Best graphics card for this setup

E

eli

[H]ard|Gawd
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A few years ago my family ordered a dell inspiron 530 with a Core 2 duo E4500 4gigs ram, foxconn G33mo2 motherboard. I'm looking to outfit it with the best graphics card possible, but the motherboard only supports pci express 16x, instead of pci express 2.0 16x.

The best pci express 16x card I found on newegg was this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161203

I'm pretty sure I'm going to order it, but I was looking for something a little better (something in the $150-$200 range).

Any Ideas?

Thank you
 
Any PCI-E video card will work.

At ~$150 I recommend the HD4870 or GTX260

At just under $200 the HD4890 is a great video card.
 
Looking at Newegg, I think that's the best PCI Express x16 card available.
 
how much slower would a pci express 2.0 16x card like the hd4898 run in a pci express 16x slot? would there be much of a bottleneck?
 
eli said:
how much slower would a pci express 2.0 16x card like the hd4898 run in a pci express 16x slot? would there be much of a bottleneck?
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Not much, 0-15%??? Not sure it will show any difference, but the older motherboard chipset may be slower so I would say up to 15%. Main difference between PCI-E 1.0 and 2.0 is bandwidth regulation and I do not believe any current single card uses up PCI-E 1.0 bandwidth available. Now if you buy 2 HD4890 for crossfire, that will probably be limited by PCI-E 1.0 available bandwidth.

Being a DELL machine I do worry about the include power supply. I doubt it will power these higher end video cards.

Probably better off buying a HD4850 or GTS250/9800GTX+ for ~$100 and a new power supply for $40-70 (Corsair 450w would be ideal for this system with new video card).

The HD4850 or GTS250/9800GTX+ is already like 5 times bettter than the 2600XT
 
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I thought 2.0 was just a power thing, and an x16 slot is an x16 slot is an x16 slot?

and wow dude, do not spend 100 bux on a 2600xt, talk about a waste of cash.
 
stealthy123 said:
I thought 2.0 was just a power thing, and an x16 slot is an x16 slot is an x16 slot?

and wow dude, do not spend 100 bux on a 2600xt, talk about a waste of cash.
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I've been out of the hardware scene for a long time, but now that I know I can run a pci e 2.0 in my computer, I'm looking for something a little better.

What kind of card do you guys think i can run in this system without getting too much of a bottleneck?

I'd like to play call of duty 4 and the new wolfenstein game at 1280x1024...wonder if i could do it on this system with a sub $200 graphics card?

thanks guys
 
eli said:
I've been out of the hardware scene for a long time, but now that I know I can run a pci e 2.0 in my computer, I'm looking for something a little better.

What kind of card do you guys think i can run in this system without getting too much of a bottleneck?

I'd like to play call of duty 4 and the new wolfenstein game at 1280x1024...wonder if i could do it on this system with a sub $200 graphics card?

thanks guys
Click to expand...

At 1280x1024 the HD4850 or GTS250/9800GTX+ will work great. They cost about $100. But again I would definitely upgrade your power supply in that dell machine at the same time.

Not sure if the DELL bios will let you overclock that cpu at all. Its not needed, but it would help to get your cpu in the 2.6ghz + range.
 
yeah, i just checked the power supply and its a "Bestec 300 watter". I have an antec true power 430 on my old computer....think that'll be enough?
 
ClearM4 said:
Not sure if the DELL bios will let you overclock that cpu at all. Its not needed, but it would help to get your cpu in the 2.6ghz + range.
Click to expand...

The Dell BIOS can't overclock at all. Only option for overclocking would be to do the BSEL mod.

The 430w Antec TP should be fine for GTS250/9800GTX+.
 
ClearM4 said:
At 1280x1024 the HD4850 or GTS250/9800GTX+ will work great. They cost about $100. But again I would definitely upgrade your power supply in that dell machine at the same time.

Not sure if the DELL bios will let you overclock that cpu at all. Its not needed, but it would help to get your cpu in the 2.6ghz + range.
Click to expand...

this, the 430 will power a 4850 nicely.
 
eli said:
I have an antec true power 430 on my old computer....think that'll be enough?
Click to expand...

450 said:
The 430w Antec TP should be fine for GTS250/9800GTX+.
Click to expand...

Valset said:
this, the 430 will power a 4850 nicely.
Click to expand...

I'd be a bit more hesitant in using that PSU:

The Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series were well known for their above average death rates due to a poor choice in caps and cooling design. In more specific terms, Antec/CWT specified/used caps that did not respond well to heat. Unfortunately, Antec made the decision to have the PSU fan only ramp at really high temps in an effort to keep the PSU quiet. However, just medium to high temps were enough to screw up the caps so really high temps were murderous. Over time, this degraded the quality and performance of those PSU series.

So I recommend replacing the PSU, especially if you hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise coming from the PSU. However, do note that the Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series had a three year warranty. So if you do hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise, that's enough grounds to RMA the PSU.

Then again that TP is tons better than the shitty Bestec.
 
Danny Bui said:
I'd be a bit more hesitant in using that PSU:

The Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series were well known for their above average death rates due to a poor choice in caps and cooling design. In more specific terms, Antec/CWT specified/used caps that did not respond well to heat. Unfortunately, Antec made the decision to have the PSU fan only ramp at really high temps in an effort to keep the PSU quiet. However, just medium to high temps were enough to screw up the caps so really high temps were murderous. Over time, this degraded the quality and performance of those PSU series.

So I recommend replacing the PSU, especially if you hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise coming from the PSU. However, do note that the Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series had a three year warranty. So if you do hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise, that's enough grounds to RMA the PSU.

Then again that TP is tons better than the shitty Bestec.
Click to expand...

QFT! I would pick up a 4770 (assuming you can find one) or, if you can't find that, 4850 with a Corsair 400w or 450w PSU. Only use that TP if you have to.
 
Corsair 400CX PSU $43.24 after mail-in rebate, free shipping. Good quality for low price; only real complaint is that it has only one 6-pin PCI-E power connector, but that is no problem for the card I recommend:

eVGA 9800GTX+ about $123 after mail-in rebate and shipping, includes free Call Of Duty: World At War game, requires only one 6-pin PCI-E power connector. eVGA's 9800GTX+ seems functionally the same as their GTS 250 (both are the short 9.5" cards), except that the 9800GTX+ has a lifetime warranty while the similarly priced eVGA GTS 250 has a 2 year warranty. Remember to register the card at evga.com or your warranty reverts to a 1-year warranty.

Total: $167

Don't worry about putting a PCI-Express 2.0 card into a PCI-Express x16 1.x slot; the cards are fully backwards compatible, and no single-GPU card maxes out a PCI-Express x16 slot. A 4870X2 or GTX295 might, but certainly not the cards you're looking at.

Getting a GTX260 or ATi 4870 would be overkill, because your CPU probably won't keep up. The 9800GTX+/GTS250 or the ATi 4850 would be the maximum card that should go in there.

The Bestec power supply is crap and must be discarded regardless of what video card you put in there.
 
Danny Bui said:
I'd be a bit more hesitant in using that PSU:

The Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series were well known for their above average death rates due to a poor choice in caps and cooling design. In more specific terms, Antec/CWT specified/used caps that did not respond well to heat. Unfortunately, Antec made the decision to have the PSU fan only ramp at really high temps in an effort to keep the PSU quiet. However, just medium to high temps were enough to screw up the caps so really high temps were murderous. Over time, this degraded the quality and performance of those PSU series.

So I recommend replacing the PSU, especially if you hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise coming from the PSU. However, do note that the Truepower I and II series as well as the Smartpower series had a three year warranty. So if you do hear a squeal, whine, or any odd noise, that's enough grounds to RMA the PSU.

Then again that TP is tons better than the shitty Bestec.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! My old Smartpower 2.0 450w died after just 2.5 years. It's the quickest powersupply death I've ever seen, even compared to $20 POS PSUs.
 
There won't be much, if any difference in PCI Express 1.0 and 2.0. Most of the newer cards can't even fully use the bandwidth of the first module.
 
at that res you can get away with a 4830 and save yourself some cash.

and if the power supply works just use it, if it breaks replace it, but don't just assume it's bad because people said it might be.

Try it and see, save yourself some cash if you can.
 
evilsofa said:
Corsair 400CX PSU $43.24 after mail-in rebate, free shipping. Good quality for low price; only real complaint is that it has only one 6-pin PCI-E power connector, but that is no problem for the card I recommend:

eVGA 9800GTX+ about $123 after mail-in rebate and shipping, includes free Call Of Duty: World At War game, requires only one 6-pin PCI-E power connector. eVGA's 9800GTX+ seems functionally the same as their GTS 250 (both are the short 9.5" cards), except that the 9800GTX+ has a lifetime warranty while the similarly priced eVGA GTS 250 has a 2 year warranty. Remember to register the card at evga.com or your warranty reverts to a 1-year warranty.

Total: $167

Don't worry about putting a PCI-Express 2.0 card into a PCI-Express x16 1.x slot; the cards are fully backwards compatible, and no single-GPU card maxes out a PCI-Express x16 slot. A 4870X2 or GTX295 might, but certainly not the cards you're looking at.

Getting a GTX260 or ATi 4870 would be overkill, because your CPU probably won't keep up. The 9800GTX+/GTS250 or the ATi 4850 would be the maximum card that should go in there.

The Bestec power supply is crap and must be discarded regardless of what video card you put in there.
Click to expand...

yeah, I was eyeing this corsair 400 watt for $50 at newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
 
eli said:
Think I could get by with a power supply like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148027
Click to expand...

No. Apevia is known to be a crap PSU vendor (did you notice the newegg customer reviews on that PSU?)

A crappy power supply can damage the rest of the computer.

The Corsair 400cx is known to be good and is the cheapest power supply I would use (it's cheaper at buy.com than at newegg). Another cheap PSU that is known to be good is the BFG LS450 for $45 after mail-in rebate (not including shipping, so the Corsair is a bit better deal at the moment).

If you need to cut costs, do it on the video card. ATi tends to have the upperhand on the lower end; the 4830 can be found for as low as $80 after mail-in rebate, here (I chose the Sapphire; avoid MSI and HIS because their mail-in rebates are not being honored lately).

To cut costs even further, look at an ATi 4670 which goes as low as $50 after mail-in rebate (though I never heard of Apollo brand before).
 
eli said:
This is going to cost more than I expected. Think I could get by with a power supply like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148027
Click to expand...

What evilsofa said. Apevia is one of the shittiest PSU manufacturers out there. Their PSUs are more than capable of killing hardware. Some Apevia PSU reviews:
Apevia ATX-AS500W-BL
Apevia Warlock Power 900W
XQPack's Included 420W PSU
Aspire Beast 680W Power Supply

So if you consider yourself a remotely intelligent person, avoid Apevia at all costs!

rohan23 said:
Why not spend a little more and get some more power?

This OCZ should serve you well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012
Click to expand...
Not a good choice. It's based off the FSP Episilon PSU design which has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that can damage or kill your system. Granted, you may not reach such high loads but why pay for a PSU that can kill your system?
 
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