Buying new video card, need help

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:10 pm

As the title states, I need a little help here.

I'm going to buy "used" computer from one of my relatives. The computer is about the top end of todays computers, but there is one big flaw: the video card is integrated and pretty bad. And I mean very bad. So, I'm going to buy new video card to it. I don't have specifics of the computer at my hands right now, but it does have PCI (not 100% sure if it's PCI-Express or not, though I suppose it is) slot for new video card.

So, my question is, in terms of quality and prize, which one I should buy? The intent is that I should be able to run recent games properly and hopefully don't have to buy new card soon again (during next 1/2 year to one year at least).

The budget I have set for this card ranges about 300-600€, though the top prize may be higher but not much.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Thu Sep 09, 2010 6:24 am

Anyone?

Okay, I was considering buying ATI Radeon HD 5770 -card. Anyone has any experience about it? Should it be enough considering the requirements I posted earlier?

Gilliatt · Post by **Gilliatt** » Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:44 pm

It's pretty hard to recommend a card without knowing the PC specs. When I changed mine last summer, I knew nothing about the subject, so when a friend of mine explained me the basics, I was unpleasantly surprised to see how low I had to go if I did not want to change other components.

Video cards are very demanding, you need to check the card's specs and requirements and make sure your PC can run it. For example, you might have trouble if you put a card with demands that exceeds your power supply's capacity.

From what you say, it seems the PC you will get is pretty capable, but without the actual specs, it's impossible for us to make a sound recommendation.

Keep us updated.

Darth Gavinius · Post by **Darth Gavinius** » Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:38 am

The important thing really is to check the power supply. There is a risk that to cut costs when building a good PC that they opted for a cheaper 350W power supply - and that probably wont cut it for the top of the range graphics cards, but matters little where integrated graphics chipsets are used.

As for cards... it all comes down to how much you want to spend. I use a an NVidea 9800GT (which is probably getting mid range now) with my configuration and it is very smooth for a spectrum of games... runs classics like Baldur's Gate to modern monsters like ME2 with no problem.

As for brands, ATI cards are usually ahead of the curve in terms of the hardware, but I personally hate the catalyst drivers for ATI. I always use NVidea cards - because in my own opinion, they are faster at correcting flaws in their drivers. In some cases ATI take the Apple or HP approach of... it's not our drivers it's obviously just incompatible with you.

A point to note is also the OS you are using... if you have windows 7 it is probably best to buy one that is directX 11 compatible for futureproofing... though many games developers are still reluctant to abandon DirectX 9 - afterall XP may be outdated but it is still the best OS platform for playing games imho.

sesobebo · Post by **sesobebo** » Fri Sep 10, 2010 5:01 am

I think three key items need answering:

1. What motherboard is in that computer (so we can know if it has pci-e slot and how many of them, and what kind of chip set it has)?

2. What resolution are You running games at (do You have a modest 1280x1024 monitor, or perhaps a humongous 2560x1600 screen)?

3. As stated above, what power supply the system has?

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Fri Sep 10, 2010 10:16 am

Kipi wrote:Anyone?

Okay, I was considering buying ATI Radeon HD 5770 -card. Anyone has any experience about it? Should it be enough considering the requirements I posted earlier?

I have one of these. Love the card. Runs anything I throw at it (ME1 & 2, Fallout 3, Oblivion) at high settings (1440x900) without problems, forces Anti-Aliasing with ME1 & 2 and Oblivion without loosing a step.

However, the drivers could be better, and 2d performance goes up and down with each new release.

I have the card in a system with an AMD Athlon II x3 435, 4 gb ram, and WinXP.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 10:58 pm

Thanks for the replies.

I don't have the specs of the computer yet, so can not answer the questions about motherboard and power supply yet.

As for the monitor, well, I'm using one 1280*1024 monitor, but I do have huge 52" plasma tv which which supports much higher resolutions. But I*m happy with using the monitor.

The computer has Win7 Ultimate as OS. Though the card I was thinking does support DIrectX 11.

chrisadam2 · Post by **chrisadam2** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:14 am

Selecting a video card upgrade can be an intimidating task. Unless you've kept up with all the GPU announcements and performance reports, it's practically impossible to know which cards are worth buying. Graphics processing units, like CPUs, improve year after year, and that means there's a staggering selection of graphics cards available to choose from and retailers just love to place obsolete cards right alongside the latest and greatest.

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sesobebo · Post by **sesobebo** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:38 am

On that monitor the 5770 should do just fine (although with 300-600e budget You could get the very best graphic cards vendors have to offer). I'd wager that it would almost certainly slot into Your motherboard (as almost all motherboards these days have pci-e slots) and You probably wouldn't need to get a more powerful power supply. probably (around 550W should do to be safe).
It would still be prudent to make sure of the specs.

And here's a handy guide that might be worth reading.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:16 am

Thank you very much sesobebo!

That site does have more or less every info I need for my decision.

Okay, after checking the site, instead of the one I mentioned earlier I'm thinking of getting GeForce GTX 470. In one local net store it costs about 330€, so I think that's very good prize.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Tue Oct 26, 2010 11:42 pm

Small update to those who are interested.

Decided to buy GTX480 instead of GTX470, as the price was not much higher (around 400€).

Now, the card finally arrived yesterday. Bad thing is, my PSU doesn't have correct power cable and only has one Molex connector, so I can't use the molex adapter which came with the package as it requires two of those, while I have only one (don't ask me why, the place where the computer was originally bought claimed that the power supply is powerful enough). So, I found out that, unless I'm turning some heavy HD stuff running I should be fine with using Y-cable which turns one 4-pin Molex to two 4-pin Molex, and I should be able to plug the power cable of the card to that with the adapter. Sadly there was none in any local stores so I had to go and order the from internet (and if I had knewn this problem beforehand, I could have ordered the cable when I ordered the card, which would mean one package and I would be using the card right now).

The positive side, I now know a bit more about video cards and the requirements when buying one.

One question though: What would be the order of install considering I have integrated video card? I know how to do the physical installation of the card to the slot, but I'm more interested about drivers. Do I need to remove the old drivers? Any fiddling with BIOS? I'm asking this because I have found several guides which differs from each other especially when speaking of uninstalling the old drivers and fiddling with BIOS.

Oh, and before anyone says anything, I'm going to buy new PSU to the computer, just to be on the safe side. But that has to wait till my next paycheck and I until that I just want to get the card work. And I have to be extra careful with that as I have to be sure that the new PSU is can be connected to the devices inside the computer...

Gilliatt · Post by **Gilliatt** » Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:30 am

When I changed mine, I went to the PC manufacturer's support page and found detailed instructions. So I suggest you check yours.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:00 am

Okay, went to local pc store today and bought new PSU: Corsair HX650W...

Installed the PSU, it works. Installed the GTX 480 and...
It works!! No fried PSU, GPU or motherboard. Now, time to install Fallout: New Vegas...

Thanks everybody about the hints and guides!

Diksha · Post by **Diksha** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 6:09 am

Kipi wrote:Okay, went to local pc store today and bought new PSU: Corsair HX650W...

Installed the PSU, it works. Installed the GTX 480 and...
It works!! No fried PSU, GPU or motherboard. Now, time to install Fallout: New Vegas...

Thanks everybody about the hints and guides!

Congrats buddy and enjoy gaming