Im looking for a new graphics card. I have the Nvidia 9800 GT.
a few things I need to know. is there anyway to get a cash value back by trading in a video card somewhere? do stores do that?
Second, ive been looking at this card: [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858&cm_re=radeon_hd_5770-_-14-102-858-_-Product[/URL]
But im not sure how long that will last me as far as top notch cards go. Im also limited on funds so saving up that money could take a few weeks.
What do you guys suggest as far as video cards go. The rest of my setup is pretty golden for now. dual core 2.9ghz cpu, 4 gigs of ram.
I mainly want a DX11 card, where I can run games at full without any framerate problems (dragon age, for example, runs at the lowest settings with STILL some framerate problems... Which sucks D:)
Power supply? Motherboard? Specifically what dual core?
that card isn't going to be much of an upgrade
you'll need to go higher if you want a really noticeable difference
what resolution are you playing at
My power supply isnt a problem. it will support enough.
My motherboard...is... i will have to check. any way of finding the motherboard without restarting the computer? its an Asus I know that.
The CPU is AMD athlon 64 x2 dual core processor 5600. 2 CPUS at 2.9ghz
I usually run my games at 1600x900.
My desktop is 1680x1050
[I]What is the power supply?[/I] Don't know? Go inside the computer and take a picture of the label attached to it.
That CPU will be a bottleneck for much more than a 9800GT.
[QUOTE=ferrus;20233163][I]What is the power supply?[/I] Don't know? Go inside the computer and take a picture of the label attached to it.
That CPU will be a bottleneck for much more than a 9800GT.[/QUOTE]
No label on my Power supply... if it matters i built this computer from scratch, not pre built.
Any other way to figure out my power supply? Also. Bottlenecked for much more than 9800, meaning It supports a much higher card?
[QUOTE=TheRipper12;20233275]No label on my Power supply... if it matters i built this computer from scratch, not pre built.[/QUOTE]
that makes it far more likely there will be a sticker
make sure you check every side of the PSU
the sticker will look similar to this:
[img]http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/17-159-021-02.JPG[/img]
awesome. it was on the other side, against the wall of the case -.-
[url]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/4361/photokx.jpg[/url]
little bit of dust... XD just cleaned that off....
[QUOTE=TheRipper12;20233275]No label on my Power supply... if it matters i built this computer from scratch, not pre built.
Any other way to figure out my power supply? Also. Bottlenecked for much more than 9800, meaning It supports a much higher card?[/QUOTE]
I mean anything more powerful will be let down by the CPU, because it is now quite old and slow.
[QUOTE=ferrus;20233827]I mean anything more powerful will be let down by the CPU, because it is now quite old and slow.[/QUOTE]
So id need a new CPU as well. Joy :P any suggestions? im trying to stay relativly cheap...
Need to know what motherboard you have.
[url]http://www.piriform.com/speccy[/url]
That power supply is too weak for high end cards.
[QUOTE=ferrus;20233978]Need to know what motherboard you have.
[URL]http://www.piriform.com/speccy[/URL]
That power supply is too weak for high end cards.[/QUOTE]
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M3N78 PRO (Socket AM2 )
bummer.... Looks like im going to be needing quite a bit more than I expected...
Possible CPU upgrades (may need to flash the BIOS):
Dual
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681&cm_re=athlon_250-_-19-103-681-_-Product[/url]
Quad
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103704[/url]
[QUOTE=ferrus;20234190]Possible CPU upgrades:
Dual
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681&cm_re=athlon_250-_-19-103-681-_-Product[/URL]
Quad
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103704[/URL][/QUOTE]
Alright. Both are in price range... However, if I get the quad Ill either need a less expensive video card, or wait longer to get a videocard... and power supply.
What do you suggest? will i see any change if i were to upgrade just the CPU for now?
Im assuming the quad will last me much longer.
[QUOTE=TheRipper12;20233506]awesome. it was on the other side, against the wall of the case -.-
[URL]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/4361/photokx.jpg[/URL]
little bit of dust... XD just cleaned that off....[/QUOTE]
Ooh...a 500 watt... >_<
You're not in a much better position than I was a month ago before I upgraded to MY new custom machine, and I had a 600 watt.
You see those numbers under the voltages (the big "V"s)? They stand for how many amps are on each voltage rail on your machine. Your computer components each draw power from ONLY ONE of those rails. This means that the "#watt" rating in the title of whatever PSU you buy can be misleading, because the amps could be distributed everywhere.
For instance, my card is an 8800gt, and the box tells me it requires a MINIMUM of 22 amps on the 12 volt rail. My old machine's 600 watt had three 12 volt rails, and only had 18 amps per, meaning I was running my old system under-volted, which can lead to instability. When I figured this out, it explained why when I removed the 8800GT, my old problems of the computer taking forever to shut down, and when shut down would turn back on BY ITSELF, went away.
While I don't know if the 9800gt is more or less power optimized than it's hungry older brother, still cards since the 8800gt tend to consume tons of power. Your little 500 watt there only has 22 amps on a single 12 volt rail. If you're going to upgrade to a more powerful, and potentially more power-consuming card, you're going to need to get a much better power supply.
I'd go on newegg.com and look up PSU's. A good place to start is sorting them according to highest ratings. Again, you're looking for amps, not watts. Check the product specifications to see things like "12V@60a" though it may not look EXACTLY like that...
[QUOTE=J-Dude;20234287]Ooh...a 500 watt... >_<
You're not in a much better position than I was a month ago before I upgraded to MY new custom machine, and I had a 600 watt.
You see those numbers under the voltages (the big "V"s)? They stand for how many amps are on each voltage rail on your machine. Your computer components each draw power from ONLY ONE of those rails. This means that the "#watt" rating in the title of whatever PSU you buy can be misleading, because the amps could be distributed everywhere.
For instance, my card is an 8800gt, and the box tells me it requires a MINIMUM of 22 amps on the 12 volt rail. My old machine's 600 watt had three 12 volt rails, and only had 18 amps per, meaning I was running my old system under-volted, which can lead to instability. When I figured this out, it explained why when I removed the 8800GT, my old problems of the computer taking forever to shut down, and when shut down would turn back on BY ITSELF, went away.
While I don't know if the 9800gt is more or less power optimized than it's hungry older brother, still cards since the 8800gt tend to consume tons of power. Your little 500 watt there only has 22 amps on a single 12 volt rail. If you're going to upgrade to a more powerful, and potentially more power-consuming card, you're going to need to get a much better power supply.
I'd go on newegg.com and look up PSU's. A good place to start is sorting them according to highest ratings. Again, you're looking for amps, not watts. Check the product specifications to see things like "12V@60a" though it may not look EXACTLY like that...[/QUOTE]
Does my motherboard restrict my PSU? I know it does for video cards and cpu's but not sure about PSU's
[QUOTE=ferrus;20234427]No.
Example: [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016&Tpk=bp%20550[/URL][/QUOTE]
Good price. Would that be a worth it power supply? would that bottleneck me in the long run?
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003[/url] Is also good
It's a very cost effective power supply, the Antec one. It would last you through future upgrades.
that's a raidmax 500 you have right now
[QUOTE=ferrus;20234545][URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003[/URL] Is also good
It's a very cost effective power supply, the Antec one. It would last you through future upgrades.[/QUOTE]
Im not sure I understand completely. Mine currecntly is a 500w. thats a 450w. What makes that one better? the Voltage?
Alright. Assuming i get the Antec PSU, the quad Processor. What Video cards would you suggest I look at?
As was said before the Watts alone do not govern the performance of the PSU. The Corsair 450 is a much more capable PSU than the 500W Raidmax.
For the card it's just a matter of how much you want to spend really. You could get a 4870, 5770, 4890, 5850, 5830 (released now/soon).
[QUOTE=ferrus;20235094]As was said before the Watts do not govern the performance of the PSU. The Corsair 450 is a much more capable PSU than the 500W Raidmax.[/QUOTE]
Alright. So im guessing that this will lead me to a radeon hd 48xx rrather than a 47xx to see a noticable difference.
Id love to actually stick with Nvidia, They are my favored brand, however after the 9800GTX i lost track in what is good and what isnt :P... so Im unsure of my Options
Could you put your favouritsm aside and get an ATi? Ultimately they both do the same thing - display an image on your screen. The primary concern is usually how well it performs in relation to its cost, not what colour the sticker is. nVidia cards are not cost effective at the moment, thus ATi is all you will find as a suggestion here.
That aside, it's a matter of how much you want to spend. You could get a 4870, 5770, 4890, 5850, 5830 (released now/soon).
[QUOTE=TheRipper12;20234752]Im not sure I understand completely. Mine currecntly is a 500w. thats a 450w. What makes that one better? the Voltage?[/QUOTE]
No, voltage means the frequency of the power drawn. Certain devices prefer a certain voltage. Graphics cards rely heavily on the 12 volt. Like I said, you want amps. And also like I said, the Watts don't matter, because they can be misleading.
The proposed PSU upgrade is +3.3V@20A,+5V@20A,+12V@33A,-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@2.5A
That means your 12 volt has 33 amps to itself. Your current 500 watt only has 22 amps on the 12 volt. That 12 volt is the most important thing for graphics cards. It's better to look for a higher watt to start looking for the right supply, but the wattage only needs to be in the same general ballpark. Your PSU may be a 500 watt, but that 450 watt has more of it's power in the places you need it and less where you need it less, or weren't likely to use it at all.
Personally, I future-proofed my machine for power needs: [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&cm_re=PSU-_-17-139-006-_-Product[/URL]
+3.3V@30A,+5V@28A,+12V@60A,
-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@3.0A
I still drool..."you are so beautiful...to me..."
Okay, so a 750 watt may be a little excessive, but I don't plan on keeping that 8800gt forever, not when it's already starting to feel overshadowed by it's 8400 gigahertz dual core (4200 per core) and 8 gigabytes of DDR2.
[quote]Could you put your favouritsm aside and get an ATi?[/quote]
ATI sux... Intel and nVidia 4ever
Why does ATi suck?
So im guessing a 200 or less card isn't going to get me noticeable differences?... or worth it in the long run?
Yeah that's about right. I wouldn't get anything less than a 5850 to replace a 9800GT, personally.
[editline]08:47PM[/editline]
If I am not mistaken, the BP 550 has 3 +12V rails: [url]http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product1.php?id=NzA=[/url] Which when combined equal 69 Amps? What do you think J-Dude?
Sir, your CPU is bottle-necking your GPU. Replace it first before making any unnecessary updates!
He is.
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