Trying to find a card for 1680x1050 monitor using DVI

[k4ever]

Im totally new when it comes about talking of pc upgrades. I used to have a crappy 512MB ram windows xp desktop, but that is a thing of the past. I used to play games only on my ps3, but now I have realized that there are great games for the pc ( mainly talking about steam games ). I bought a p7-1110 hp desktop. It has an i3 processor, 6GB ram, 1TB hd, and intel HD 2000 integrated graphics. I saw the letters "HD and graphics" and I thought: "Im going to see everything in high definition just like in my 720p lcd using my ps3" ... guess I was wrong. I didnt even know what was the big deal of having video graphics cards. Before buying this computer I wasnt even thinking in playing games on it, but now I changed my mind. I am not going to play hardcore, high resolution games like skyrim, call of duty, battlefield, etc ( I play those in my ps3 )...but I would love to play PORTAL, PORTAL 2 in my pc. Also Im interested in some indie games that I cant find on the playstation network but are available on xbox live.
My power supply is 250W I think, and I know thats pretty low if Im looking to get a decent graphics card. I have a 1680x1050 monitor with DVI and Analog connections ( no hdmi ), and I would like to play games at that resolution ( if available ).
I was reading here about the radeon hd 5670 being a great card for your money, and displaying 1680x1050 graphics very well.
Last thing ... since I will also be upgrading the PSU, will the computer be noisier ( having another fan )? Right now its very quiet.
Thx!

EDIT: I forgot to mention that my desktop doesnt support directx 11. Its good till 10 though, and I dont think Im going to be playing games that require the 11 version.

 

[esrever]

the directx support comes from the gpu and will be supported once you buy your new card.

the 5670 or 6670 will probably be good for your needs and you might not need a new power supply. the new psu will be quiet as long as you don't buy one thats loud, most psus are quieter than the cpu and gpu fan so you'd never hear them.

 

[rvilkman]

Yes getting a new powersupply is kind of a must, the 250W doesn't handle much for graphics cards.
I would recommend something in the 500-650W range with 2 PCIe 6pin connectors.
With a good powersupply it doesn't really add to the noise, they use large fans and as long as you are not taking full power from them they usually remain reasonably quiet as well.

If you want to be running 1680x1050 with high settings, Radeon HD6870 are the cards you should look at. 6850 is ok too, but their prices are so close to the 6870 that you might as well get that. ( $10 difference ) You can get the HD6870's for about $150 after rebates.
If you need to stay lower, I will recommend the 6770 still a viable card, at ~$100 after rebates.

You don't list the country you are from so not sure what the case is in your country, but I will recommend a couple of items from newegg anyway.
PSU:
Seasonic S12II 520W $59.99
XFX Core Pro 550W $69.99 ( before $15 MIR )
XFX Core Pro 650W $89.99 ( before $25 MIR )

GPU:
Sapphire Radeon 6870 $164.99 ( before $20 MIR ) comes with Dirt3
Sapphire Radeon 6770 $119.99 ( before $20 MIR ) comes with Dirt3

You biggest issue really with the cards will be if they fit our case, they didn't seem to be exceptionally long so they should, but measure how much space you have between the back expansion slots and the front drive cages and such and that will tell you how long of a card you can fit.
If you have 10" it 'should' be ok for most of them. If it's 11" or more it should be ok for all of them.

 

[esrever]

a 500-600 watt is overkill... and the 6870 is also overkill...

the 6670 will work on just about any power supply and offers enough performance for playing steam games at 1680x1050 no problem. The 6670 will even be more powerful than the ps3 when running demanding games like mw3 and skyrim and such.

 

[rvilkman]

Well I pretty much pointed the highest end that is needed for that resolution, still at a reasonable price. Obviously the 6670 is lightyears ahead of the HD2000, and probably runs the games just fine. However if you want it all and don't want to limit yourself into just those few games getting one of the ones I suggested if not a bad deal. Generally comes down to your budget though.

As for the overkill, it's IMHO a good range of PSU's for single card solutions, and while the rest of the system is not overly powerhungry, I would still recommend changing the PSU from the 250W even if you are getting a 6670. My faith in the PSU's that come with prebuilt computers is very low.
While they may work out of the box it is likely that they get strained by the higher load of the GPU and eventually give out possibly taking a bunch of other components with it.

Upgrading the PSU there is very little price difference at this point and it will let the PSU's run a little bit cooler and quieter when they have enough juice. With the extra $20 investment you get something that will last you a good while since any quality PSU at even the 400W range starts at about $40-45. Also having the bigger PSU's for the 6870 would make sense thus why I listed up to 650W.

 

[k4ever]

I see. Its going to be either the 5670 or 6670 ( my budget is around $100 ).
The only thing that Im confused its in what kind of brand I should get. There are so many out there, and even though they have the same model the price is different. Also I read that I should get the one with ddr5 and not the ddr3, whatever that means
For the PSU how do I know which ones are louder/quieter?
EDIT: I prefer to use the pci expressx16 slot. I live in CA.

 

[Rockdpm]

Ok this is What i Ran back when i was playing Portal 2: NVIDIA Gefore GTS 450
And a Maybe 450 watt power supply just to be on the safe side.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171060 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

And for the Graphics card: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Performance-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-01G-P3-1450-TR/dp/B0041RRNBM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327599545&sr=8-1

 

[elbert]

Currently I would suggest the Antec Earthwatt 380D for $47.99. Its the highest rated PSU and can handle the 6870's power draw.
Here is the tomshardware $500 build with it pushing a 6850.

For the video card here is a list of suggestions from highest performance with lowest noise. In the 6870 the MSI R6870 Twin Frozr II is about the lowest noise card you can get. It has a lower load noise than most all the 6000 series. Given its performance this is the card I would suggest but it may be out of your price range.

The Sapphire 6750 Vapor-X should be your best choice. It will run battlefield 3 at your resolution.

The Sapphire 6670 is the lowest load noise 6670.

For a full list based on load noise here is tomshardware's chart. The GPU is less important that a good heatsink & fan when it comes to noise.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/3D-Noise,2680.html

 

[rvilkman]

I see. Its going to be either the 5670 or 6670 ( my budget is around $100 ).
The only thing that Im confused its in what kind of brand I should get. There are so many out there, and even though they have the same model the price is different. Also I read that I should get the one with ddr5 and not the ddr3, whatever that means
For the PSU how do I know which ones are louder/quieter?
EDIT: I prefer to use the pci expressx16 slot. I live in CA.

For that budget yes the 6670 is the best card. Asus 6670 $99.99 before $20 rebate seems to have really good reviews. And uses the faster GDDR5 memory.

And Antec Earthwatts 380D is the cheapest quality PSU and will run that GPU just fine.

 

[k4ever]

Thx for the feedback guys! =)

 

[k4ever]

Best answer selected by k4ever.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey