need graphics card help.

B

boyesreef

New Member
i have an HP a6750f pavilion, i want to play the games i bought the computer to play ie: grand theft auto 4, and the like. with my current graphics card (ATI Radeon HD 3200) i can play it, but on the lowest settings on EVERYTHING! its choppy, pixelated and just annoying at this point. im looking at a XFX - ATI Radeon HD 5550 1GB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card but im not sure if its the one for me, as i know very little about this stuff.

specs of system are as fallows:

AMD Phenom X4 9650 Quad-Core Processor

8GB system memory

750 GB hard drive

ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics card

Windows Vista Home Premium

im only looking to spend like $150 on a new card including taxes.

THANKS ALL!!
 
A quick Google check indicates that your Pavilion has a 300W power supply which will limit your choices to lower end cards that cost significantly less than your budget of $150. Some candidates are HD 5670 (draws 64Watts) about $80, HD 5570 (39W) about $75, HD 5550 (39W) about $70, and HD 5450 (19W) about $30. I'd be fairly confident in the 5570 with your existing PSU. The 5670 at 64 watts - I'd think would be pushing the limits - Might work - Might not. Plus, there might be better choices on the nVidia side. I'm not sure.

Your alternative is to replace your PSU with something like the Thermaltake TR2 W0379RU 500W for about $40 with Rebate - Then you could get into some much better cards, BUT, that would only leave $110 after a new PSU - Not really enough to take full advantage of a PSU upgrade. Therein lies your dilemma.

If you're willing to entertain the idea of a PSU replacement and to go over your original budget, you might consider the GIGABYTE GV-R577UD-1GD Radeon HD 5770 for $120 with rebate, though, I'd really rather recommend a GTX460 - A very nice card for the money with prices starting at about $140.

There, are you thoroughly confused now?
 
surprisingly i caught most of that. my big issue is i dont want to have issues with software. hardware i can handle. so if i want to do anything major upgrade wise, i need a powerhouse update? sounds like major surgery.
 
Nothing like some benchmarks to put things in perspective. Looking at PassMark GPU Benchmarks, (http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php), your 3200 graphics score 106 G3D Marks and is ranked 576 on the list, a 5570 scores 748 G3D and ranks 106. A 5770 scores 1590 G3D and ranks 34th, and a GTX 460 scores 2321 and ranks 12th.
 
You will see no performance increase with a more powerful power supply. Re-link to the PSU your considering - I can't see it. The PSU is the single most important component to buy quality. Seriously, there's a lot of garbage PSUs on the market with power ratings that really don't mean much. Best to stick with brands such as Corsair, Thermaltake, Seasonic, Antec, Silverstone, OCZ.

EDIT,

Here's some to browse thru. I mentioned the Thermaltake specifically because I think it's the best 500W choice for relatively cheap.
 
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Out of those, I'd grab this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371020

It's more expensive but has a big rebate, and a 10% off promo for the next couple of days. (That's about $8) Total price with shipping and rebate would be ~$53.

I recommend that one not because I own it but because that platform is very well designed. It's the same design as the 650W and 750W versions, with only a few parts changed, so most of it is under stressed, and the performance of this design is great. Here's a review for the 750W verison...there aren't any for the 550W, sadly, but again they're mostly the same unit.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=140
 
i ended up purchasing a firefish 600W power supply and the visiontek Radeon HD 5550 1GB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card. im happy with the display, but my processing speed is gone. i dont think its related, i think it may just be its getting old and the processors are reaching their end.
 
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