Video Card upgrade for Asus M2N SLI-Deluxe

[schristman73]

Hello,
I am in the unfortunate spot of not being able to build a new rig, so I am doing an intermediate upgrade.

I have an Asus M2N SLI - Deluxe that will soon be running a AMD Phenom X II 945 (first upgrade).

I want to do graphics card upgrade as well. I realize I only have a PCI-Express 1.0, but also understand that most 2.0 and 3.0 cards will work. Need something that will not require additional power. I was thinking a Radeon 7750. Thoughts?

Thanks for the helpl

 

[clutchc]

You are correct, PCIe gfx cards are backward compatible. And, it sounds like you have the situation under control. The HD 7750 1GB card is about the best card available that doesn't require a separate power cable. It will provide a good gaming experience at 1440x900 and below with high settings. At 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 you will have to reduce most eye candy settings, though... or reduce the resolution.

 

[iceclock]

whats ur budget?

7700 would be better bang for bucks.

 

[schristman73]

Thank you for the help. That was what I suspected, but wanted to confirm.

So the next question is, 1 GB or 2 GB? I read conflicting data on the benefits.

Thanks....

 

[iceclock]

2 gigs isnt fully utilize for a budget card such as 7700, ud have to get a 7850 or bigger to see a decent usage of 2gigs of vram

 

[clutchc]

+1^
The extra VRAM usually is only required for displays/multiple displays that need to address a lot of pixels and texels. I have been running a pair of 1280MB cards for quite sometime at 1920x1080 and have not 'yet' been hampered by limited VRAM... even in games that are 'suppose' to need 2GB. What rez do you game at?

 

[iceclock]

yes what rezzy u play @t?

 

[schristman73]

Playing on a LG L204WT at 1680 x 1050 using a NVIDIA GEFORCE 7600 GT graphics card.

 

[clutchc]

Keep in mind that you will need to have a late enough BIOS to support the Phenom IIX4 945. According to the web pages for that board, that would be version 1501 or later. And oddly, they only list the 95W version of the 945 even though the board handles other 125W processors: http://www.asus.com/Motherboard/M2NSLI_Deluxe/#support_CPU
The Phenom IIX4 945 came in 3 flavors, 2 of which were 95W and one of which was 125W. I think you're fine in either case, but do you know which of these is yours?
125W HDX945FBK4DGI / HDX945FBGIBOX: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Phenom%20II%20X4%20945%20-%20HDX945FBK4DGI%20%28HDX945FBGIBOX%29.html
95W HDX945WFK4DGI / HDX945WFGIBOX: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Phenom%20II%20X4%20945%20-%20HDX945WFK4DGI%20%28HDX945WFGIBOX%29.html
95W HDX945WFK4DGM / HDX945WFGMBOX: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Phenom%20II%20X4%20945%20-%20HDX945WFK4DGM%20%28HDX945WFGMBOX%29.html

The HD 7750 might have a problem keeping up smooth frame rates at maximum settings in some games at 1680x1050. But compared to your 7600 GT, it will be simply amazing. Enjoy.

 

[iceclock]

+1 to mr.clutch

 

[schristman73]

So part one of the upgrade is complete..

- Upgrade to Asus M2N SLI Deluxe Bios 5001 (not without pain ) )
- Sapphire HD 7750 Graphics Card
- New Asus DVD R/RW (old one sh*t the bed)

All seems to be happy happy joy joy so far.

Waiting for new CPU next week AMD 945 95Watt version....

 

[iceclock]

excellent

 

[clutchc]

- Upgrade to Asus M2N SLI Deluxe Bios 5001 (not without pain ) )

LOL... Yes, I used to have one of those older Asus Nvidia chipset boards (650i SLI) when the C2Q processors were the hot item. Back then, BIOS updates weren't as 'user friendly' to do as they are today. So don't feel too bad. The main thing is that you got the BIOS updated and it still works.
Are you going to be using the stock AMD 4-heat pipe cooler?

 

[schristman73]

I foolishly tried to update the bios using the Asus tool in windows. Rebooted and....the black screen of despair. Finally pulled the battery and cleared the CMOS and I was back in business.

I did the update to 5001 using the EZ flash tool and a USB drive - much better.

Then did the graphics card - no drama there

Good question on the cooler. I am not a big overclocker, but I was considering grabbing a rocketfish cooler from bestbuy for $20 (less the $10 giftcard I have). I am not interested in blowing a lot of cash on this.

It gets good reviews and appears to be a rebrand.

Thoughts?

 

[clutchc]

If you don't plan on O/Cing, the stock AMD cooler with the 4 heat pipes is more than enough. In fact, I've used it for some mild O/Cs and it did OK. Of course, if you are getting the OEM version of the processor it won't come with a cooler. Either way, you should be in good shape.

You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much of a good little gamer you have put together. Enjoy.

 

[iceclock]

this is true. but throw out the idea of overclocking on stock cooler,thats just dumb.

 

[schristman73]

Agreed.

How about with the rocketfish cooler. This is really a rebranded coolermaster hyper tx3.

 

[iceclock]

have no clue. id recommand the tx3 evo or the hyper 212 evo.

 

[clutchc]

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply I was suggesting the OP O/C with the stock cooler. I just meant to imply that it would be more than sufficient for stock usage. (but noisy)

 

[iceclock]

yes i agree. but even at stock the cooling is mediocre imo.

will work but tends to overheat at times and have a higher decibel level.

 

[schristman73]

Science project complete. Phenom II X4 945 with 95W TDP. Installed and working nice-nice.