Planning on getting a new graphics card

[fould12]

Sorry about the last thread, should have read the rules thoroughly. I have a graphics card(Radeon x700) that's breaking down on me(fan partially broken, hardly spins and makes a loud whirring sound). Whenever I try to use 3d taxing programs, it seems to shut down and leave my monitor blank.

So I was thinking of getting a new card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 14-125-403

I have a fairly old computer(from 2007 or so); with a 350 Watt max DC output PSU, a Sempron 3500+ CPU, 4*256mb DDR3 memory sticks, a decent sound card, all connected to a fair sized motherboard with an ATI ixp 400 chip.

So do you think the video card will work with my computer? I measured the graphics card slot, and it should be able to fit in(just barely).

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Hi.

Tried to warn you, was to late though

What motherboard do you have ? Or what system ? ( brand/model )

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Or even better ; you know what pci-e version it has. 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 ?

 

[obsama1]

You have a single-core CPU. You'll need at least a dual-core for good performance.
And only 1GB of RAM. A GPU would help, but you'd need to upgrade the rest of your system as well.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

What are the 3d taxing programs ? Not sure what you mean by that. Games ?

 

[regularguy290]

your link is broken so i'm not sure what card you are referencing. however, any modern low end card would do better than that card. i personally am a fan of bigger fans so i would recommend this Sapphire 6670:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988

 

[fould12]

Hi.
What motherboard do you have ? Or what system ? ( brand/model )
Or even better ; you know what pci-e version it has. 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 ?

I don't know what pci-e version it has, but it's an ASUSTek Amberine M (Socket 939).

You have a single-core CPU. You'll need at least a dual-core for good performance.
And only 1GB of RAM. A GPU would help, but you'd need to upgrade the rest of your system as well.

I was thinking of getting more RAM, but what do you mean by 'good performance'? I don't want it for HD gaming, I just want to be able to play HD videos, and some 3d programs(realtime landscaping pro, Google earth, maybe vue 10 Xstream, and some 3d modeling programs).
Also, it's pretty hard for me to upgrade my CPU, since I have a socket 939 motherboard, and I'm probably not going to spend $100s for a new motherboard and equipment.

What are the 3d taxing programs ? Not sure what you mean by that. Games ?

No, just some 3d modeling programs, and Google earth.

 

[obsama1]

3D modeling needs a good amount of RAM.

 

[regularguy290]

i am curious about the rest of your system. if you are doing any sort of gaming it may be a good idea to upgrade the rest of the parts as well.

getting a dual core CPU would be a great upgrade and also allow you take advantage of the newer graphics card. the AMD Brisbane chip isn't half bad:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103976

Edit: i was a little late to the info party. seeing you have Socket 939 the cpu i posted is incompatible. newegg is out of the athlon X2's but an athlon single core is still a good upgrade:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113226

 

[fould12]

your link is broken so i'm not sure what card you are referencing. however, any modern low end card would do better than that card. i personally am a fan of bigger fans so i would recommend this Sapphire 6670:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125403
Don't know why the link is broken, but this one should work.
Yah, I was thinking of getting that graphics card, but it would take up two slots. Well, if I moved my sound card down, it might fit. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[regularguy290]

the fan on the gigabyte card takes up a 2nd slot as well, there just isnt a bracket for it. you can maybe try to squeeze your sound card next to it but it might block the fan.
this one is a true one slot solution:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542

 

[fould12]

3D modeling needs a good amount of RAM.

Like I said, I was thinking of getting more RAM. Oh, I also found out I have DDR, not DDR3.

i am curious about the rest of your system. if you are doing any sort of gaming it may be a good idea to upgrade the rest of the parts as well.

getting a dual core CPU would be a great upgrade and also allow you take advantage of the newer graphics card. the AMD Brisbane chip isn't half bad:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103976

Edit: i was a little late to the info party. seeing you have Socket 939 the cpu i posted is incompatible. newegg is out of the athlon X2's but an athlon single core is still a good upgrade:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113226

Wow, that's cheap; I might get it, thanks.

Also, does anyone know the pci-e version on an Amberine M?

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Forget previous ; its x16. Didn't found the version yet.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Looks like pci-e x 1 ??? Gonna do a better search, that can't be right can it ? http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c00496044&lc=en

 

[fould12]

the fan on the gigabyte card takes up a 2nd slot as well, there just isnt a bracket for it. you can maybe try to squeeze your sound card next to it but it might block the fan.
this one is a true one slot solution:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542

I was thinking if I could shave off some of the top plastic, I could fit it in, but now I'm thinking that just moving my sound card down a slot would be much easier.
That card there looks nice and small, but the price is higher, and the reviews aren't as good. I think I'll try rather the GIGABYTE, or the SAPPHIRE.

Forget previous; its x16. Didn't found the version yet.

That's okay, I think it's 1. But I've browsed the net a little, and apparently I won't notice the difference between a 2.1 card plugged into a 1.0 slot and a 2.1 card plugged into a 2.1 slot. Thanks everyone for the help, and the suggestions.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

True, you wont suffer much speed loss because of that, but 2.1 is not always compatible with 1.0. Not often though.

 

[fould12]

True, you wont suffer much speed loss because of that, but 2.1 is not always compatible with 1.0. Not often though.

Hmm, do you think I should try getting a different card? Also, do you think my power supply can handle the card? Some people say it needs a minimum power supply of 400W.

 

[Smeg45]

You need a new system. A $50 Sandy Bridge celeron would be much much faster than your current system and use way less power.

 

[obsama1]

Smeg45 is right. A single-core with 1GB of DDR isn't going to give you very good performance. A $50 dual-core Pentium Sandy Bridge with 4GB of DDR3 and a good mobo will be $150.

 

[fould12]

Smeg45 is right. A single-core with 1GB of DDR isn't going to give you very good performance. A $50 dual-core Pentium Sandy Bridge with 4GB of DDR3 and a good mobo will be $150.

Yah, I just wanted to get a good upgrade for my computer. I'm going to go to college in 2 or so years, so I just need something that will keep my current one going until then. I'm willing to get a less powerful one, but ideally I want to be able to have enough power to do 3d modeling and such.

 

[Smeg45]

Yah, I just wanted to get a good upgrade for my computer. I'm going to go to college in 2 or so years, so I just need something that will keep my current one going until then. I'm willing to get a less powerful one, but ideally I want to be able to have enough power to do 3d modeling and such.

There are no good upgrades. Its too old. A G530 for $50 will keep you going for two years, then for modelling you can drop in Ivy Bridge. I'd get a H77 board, unless you will be overclocking in the future, then a Z77 board.

 

[fould12]

There are no good upgrades. Its too old. A G530 for $50 will keep you going for two years, then for modelling you can drop in Ivy Bridge. I'd get a H77 board, unless you will be overclocking in the future, then a Z77 board.

Well, I guess I can forget about 3d modeling; what would you say is the best graphics card I can get for my current setup(anything will really do, as long as it's better than a Radeon x700)?

 

[regularguy290]

being your processor is an old sempron single core i'd say the 6670 is overkill, but cards don't get too much cheaper without not being much better than current onboard solutions. the 6670 would give you enough power you could transfer it to a newer system.

 

[fould12]

being your processor is an old sempron single core i'd say the 6670 is overkill, but cards don't get too much cheaper without not being much better than current onboard solutions. the 6670 would give you enough power you could transfer it to a newer system.

That's what I was thinking, but my computer has a version 1.0 pci-e slot, while the 6670 is 2.1. Also, of the cards I've seen, the requirement is a minimum of 400W, and my system only has 350W.

 

[regularguy290]

you won't see much of a difference in performance putting a 6670 in a 1.0 slot, they're not all that powerful.

the rest of the system doesn't use a lot of power either so you might get by with that power supply, but i would recommend an upgrade to something more decent:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151072
this seasonic is very efficient and very high quality

i've been thinking and i don't know much about 3d modelling but i know CUDA on nVidia cards are usually better at workloads in most programs. you can maybe get a GT 440:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127571

edit: Antec power supplies are very similar in the internal design and are cheaper:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033