1. You are viewing our forum as a guest. For full access please Register. WindowsBBS.com is completely free, paid for by advertisers and donations.

Upgrade Graphic card.

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by neiru, 2012/01/05.

  1. 2012/01/05
    neiru

    neiru Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2011/04/06
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    I want to upgrade my graphics card so I can play more recent games. It doesn't have to be 2011 games, just games from a few years back. This is what I currently have...

    ASRock 770 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

    TP-LINK TL-WN781ND PCI Express Wireless Adapter

    ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX

    SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

    Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply

    PowerColor AX5570 1GBD3-H Radeon HD 5570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

    Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model

    Will upgrade to Windows 7 64 bit. What graphics card would fit with my current computer setup. Also do I need to add more RAM? I'm only using 2 GB of RAM. Someone suggested AMD 6850, 6870, and GTX 460 before. Just want to get peoples opinions. Thank you.
     
    neiru,
    #1
  2. 2012/01/05
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

    Joined:
    2006/09/10
    Messages:
    7,919
    Likes Received:
    511
    Hi neiru, Welcome to Windowsbbs! :)

    Since you have a 450 Watt power supply you won't be able to install an AMD Radeon 6850 or a 6870. The highest AMD Radeon card that you could install with that power supply would be the AMD Radeon 6670. If you want a low profile video card then you could install the AMD Radeon 6570 instead.

    I don't know much about Nvidia's cards but check the power draw requirements of the video cards to make sure that you can run them.

    If you are going to be playing more recent high powered games then yes I would recommend upgrading to 8 GB of RAM as well. You may not use all the RAM now but you will be in a sense 'futureproofing' your computer so you won't have to make as many upgrades later down the road.

    I have the same processor as you, with an AMD Radeon HD 4350 video card and I updated the system to 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and the upgrade in memory does make a difference when playing games and multitasking.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #2


  3. to hide this advert.

  4. 2012/01/05
    hawk22

    hawk22 Geek Member

    Joined:
    2002/01/31
    Messages:
    1,991
    Likes Received:
    26
    All that Evan Omo has been telling you, plus there is one more point that you will need to look at. Many of the new Video cards need two 6 pin power connectors. And yes 450Watt is very low on power for what you have in mind.
    When you check specs of new video cards minimum Watts is normally listed.
    hawk22
     
    hawk22,
    #3
  5. 2012/01/05
    neiru

    neiru Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2011/04/06
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yeah, I only have a 450 PSU and currently have a Radeon 5570 card. Do you know of any better cards that I could still use my 450 PSU to play decent PC games. Games even a few years old. It doesn't have to be that latest game like Skyrim on it's highest settings.
     
    neiru,
    #4
  6. 2012/01/05
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

    Joined:
    2006/09/10
    Messages:
    7,919
    Likes Received:
    511
    Yes. See my previous post.

    If you want to install an AMD Radeon 6850 or a 6870 then you will need to upgrade your power supply.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #5
  7. 2012/01/06
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

    Joined:
    2002/01/11
    Messages:
    3,369
    Likes Received:
    411
    You have not stated your budget so that restricts any recommendations to guesses. Decide how much you want to spend, then see Toms Hardware - Best Graphics Card For the Money, January 2012.

    That said, if you are adding more RAM (highly recommended) and a new graphics card (plus Windows 7 64-bit), I would just plan on getting a new PSU too. I would trust that Antec PSU (one of my preferred brands) with the additional RAM, but probably not with the card's demands on top of that.
     
    Bill,
    #6
  8. 2012/01/06
    neiru

    neiru Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2011/04/06
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    My budget is $100-200.
     
    neiru,
    #7
  9. 2012/01/07
    SpywareDr

    SpywareDr SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

    Joined:
    2005/12/31
    Messages:
    3,752
    Likes Received:
    338
    SpywareDr,
    #8

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Accept Learn More...