Want a higher quality graphics card

shepsan

shepsan

Member
I do not know if my question belongs in the power supply section or this section of the forum.

The power supply in my desktop is 350W.

I do not game. but want high visual quality for photography and movies.

At present I have a Gigabyte HD6450 1GB Graphics card installed in a PCIEx16 2.0 gen slot.


Can my present PS handle a higher quality Graphics card such as an AMD HD 7750? Or, must I replace my present PS with say a 550W?

If I do not replace the PS, what better card than the HD6450 could I install?
 
For the 7750 you could go as low as the corsair cx430. If your computer is an OEM then that unit is probably only supplying about 250 watts.
 
The 7750 has a pretty low draw. You could probably 'get away with it', although it'd be much more advisable to upgrade the PSU as well.

What kind of games do you play, what performance would you expect from them and what kind of budget? That would help narrow down the card choices.

The R7 250/240 are reasonable lower end cards.
 
I do not play games.

I want high visual quality for still photography and HD movies.

I am confined to a budget of no more than $200.
 
This is coming from a photographer: if you want 'high visual quality' for your photos, I would honestly get yourself a nice monitor. I recently upgraded from a TN matte 1080p display to an LED glossy 1080p display and the colours on my new monitor really pop. They look great. It does make all the difference. The colours in my photos look a lot more saturated and punchy.

The 6450 should power a nice 1080p monitor without any problems so long as you are not playing games, which you aren't.

$200 could get you something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236153

I think that would probably be better use of $200 than buying a new graphics card if you really want to really see the difference in your photo's visuals - which upgrading to a higher-end graphics card is not going to do for you.

As for video playback, the 6450 should be OK with that too, but having a 1080p monitor is going to improve your HD video playback if you don't already have a 1080p display. Again, Blu-ray films look better on my new LED glossy monitor than they did on my TN matte display.
 
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You should be able to do what you want with the current card, then.

If it looks crappy make sure you're using native resolution, also as above you'd want to invest more heavily into a better monitor.
 
Thank you for your suggestion regarding the display monitor.

I presently use a Toshiba 24SL415U 24” HD LCD displaying 1920 X 1080.
 
That's a TV isn't it? TVs don't make the best computer monitors - you probably want a proper monitor such as that ASUS one.

If you want the best picture quality possible, then you definitely want a new monitor and not a new graphics card. I could remove my 5870 and use the onboard video on my motherboard and my photos would look the same because I am still using the same monitor.
 
I checked the Asus monitor and liked what I read.

As a result, I ordered the monitor, a XFX HD7750 graphic card and a Corsair CX600W power supply.

As you stated, it is the monitor that will undoubtedly bring about the visual picture I wish to have. The power supply will allow for future component additions and now the upgraded graphic card should allow for better applications of future programs.

Thanks to all for your assistance.
 
You ordered some good stuff there. Nice purchases. Let us know what you think when it all arrives! :good:

You may or may not need to set the monitor up to your liking when it arrives by the way, eg adjust brightness, contrast and saturation levels.
 
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