Upgrading 9600GT, around $200 budget

[the_thr34t]

Hey guys, I am pretty new to upgrading computer hardware so I was hoping that somebody could help me out. This is my first post so hopefully I don't come across as an annoying noob.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Sometime within the next two weeks. BUDGET RANGE: $200 - $300 or less, preferably without rebates.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming[Battlefield 3 and other graphically intense games such as Crysis 2, etc.]

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Geforce 9600GT and Diablotek PHD Series PHD550 550W ATX12V V2.2 PSU

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550, Motherboard is the default one that comes with a Vostro 200 minitower not too sure how to go about finding the exact information, 4 GB DDR2 PC2-5300, the case is also the default one that comes with the minitower.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, tigerdirect COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I would personally prefer Nvidia, but ATI would be fine, brand does not really matter to me

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050, or 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I will purchase a new monitor which is why I am not sure of the resolution, AA is not important to me, and above all else, I care about a high framerate because I am a competitive gamer.

Unfortunately, as of now, just about everything in my machine bottlenecks my performance AFAIK, but I really don't want to purchase a new CPU or PSU at the moment.

Additionally, my motherboard only has 1 PCI-e x16 slot, so SLI is not an option.

Thanks for reading!

EDIT: I was looking into the GTX 560Ti, but I'm not sure if my PSU could handle that.

 

[stevetheutilityman]

You should read this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html

 

[daysyang]

your dell vostro stock psu won't be good... that psu is only 250w... it doesn't come with power connections to plug into 560ti

Edit: correction 250w is for slim for mini your psu is like 300w...

 

[jaguarskx]

Diablotek PSUs are kinda crappy. I wouldn't trust it with a power hungry video card like a GTX 560 Ti. I'd rather get the Radeon HD 7850. It costs a little more at around $260, but it performs better than the GTX 560 Ti and with a maximum power consumption of 101w, it uses less than half the power of the GTX 560 Ti (218w).

Review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7850_HD_7870/

 

[DM186]

Even if your PSU came with power connecters. You still won't be able to install it. You have a mini tower. Only low profile cards will work. you could find them in the GT cards and GTS cards.

And those are on the nVidia side. Now on the AMD/ATI side the biggest card in low profile cars is the HD 6670. Now what I am worried about is you said eveything now is bottle necking.

Does that mean your current GPU? What the problem is your CPU, it is only 2 core and if your GPU now bottle necks you anything bigger will kill your rig. I would recommend you investing in a new rig. Good luck to you.

 

[jaguarskx]

If you want a GTX 560 Ti I highly recommend you replace the current PSU with one from a reputable brand name like Seasonic, Corsair, XFX, Enermax.

 

[Guest]

EDIT: I was looking into the GTX 560Ti, but I'm not sure if my PSU could handle that.

that diablotech is a time bomb!
Antec BP550 Plus 550W $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

 

[jaguarskx]

Even if your PSU came with power connecters. You still won't be able to install it. You have a mini tower. Only low profile cards will work. you could find them in the GT cards and GTS cards.

The Vostro 200 minitower can accept standard height graphic cards.

 

[DM186]

The Vostro 200 minitower can accept standard height graphic cards.

Really? I guess I should have looked it up first but since with everything else with mini in it means small. Hey thank you for pointing that out to me.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yep.

http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/vostro-200/pd

Dimensions & Weight
H: 14.2 inches (362 mm)
W: 6.7 inches (170 mm) =====> wide enough for a standard graphic card.
D: 17.1 inches (435 mm)

 

[the_thr34t]

your dell vostro stock psu won't be good... that psu is only 250w... it doesn't come with power connections to plug into 560ti

Edit: correction 250w is for slim for mini your psu is like 300w...

I don't have the stock PSU, I have the Diablotek one, I know DT isn't good, but it was on sale. AFAIK, it has a real wattage of around 407 (from what I've read anyway) but some people say it's amazing and can do way more than 407, but others say just 407, so IDK.

What would happen if one tried to use a videocard but their PSU wasn't powerful enough?

 

[DM186]

I don't have the stock PSU, I have the Diablotek one, I know DT isn't good, but it was on sale. AFAIK, it has a real wattage of around 407 (from what I've read anyway) but some people say it's amazing and can do way more than 407, but others say just 407, so IDK.

What would happen if one tried to use a videocard but their PSU wasn't powerful enough?

If the power is not good enough you would get all kinds problems or you wouldn't even be able to boot up. I just depends on how much power it does get. And DT PSU is one of the worst PSU's you could have gotten.

Here is the a link for a tool to see where your PSU ranks. It is a tier 5 which is the worst. The only way to tell what it will do is what are the amps on the 12v rail? That will tell us how many watts it will pull.

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

 

[daysyang]

I don't have the stock PSU, I have the Diablotek one, I know DT isn't good, but it was on sale. AFAIK, it has a real wattage of around 407 (from what I've read anyway) but some people say it's amazing and can do way more than 407, but others say just 407, so IDK.

What would happen if one tried to use a videocard but their PSU wasn't powerful enough?

that psu is cutting it really close... i wouldn't trust it...
not enough power = unable to post, pc shutting off when playing games, psu overheats fails/die.

 

[the_thr34t]

If the power is not good enough you would get all kinds problems or you wouldn't even be able to boot up. I just depends on how much power it does get. And DT PSU is one of the worst PSU's you could have gotten.

Here is the a link for a tool to see where your PSU ranks. It is a tier 5 which is the worst. The only way to tell what it will do is what are the amps on the 12v rail? That will tell us how many watts it will pull.

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Yeah I made the mistake of going by newegg reviews. I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to computers haha. Thanks for the link, I'll bookmark it for when I plan to purchase a future PSU which might be soon.

Here are the specs from newegg.

Model

Brand
Diablotek

Model
PHD550

Series
PHD Series

Spec

Type
ATX12V V2.2

Maximum Power
550W

Fans
140mm Fan

Main Connector
20+4Pin

+12V Rails
Single

PCI-Express Connector
1 x 6+2-Pin

SATA Power Connector
6

SLI
No

CrossFire
No

Modular
No

Hold-up Time
16ms min.

Efficiency
up to 80%

Over Voltage Protection
Yes

Overload Protection
Yes

Input Voltage
115 / 230 V

Input Frequency Range
50/60 Hz

Input Current
8A @ 115V, 5A @ 230V

Output
+3.3V@25A, +5@20A, +12V@36A, -12V@0.6A, +5vsb@2.0A

MTBF
>100,000 Hours

Approvals
FC, CE, RoHs Compliant

Dimensions
6" x 6.25" x 3.5"

Weight
4 lbs.

Features

Connectors
20/24 Pin motherboard Connector x 1
4/8 Pin Motherboard Connector +12V x 1
Floppy Power Connector x 1
4 Pin Molex Connectors x 6
6/8-pin PCI-E Connectors x 1
SATA Connector x 6

 

[DM186]

Yeah that PSU won't even support SLI or CrossFire according to the specs. And I know your MOBO won't support it either. It does not tell me how many watts are on the 12v rail.

It makes reference to a 12v 2.2v but that is not it. On the sticker on the side of the PSU you will see the numbers that look like this 3.3v = 15a + 5.v = 18a + 12v = 14a.

Those are the numbers to look for and the one I need is the 12v = ???

 

[the_thr34t]

Hopefully these are the right numbers.

+12v=30A=360W

and not sure if it is important or not, but -12V=0.6A=7.2W

Thanks for being patient with a noob lol.

 

[daysyang]

$300
psu seasonic S12II 520w $69.99 seasonic well known brand for quality and your not oc or sli so this should do just fine
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

vga evga 560ti $229.99 you may find cheaper ones but just an idea...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

 

[DM186]

Hopefully these are the right numbers.

+12v=30A=360W

and not sure if it is important or not, but -12V=0.6A=7.2W

Thanks for being patient with a noob lol.

Yes those are the right numbers. The other numbers are not important for running your CPU and GPU. The 560 ti on loat uses any where from 192w to 199w so that leaves 161w for your CPU and other stuff.

That PSU will handle that card, just don't OC it or your CPU. You need leave some head room on the watts. I still recomend that you get a different PSU but for now that one will work. Thank you for getting me the numbers.

There is one more thing your CPU is a two core and I don't know for sure that it will work well with the 560 ti. I have herd that the 560 non ti works with out to much problems.

Also I have seen the 550 ti's work. I also have seen the HD 6850 work. I would double check it to make sure it will work. I would hate to see you buy your card then have it bottleneck on you.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yes those are the right numbers. The other numbers are not important for running your CPU and GPU. The 560 ti on loat uses any where from 192w to 199w so that leaves 161w for your CPU and other stuff.

218w max power consumption according to the charts in my 1st post.

The Radeon HD 7850 consumes only a max of 101w while outperforming a GTX 560 Ti.

 

[the_thr34t]

Yes those are the right numbers. The other numbers are not important for running your CPU and GPU. The 560 ti on loat uses any where from 192w to 199w so that leaves 161w for your CPU and other stuff.

That PSU will handle that card, just don't OC it or your CPU. You need leave some head room on the watts. I still recomend that you get a different PSU but for now that one will work. Thank you for getting me the numbers.

There is one more thing your CPU is a two core and I don't know for sure that it will work well with the 560 ti. I have herd that the 560 non ti works with out to much problems.

Also I have seen the 550 ti's work. I also have seen the HD 6850 work. I would double check it to make sure it will work. I would hate to see you buy your card then have it bottleneck on you.

Thanks for the help. I decided not to go with the the 560 ti, I am thinking of getting a 6850 instead.

218w max power consumption according to the charts in my 1st post.

The Radeon HD 7850 consumes only a max of 101w while outperforming a GTX 560 Ti.

Thanks for posting that, I am now trying to decide between the 7850 and the 6850. I was looking at some comparisons on this site and while the 7850 is better, it seems to only make a huge difference at higher resolutions and only performs slightly better at lower resolutions. As a result, I am leaning towards the 6850 as the monitor I just purchased has a max resolution of 1600x900.

I'm just curious though, what are the differences between LCD monitors and LED monitors?

After I confirmed the purchase for my monitor, another monitor popped up for the same price, but the only difference is that the one I am getting is LCD and the other one is LED.

I am contemplating returning the LCD monitor as I have yet to receive it (I'll definitely get it on Monday) but I'll have to pay 15% of what I payed which comes out to around $15. Is the switch from LCD to LED worth an extra $15?

Here are the two monitors, which would be better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009314
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1076208&CatId=1410

Thanks again for helping out a noob haha.