Graphics card suggestion needed for HP dc7900

[sid693]

I have a HP Compaq dc7900 Convertible minitower with

Processor: 3Ghz intel core 2 duo
Chipset:Intel® Q45 Express
Power supply:365W power supply – active PFC; 365W 85% efficient power supply – active PFC
Slots:3 full-height PCI
1 full-height PCIe x1
2 full-height PCIe x16

Ram: 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (upgradable to 8)
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: nvidia but not strictly

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1080P HDTV

Planning to buy around thanksgiving ..Budget upto $200


I am looking towards getting a new graphics card for the HDMI support and also the best possible gaming that this system can support ( i know it cant support any real good new graphics cards).

Please suggest.


Thanks

 

[deadlockedworld]

I'd say a new 7750 would be a good choice. You might be able to get away with slightly more, but this is a safe bet and still pretty decent performance. Also, more performance would probably be wasted on the old PC.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102969&name=Desktop-Graphics-Cards

Edit: If you can find it cheap, another 2 gigs of ram might really help that thing out too.


More info:

Best card for $110 - Tom's:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html

Tom's review:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7770-7750-benchmark,3135-16.html

 

[deadlockedworld]

If you let us know what configuration your memory is in (1 stick, 2 stick, 4 stick) you can upgrade that pretty cheap. Also double check to make sure I picked out the right kind ... your PC should say if PC2 6400 is what it takes somewhere on it.

If you have a 2gb stick this would be a good option to addon:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178394&name=Desktop-Memory

If you have 2 1gb sticks then you should just get 2 of these.

 

[sid693]

Right now i have 2 of

1Gb 1Rx8 PC2-6400U .. and I am ready to bump that up as well.

Would GeForce GTX 550 Ti be a good idea?

 

[deadlockedworld]

So you have two of those sticks? How many available slots? Ram should be updated evenly, so depending on what room you have, you could either get 2 more 1gb sticks, or two 2gb sticks.

I wouldn't really want to stress your power supply more than that unless you wanted to get a new one. This really only makes sense if you want to use those parts in your next PC though.

Anandtech has a good June comparison of lower power cards : http://www.anandtech.com/show/5969/zotac-geforce-gt-640-review-

 

[sid693]

Yes I have 2 of those sticks with a total of 4 slots in the machine.
I will update that to 4 or 6 Gig RAM

So according to the Anandtech graph .. GeForce GTX 550 Ti should run fine on my system. If I am correct that can play most of the new games at medium to high res. Or am I expecting too much from my old horse.

 

[deadlockedworld]

If you had a name brand, high quality, power supply I would tell you that you could run a better card, however with a crappy HP stock supply I would not go above the 7750. You need the safety margin, because the unit likely doesn't actually put out anywhere near 365w.

If you have the money, you could go ahead and get a $40-50 power supply, then get any card you want. Granted, a better card will likely be bottle-necked by your processor/memory, but at least you wont have to worry about the computer burning up.

 

[sid693]

Thanks you have been very helpful. I have a few questions.
1. SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 is Low profile card.. any reason you suggested a low profile card as mine is a full size PC
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/en/WF06a/12454-12454-64287-321860-3328898-3784892.html?dnr=1

2. Can you suggest an Nvidia Equivalent graphics card.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Hey,

The one I linked isn't a low profile card its just small. Doesn't matter what brand you get though, there are lots of 7750s to choose from. I just like Sapphire.

Nvidia equivalent is a GTX 650. It uses slightly less power than the 7750 and costs a tiny bit more, but is generally competitive.
Article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297.html

 

[sid693]

Best answer selected by Sid693.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Thanks! Let us know how it goes.