New Vid Card

[Serenity]

Alright, im looking to buy myself a new vid-card. I want to try to stay under $250 if possible, and since I dont know anything about computers, I was hoping you all could make a few suggestions as to how to get the most bang for my buck.

[1701E]

Well I can tell ya now, the tech guys are gonna want/need to know your specs.  Motherboard, and PSU mostly.
For 250$ though most of the best cards open up.


 
   X

[Serenity]

Well I can tell ya now, the tech guys are gonna want/need to know your specs.  Motherboard, and PSU mostly.
For 250$ though most of the best cards open up.


 
   X

AMD Athalon 64 X2
1024MB RAM
320GB HD
NVIDIA GeForce 6150LE right now

[Fulmar]

AMD Athalon 64 X2
1024MB RAM
320GB HD
NVIDIA GeForce 6150LE right now

We need to know your PSU wattage (and more importantly the amperage).  Open up your computer and look for something like this:

[AirFlyer]

That and your motherboard so we know whether you use PCI-E x16 or an older AGP slot.

[Masherbrum]

That and your motherboard so we know whether you use PCI-E x16 or an older AGP slot.

I'm guessing Socket 939 and not AMD2.    I have a Socket 939 in my basement.

[Serenity]

Is there any way I can find that without opening the comp.?

[drdeathx]

ok here is a great list of video cards. You  need to make sure you have over 450w power source for new card. I owned ATI 3870, 4870 x 2 and now own Nvidea GTX280.


Here are and articles on ATI 4800 series:

http://ati.amd.com/products/Radeonhd4800/index.html

http://hothardware.com/Articles/ATI-Radeon-HD-4870-X2--AMD-Back-On-Top/


The 4800 series basically is the best generation featuring GDDR5 which has more bandwith. They truely are the best cards out depending what you compare the too. As long as you stay away from crossfiring 2 cards you should be in good shape. I crossfired 2 3870(512) cards and had problems. ATI may have fixed them. Most reviews are giving 4800 a good thumbs up over Nvidea.

The second link shows the 4870 at $175 but the 4830 just got released for a unbelievable $129 rated best bang for buck. The Nvidea 9800gt x 2 and GTX 280 out perform the 4870 but the are very expensive(over $400). The 4870 x 2 outperforms all cards  and also is over $400. This said at $129 the 4830 is a great buy.

Once again ncheck your power supply or you may easily ruin your card.

Here is a link on power supplies:

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=58&name=Power-Supplies

I am not good at recommending power supplies. Skuzzy is the master. Some burn out easily but I do own a Thermaltake PS and its nice. Look at the link... The Thermaltake 750w with rebate is $99 and if you need to upgrade in the future, 750w would be good choice!

ATI 4830 $129 + Thermaltake 750W PS $99 puts you where you need to be! I am sure other guys will post more info on power supplies. Remember, price can be  a huge result of power supply failing as I understand some are not made very well!

As far as video card goes, I have experience with many models/ Although I own Nvidea GTX280(would not trade it for anything) my recommendation is the 4830. If you do not need power supply the 4870 is better but $50 more you may not need need it.


Good luck!

[1701E]

Is there any way I can find that without opening the comp.?

Do you have a stock manufacturer PC?  Such as Dell, Emachines, HP and so on.  If so a name and make works.
If not, for Motherboard specs a free program such as Everest (other people may have been for this) works.  As for PSU, I'm sure someone else knows how to find out, unless you know the Model #, those always help with finding specs.

[Serenity]

Do you have a stock manufacturer PC?  Such as Dell, Emachines, HP and so on.  If so a name and make works.
If not, for Motherboard specs a free program such as Everest (other people may have been for this) works.  As for PSU, I'm sure someone else knows how to find out, unless you know the Model #, those always help with finding specs.

Yep, a stock HP. HP Pavilion a1710n.

It CLAIMS to have been designed as a build-upon game computer (Didnt come with all the bells and whistles as their gaming comp., but cost about $500 less and could be upgraded to that standard).

[drdeathx]

Power supply spec should be on the unit. Take the side of your case off and check it.

[Fulmar]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00757531&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3340227

Motherboard description      

    * Motherboard manufacturer's name: ASUS A8M2N-LA
    * HP/Compaq name: NodusM3-GL8E

CPU/Processor    

    * Socket: AM2
    * Supports AMD Athlon 64, Athlon 64 X2, and Sempron processors

Front-side bus (FSB)    

    * 2000 MegaTransfers/second

Chipset    

    * GeForce 6150 LE chipset

BIOS features    

    * Award brand system BIOS
    * Keyboard combination to used to enter BIOS: F1

Form factor    

    * Micro-ATX: 9.6 in X 9.6 in

Memory    

    * Four 240-pin DDR2 DIMM sockets
    * Supports PC 4200 (533 MHz) and PC2 5300 (667 MHz) DDR2 DIMMs
    * non-ECC memory only, unbuffered
    * Maximum HP/Compaq approved memory is 4 GB*



   NOTE:    *Actual available memory may be less
Expansion slots    

    * Three PCI
    * One PCI Express x16 graphics

Video graphics    

    * Integrated

I googled your power supply and I believe you have a 300W power supply.  Your integrated video chipsets are never designed for 'real' gaming, especially the Geforce 6150LE.  Your basically going to need to replace your power supply for any video card that is going to be good for gaming.

The good news is 1) you have a PCI-E 16x slot and 2) you have open RAM slots.  If you really want to upgrade your computer, adding 2 x 1gb DDR2 sticks (total computer will be at 3gb) will really help in performance for the least amount of money.  2 x 1gb DDR2 sticks can run about $20 online.  A new power supply (a good brand, non-bargain crap from the back alleys of China) is going to run at least $50-60.  And a new video card is dependent on your budget as well.  I recommend you read this article and use what is recommended on your budget:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2064-2.html

Some cheaper highlights:

PCI Express Interface: $0 to $90
Best PCIe Card For Below $50:

Passable 1024x768 performance in most games with lowered detail

Radeon HD 4350 Codename:    RV630
Process:    65nm
Universal Shaders:    80
Texture Units:    8
ROPs:    4
Memory Bus:    64-bit
Core Speed MHz:    600
Memory Speed MHz:    400 (800 effective)
DirectX / Shader Model    DX 10.1 / SM 4.0

The Radeon 4350 joins the list not because it’s a great gaming card, but because it can be found for only $40, while the 9400 GT starts at $50.

The cheapest true gaming cards are the Radeon 2600 XT and 9500 GT, but with these cards at the $60 price point they are impossible to recommend due to the fact that the $80 4670 and 9600 GSO are so much superior for just a few dollars more.

So, this round, the 4350 gets the nod as a baseline gaming card for playing at 1024x768. Frankly, though, it’s better suited as an HTPC card for video playback, low power use, and 7-channel audio over HDMI.

Best PCIe Card For $80: Tie

Good 1600x1200 performance in most games

Radeon HD 4670 GDDR3 Codename:    RV730
Process:    55nm
Universal Shaders:    320
Texture Units:    32
ROPs:    8
Memory Bus:    128-bit
Core Speed MHz:    750
Memory Speed MHz:    1000 (2000 effective)
DirectX / Shader Model    DX 10.1 / SM 4.0

The Radeon HD 4670 slaps previous generation high-end performance squarely in the jaw of mid-range pricing. With 320 shader processors, this card means business, and will provide awesome 1600x1200 gaming. Compared to the 9600 GSO, its main advantage is a low power requirement. It doesn’t need an external power cable, which for some upgraders is a really important feature.

GeForce 9600 GSO (aka GeForce 8800 GS) Codename:    G92
Process:    65nm
Universal Shaders:    96
Texture Units:    48
ROPs:    12
Memory Bus:    192 or 128-bit
Core Speed MHz:    600
Memory Speed MHz:    900 (1800 effective)
DirectX / Shader Model    DX 10 / SM 4.0

Previously a high-end card crippled and transformed into a high-to-mid-range card, the release of the Radeon HD 4670 has forced the 9600 GSO to a lower price to remain competitive—which it does. It’s an excellent alternative to the 4670, as long as the buyer compares clock speeds, and makes sure they have one of the desirable models (manufacturers seem to be following the reference speeds very loosely).

[BaldEagl]

Here's a link to the benchmark charts at Tomshardware.com

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/3DMark06-v1-1-0-3DMark-Score,794.html

Anything that has CF, X2 or SLI after it is a dual card set-up.  Skip past those to get to the single card benchmarks.

Here's a link to the best video cards for the money at Tomshardware updated for October:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Best-Graphics-Card,2033.html

Use these two links in combination to select a good benchmarking card at a price that fits your budget.

You will need a new power supply as well.  I'd say 450W would be the absolute minimum but more importantly, you'll want it to provide somewhere in the neighborhood of 32-35 combined amps on the 12 volt rails after efficiency reductions.  With PSU's you get what you pay for so stay away from the bargain priced units.

PC Power & Cooling, Thermaltake and OCZ seem to make some decent PSU's.  Many here, myself included, run PCP&C units.  Their 610W PSU might be just the ticket for you ($89):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

Although you could probably get by with this one ($65):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703015

[Serenity]

Alright... um... this is like reading latin... but harder. Lets say I have a max budget of $350. Can someone design something for me? I have no clue what you all are saying so figuring it out myself is nearly impossible.

[1701E]

In simple English:

You need a new Power Supply Unit (PSU) to power the new Video Card (GPU, Graphics Processing Unit).

They have listed links to good PSU's and good GPU's.  Depending on Budget (now known to be 350$) they have different ideas that work.

That sums it up.