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Need Advice for a upgraded Graphics card

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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Hello, i recently purchased a brand new HP Pavilion HPE h8-1214 Desktop PC. Here is a Link to the product Specs. Bought this on (02-05-2012)

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03...

Motherboard- M3970AM-HP
Processor- AMD FX-6100
Ram- 10 GB

Im a average gamer, i play SWTOR and plan on playing Diablo 3 when it comes out. the current graphics in the model is a Radeon HD 7450. Im looking to upgrade this to a better card. I also know im prolly going to have to replace the PSU in this machine as well.
Current PSU in model is Internal ATX 300W (100v-240v).

Basically im asking is there a better card out there that can work with current PSU or should i just plan on replacing them both.

Budget wise, cheapest possible way but id say $100-$300 considering if i have to replace both.
Usually do my shopping at Newegg or TigerDirect.

More about : advice upgraded graphics card

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Graphics card Master

sweet you have a video card that hasn't been officially released yet in retail 0.o
(though it is just a rebrand of hd6000 series card, but still)

There should be a sticker on the side of the psu listing wattage ratings for different rails, what's the (combined) rating for 12V rail since that is the most important one?

yoda581 said:
Hello, i recently purchased a brand new HP Pavilion HPE h8-1214 Desktop PC. Here is a Link to the product Specs. Bought this on (02-05-2012)

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03...

Motherboard- M3970AM-HP
Processor- AMD FX-6100
Ram- 10 GB

Im a average gamer, i play SWTOR and plan on playing Diablo 3 when it comes out. the current graphics in the model is a Radeon HD 7450. Im looking to upgrade this to a better card. I also know im prolly going to have to replace the PSU in this machine as well.
Current PSU in model is Internal ATX 300W (100v-240v).

Basically im asking is there a better card out there that can work with current PSU or should i just plan on replacing them both.

Budget wise, cheapest possible way but id say $100-$300 considering if i have to replace both.
Usually do my shopping at Newegg or TigerDirect.


I would recommend buying Radeon HD 6950 which is one of the best video cards out there! It costs $229.99 and can fully max out even the newest games like Battlefield 3 on 1920x1200 - Ultra settings!
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Graphics card Authority

esrever said:
you can probably get a 7750 without having to upgrade the psu but thats the highest card.

Looks like a great card for those games. I bought a Dell 3 years ago and put an HD 5670 in it (best card that worked with a 300w PSU at the time) and was in love with it.
Graphics card Expert

Hello.
I think you will not need a psu upgrade with 7750. FX6100 is a cpu that consumes a lot of power but 7450 to 7750 should be something like 20watt more.
I think you should take also a CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... in case you will do o/c in the future and for better gpus in the future it costs after MIR only $39.99.
If you want to spend more money (around $250) you should wait 10 days for the release of 7870 and 7850.
We hope that they will arrive at March.
(Btw, 10GB RAM :o  2x4GB and 2x1GB????)
Graphics card Master

yoda581 said:
I actually took a picture of the PSU sticker so hope this helps!


http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/yoda581/IMG_008...

thanks that shows it up nicely.
So it's 216W for the 12V rail.
The FX6100 is rated 95W TDP (will likely never use that much), add few watts for 5400rpm hdd, fans, maybe 20 for the mobo and you're left with maybe 80W for the card... You could even squeze an HD7770 in there. But if you do, don't run simultaneous stress tests on both cpu and gpu at the same time, so no prime95 and furmark together, that might be too much. :D  Anything more powerfull would need a new psu as well

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7750_iCooler/...
Graphics card Master

Memnarchon said:
http://www.legionhardware.com/images/review/AMD_FX-8150_FX-8120_FX-6100_and_FX-4170/Power.png

I think FX 6100 consumes more than 95watt...

source: http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/amd_fx_815...

believe it or not those figures are for the whole system, measured at the wall socket, and they include psu inefficiency as well

darn, even x-bitlabs have changed their measurement system, well at least they are still measuring it after the psu
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/amd-fx-812...
Quote:
The graphs below show the full power draw of the computer (without the monitor) measured after the power supply. It is the total of the power consumption of all the system components. The PSU's efficiency is not taken into account.


so I see no reason to doubt the 95W tdp value



edit though there is quite a big relative difference between the results from legionharware and x-bitlabs...
maybe difference in the mobos used for intel/amd setups?
Graphics card Master

yoda581 said:
Well i got thinking and i had to replace my PSU in my old desktop about 8 months ago (Dell XPS 400). Here is a picture of the sticker on that PSU.

http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/yoda581/IMG_008...

i saw its a 400w and is that compatible with my new system?? Could i throw that PSU in and give me more options or should i just take the good advice i got and just get that 7750,

BTW thanks for the QUICK replys and great advice so far

ooo that opens up new possibilities! 348W :bounce: 
they say they are both atx psus, so they should be compatible. Back in the -90s dell used some weird propietary desings with different wiring on the main mobo plug... make sure the colors match, so there isn't any 5V leads going where ground should be etc.
How old is the psu? They tend to lose some of their wattage when the capasitors get old and dry up a bit... But still it should give an extra 100W for the video card power envelope.

edit does it have any pcie power plugs? 6pins with 3 black and 3 yellow wires? there are adapters, but dedicated plugs from the psu would be a better choice.
Graphics card Master

yoda581 said:
I believe i bought back in dec/jan of 2010/2011. im trying to remember.
It does have one 6 pin connector and it is actually labeled "PCI express Graphics Connector"

so it is still almost brand new, and has pcie plug. nice.

With it you can easily run hd 6850, without pushing the psu too hard. If you're not in a hurry (and budget allows), you could wait awhile for the 7800 series cards, they should be launching in march. They should have great power to performance ratio, might be a bit pricey though...
and there should be great deals on 6k series cards when they are emptying the stocks preparing for the 7k series. So tough call.
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