ inches) card. I had to expand a bit into my second hard drive bay, but I don't use it, so it's fine. Also make sure you get a card with a good cooler - preferably one that exhausts a lot of heat out the back. It can get hot in minitowers like ours.
 
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spagalicious

spagalicious

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Yeah I agree with what everyone else is saying. With your current setup, it isn't possible to achieve playable fps with just a graphics upgrade. If you really want to be able to play BF3 on medium or maybe high, you'll have to upgrade your PSU and graphics card. Maybe something in the 500-550 watt range for PSU and pick something up like a 6870 for a little over $225. And to get more performance, consider getting a cooler and overclocking that 920 to a good 3.2 ghz. You'll probably end up with playable rates with a mixed medium to high settings with no AA and maybe a little anisotropic. If you want ultra performance, you would have to consider many more upgrades, including cpu, psu, and graphics. Hope we helped in someway. :)
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Only if OP wants an average of 60fps... The 6870 should play BF3 at ultra w/ no MSAA at that res @ 40fps or so. Also the CPU doesn't matter for that game. And my cousin tells me overclocking last-gen i7s is a nightmare.
 
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spagalicious

spagalicious

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I had a 920. Its not that hard to get to a stable 3.2ghz on aftermarket coolers. It was just a suggestion. He may get 40 fps on some levels but once looking around on large levels, probably going to run into some pretty heavy fps drops. I know I do.
 
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asye288

asye288

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I was told that hd 7970 is over $350. It may way over budget. Better try somether like hd 6790 which is rather inexpensive and no need to upgrade psu.
 
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jwl12345

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I ran into what I think is an issue. I haven't ordered anything yet so I figured I would open up my computer and check things out.

The 6870 looks ~2x thicker than my current 4670 in pictures, and 2x thicker would essentially push the 6870's fan up against the very bottom of my case. The 4670's fan is already close to the bottom of the case.

mIz0i.jpg
 
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spagalicious

spagalicious

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Did you buy a new power supply also? I would not trust a 6870 on that PSU.

Maybe if you have a friend that has a dual slot card? They could come to see. The card may reach to the very edge of that case. Make sure you remove the expansion PCI slot metal slide below your current card if you get a dual card.

I would get something smaller/cheaper/lesser power requirements. The card requires a 450 watt psu. If the PSU goes, you risk damaging other parts in your computer. Just something to think about.

EDIT(Something to add): On this website you can see that a 6870 uses 247 watts on full load. I would definitely not consider gaming with that PSU and a 6870.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/10/22/ati-radeon-hd-6870-review/9
 
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ko888

ko888

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This is a picture of someones Dell Studio XPS 435MT with a GeForce GTX 280 graphics card which is a double slot-width card and it fits and works without problems. You can see that they even replaced the power supply unit to handle that 236 Watt card.

img2359mo5.jpg
 
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spagalicious

spagalicious

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+1 to that.

So now you know you can fit a dual slot card. Just don't try and run on your current PSU
 
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