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Can I upgrade my Graphic card only in my current setup? Recommendations please!

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  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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August 18, 2014 6:21:47 AM

Hello fellas!

I've been looking to upgrade my graphics card, as a co-worker told me that the other specs of my PC are fine.

Currently, I have an NVIDIA 275 GTX, and it's a bit subpar and annoying since i casually I get minifreezes that can last about anywhere from 1-15 seconds with black screen flashing and receive an error message "your display driver has stopped working but has recovered". I tried to fix it many times but I think I might as well just get a new graphic card now.

I was thinking about getting either NVidia 660 GTX or 760 GTX. I was wondering 2 things -

1) Can my current spec hold either cards well?

2) Do I need to upgrade something else for either card to work on my system? for instance, higher power supply? maybe better coolers?


This is my system spec:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
Manufacturer Intel
Speed 2.8 GHz
Number of Cores 8
CPU ID BFEBFBFF000106A5
Family 06
Model 1A
Stepping 5
Revision 11
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275
Manufacturer NVIDIA
Chipset GeForce GTX 275
Dedicated Memory 896 MB
Total Memory 3.6 GB
Pixel Shader Version 4.0
Vertex Shader Version 4.0
Hardware T & L Yes
Vendor ID 10DE
Device ID 05E6
Plug and Play ID VEN_10DE&DEV_05E6&SUBSYS_0EFB19F1&REV_A1
Driver Version 9.18.13.3221
Memory 6.2 GB
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition Service Pack 2 (build 6002), 64-bit
Service Pack 2
Size 64 Bit
Edition
Version 6.0.6002
Locale 040D
BIOS Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Version Award Software International, Inc. FB
Manufacturer Award Software International, Inc.
Date 05/04/09

Motherboard:

Gigabyte Technology
Model EX58-UD3R
Chipset Intel x58 rev. 12
Southbridge Intel 82801JR rev 00
Graphic interfact PCI Express x16


Can anyone help me please?

Thanks a bunch! :) 


More about : upgrade graphic card current setup recommendations

August 18, 2014 6:29:04 AM

This setup should be fine to run a 6/760 as long as you have a >500W PSU. I would personally go for a 760 as it pretty much matches the performance of the 670 for the same price bracket of a 660!
August 18, 2014 6:32:14 AM

The GTX 275 is a very weak card by modern standards, but the crash is most likely because the driver needs to be updated.

That said, an upgrade to a GTX 660 or 760 is still a good idea. If gaming is your thing, the 760 would be the better choice. Your motherboard supports PCIe 2.0 x16, so there's no bottleneck or compatibility to worry about.

The only cause for concern may be your power supply. Which one do you have?
Related resources
August 18, 2014 6:33:50 AM

Grand!

I think I have a 500 PSU. Would it suffice?

This PC is like 5 years old, so I can't really recall. Is there somehow to check it without opening the cover?
August 18, 2014 6:34:55 AM

By the way, the crash has been happening for the last... 1.5-2 years. I updated the drivers many times, and it never helped.

What happens is a black screen flashes and everything hangs for a few seconds. Sometimes the picture gets distorted and then back to itself.
August 18, 2014 6:37:49 AM

A 500W PSU may suffice but it depends on which one it is exactly. A lot of cheap PSUs make wattage claims that they don't deliver on.
August 18, 2014 6:39:33 AM

an upgrade to 8gb of ram, a GTX 760 and a SSD to install windows on to and youll have a very quick system :) 
August 18, 2014 6:40:32 AM

Ok So I opened it up - it says 600W "total power", OCZ600SXS
Is this correct?
August 18, 2014 6:46:15 AM

Should I be worried about cooling too if I upgrade my system with GTX 760, or is it supposed to be fine just the way it is now?
August 18, 2014 6:49:27 AM

The total combined wattage for the +12V rail (which the graphics card uses) is 580W, so you'll be fine with either a GTX 660 or 760.
August 18, 2014 6:53:03 AM

Great!!!!! Thanks a bunch. The reason I'm looking right now to upgrade only my GC is because I wanna buy and install it myself.

Any recommendation on a good fair prices site? ^^?
August 18, 2014 7:04:41 AM

And by the way, so I can simply buy the 760 and install it in my PC instead of my current 275 GTX and expect it to run, right? Nothing else special to do?
August 18, 2014 7:06:03 AM

Well, I'm in the UK, so I can only recommend places here. I buy most of my components from Dabs.
August 18, 2014 7:18:37 AM

Haha, fair enough. ;) 
Considering order it online or buying it local, that's for another thread though.

So I can expect to buy a 760 and install it instead of the current 275 without any other special stuff and it should be fine?
August 18, 2014 7:27:49 AM

www.newegg.com is the most commonly used one by techies. Vido cards are usually marked up quite a bit in stores over online prices. Most components are. The only time you will see competitive prices in retail store is for full systems.

As long as your case will hold the card, it will be a plug and play swap for the nVidia card you have now.
August 18, 2014 7:59:52 AM

Awesome, thanks a bunch. You guys here are great!!!
!