Recommend a "not so [H]ard" video card

B

BlackDragon24

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 27, 2008
Messages
286
Looking to help a friend spruce up a computer that is definitely showing its age but still holding on strong.

This is the model

Looking to upgrade the video card (GT120) with a drop-in replacement....the system only has a 400W power supply. She plays mostly the Sims 3, League of Legends, etc....@ 1920x1200 res. $100 or less, which most likely means it will be used.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
 
Last edited:
^^^OP edited to reflect budget. Nothing fancy. Used is fine, preferable, and probably necessary given the budget. I'd give her my GTX260 and get something new for myself but I don't think her PSU would handle it.
 
Geforce 650 Boost is on sale for $125 -$15 rebate = $110

Radeon 7790 is on sale for ~$100 after $15 rebate

That'd be my top two current recommendations. The 650 Boost is faster, and worth going $10 over budget, imo.

For $100, I'd stick with new, because older cards at $100 used is going to draw more power. I think that puts you in the Radeon 6850 or 6870 ballpark, or a Geforce 560.

*edit* yes, The 650 Boost uses less power than the 560 and 560 Ti
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/547?vs=680
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/543?vs=680
 
Last edited:
If that 400W PSU doesn't have a PCI-E connector, a plug-less 7770 or 650 would be the most I would put in it.
 
eh....
I wouldn't be too concerned. [H] total system wattage was 273w at load with a 2GB version and an i5 2500k @ 4.8Ghz.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/06/10/galaxy_geforce_gtx_650_ti_boost_video_card_review/10

if the [H] review showed 330w usage at load, I'd be more concerned, because it's likely that the HP 400w psu is only capable of 300w.

But OP's friend doesn't have an oc'd i5. The Q8300 only draws 95w. An overclocked i5 can draw up around ~160w.

So I think the 400w psu should be capable. Just use a molex->pci-e adapter.
However, the nVidia spec for the 650 Boost says system requirements of minimum 450w psu. Which is very odd, because that's much more than the 273w measured by [H] even with an overclocked i5. I think nVidia's spec is very conservative.
 
Last edited:
J Macker said:
eh....
I wouldn't be too concerned. [H] total system wattage was 273w at load with a 2GB version and an i5 2500k @ 4.8Ghz.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/06/10/galaxy_geforce_gtx_650_ti_boost_video_card_review/10

if the [H] review showed 330w usage at load, I'd be more concerned, because it's likely that the HP 400w psu is only capable of 300w.

But OP's friend doesn't have an oc'd i5. The Q8300 only draws 95w. An overclocked i5 can draw up around ~160w.

So I think the 400w psu should be capable. Just use a molex->pci-e adapter.
However, the nVidia spec for the 650 Boost says system requirements of minimum 450w psu. Which is very odd, because that's much more than the 273w measured by [H] even with an overclocked i5. I think nVidia's spec is very conservative.
Click to expand...

Given that I've been a purveyor of the 650 Ti Boost and 7790 GPUs lately, I figure I'd weigh in a bit (even though we've focused on the 2GB higher end ones around here). The 650 Ti Boost is a vastly superior GPU compared to the 7790, so if we're talking $10 difference that's worth the extra spend even for the non-H video card buyer. However, from a power perspective, the 7790 uses SIGNIFICANTLY less power than the 650. Either way, Nvidia's 450W requirement is a bit steep for the 650. Design board power on the 650 is 140w under full load, so you'd need the rest of your rig to draw 300w to get close to that number (even then, we measure wall draw, whereas PSUs are rated in watts delivered, so a 450w PSU with 80% efficiency will pull ~560w from the wall at full load). Perhaps if you had a P4 Prescott based system you'd need the 450w....

As for the PCI-E power connector, most, if not all, of the cards that have passed by my bench have included one. If not, its a couple dollar purchase, tops, to get a molex -> PCIe adapter.
 
My suggestion of not using a molex adapter comes from working with dozens of those older C2D/C2Q/Phenom machines with 400W power supplies, they are typically bottom barrel units and I've seen more than one flame out after adding a GPU like that (I just dealt with one that wouldn't even run the Phenom X4 it was powering at load, it would simply shut down). I guess it may not be a big concern, but with the games listed pretty much anything will do. If the 7790 and 650ti boost are available at that price it might be worth a shot though.
 
LigTasm said:
My suggestion of not using a molex adapter comes from working with dozens of those older C2D/C2Q/Phenom machines with 400W power supplies, they are typically bottom barrel units and I've seen more than one flame out after adding a GPU like that (I just dealt with one that wouldn't even run the Phenom X4 it was powering at load, it would simply shut down). I guess it may not be a big concern, but with the games listed pretty much anything will do. If the 7790 and 650ti boost are available at that price it might be worth a shot though.
Click to expand...

The "bottom of barrel" units have been around since the start of time- if its a real 400W unit, it should be no problem. If it is a "400W" unit, you should probably take it out back and shoot it before it melts your system (as its likely to do without a video card upgrade anyway).
 
David_Schroth said:
The "bottom of barrel" units have been around since the start of time- if its a real 400W unit, it should be no problem. If it is a "400W" unit, you should probably take it out back and shoot it before it melts your system (as its likely to do without a video card upgrade anyway).
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats why I was saying that. I have a stack of them in my closet, all made by bestec across HP, Compaq and Gateway (Dells seem to have slightly better PSU's). When coworkers or friends bring me thier machine to fix the first thing I do is swap them out with something like the lower end Antec units which seems to help a lot.
 
The good news is that any of the cards mentioned above will be a huge improvement over your current card. With that said..

If your budget is $100 firm with shipping.
Radeon 7770
This is the best card you can get right now for $100. Not $105, or $120, or $100 after $40 rebate.. straight $100. You should be able to max out League of Legends with this at your resolution.

If your budget can be bumped to $120 with shipping.
Nvidia Geforce GTX 650 ti
Decent upgrade over the 7770.

Either of these cards will be a huge upgrade so spend what you are able to in your budget.
 
Most Gateways that pass through my hands are ACBels or Delta 400w PSUs. Both would be fine with a 650Ti Boost. A Bestec 400w, probably won't be.
 
Jorona said:
Most Gateways that pass through my hands are ACBels or Delta 400w PSUs. Both would be fine with a 650Ti Boost. A Bestec 400w, probably won't be.
Click to expand...

Good to know some of them come with decent ones, I tried to ID the power supply with some google image searches but I couldn't get any big enough to see it well. Not trying to be a wet blanket, just don't want OP's friend to throw a new card in there and have everything go poof, that would be disappointing.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Lots of good info to digest. The PSU does have a 6 pin pci-e connector so that is not an issue. I appreciate all of the help.
 
The 7770 gets a good deal every once in a while. Runs all your GFs games max. I'm surprised it handled Bioshock Infinite pretty well on reasonable high settings(talking 30-40fps with some dips).

I got mine for 90 minus 30 dollar rebate last black friday, but I've seen deals for it just a low lately. Runs cool and needs one PCI-E 6 pin power.
 
I'm seeing a reference 5770 used on another forum for $45. That might be the deal of the day.

Also seeing a 6770 for $65. I would think both would work.
 
BlackDragon24 said:
I'm seeing a reference 5770 used on another forum for $45. That might be the deal of the day.

Also seeing a 6770 for $65. I would think both would work.
Click to expand...

For 45 bucks, I think that's a pretty good deal. I wouldn't pay for the 6770 since it's basically the same thing as a 5770.
 
Annother vote for the 7770, nothing else comes close at the price.

Btw, I run a 5770 on a 720p TV, and I can max even newer casual games. So a 7770 would probably perform as good at 1080.
 
If you don't mind rebates:

PowerColor 7770

Slightly cheaper if you use the Google wallet code and use their service. Not quite as powerful as the 650ti boost and 7790, but should run what you need it to. For slightly more longevity I would go with either of the two mentioned before.
 
I'd recommend throwing a fan or two into the spots on the case for them... a 120mm in the rear and an 80/92mm in the front if you have them. Would definitely help with a newer GPU that will put out more heat. Also chuck the modem to give the GPU more room to breathe.
 
Yup she doesn't use the TV card or the modem so both are out....I put a 120mm fan in the back, need a smaller fan for up front. We were going to purchase a small SSD until I realized that the system comes pre-configured to run in RAID with no option to turn it off. The geniuses who built the system partitioned the 640GB hard drive into 2x320GB and then ran those partitions in RAID 0. Ladies and gentleman, I give you Gateway Computers!

So now I'm looking for a microATX socket 775 motherboard with an intel chipset and a Southbridge that can handle AHCI for an SSD....and then probably a power supply. You can never upgrade just the things you want. So that's why I opted for the 5770 at $45. Because the remainder of the budget is going to other things now :)

Thanks for the help guys. No more comments necessary unless you can point me in the direction of a good used 775 motherboard as described above....needs to be DDR2 based.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top