Recommended Video Card Upgrade, around $250 if possible

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Punkrulz

[H]ard|Gawd
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Hey everyone,

My friend is looking to upgrade his video card. Unfortunately one of the drawbacks is that he is using a Dell computer. Unfortunately I don't have the message that says what kind of video card he has now (I believe an ATI 4350 series but I could be wrong), but he does have a Dell Inspiron 530 desktop. I also asked what kind of power he has, and he says its a model PS-6951-2 Power Supply running 350W.

Do you guys happen to know of any upgrades that he'll be able to run without having to upgrade the power supply? Any other questions you need me to answer?

Thanks!
 
It should be enough to handle at least a HD5770, which is reasonably cheap (160usd), and performs just a tad above a GTX260c216, while hunking down a mere 108W (vs 180W-200W for the differing revisions of the GTX260). That's the fastest card I would dare fit in. A HD5850 might work(151W), or a lessor powered GTX460 (there are a few revisions out, with 150W-160W power draw). Note lessor powered doesn't mean less powerful, rather less power-hungry variant must be chosen, IMO.
 
Punkrulz said:
Does it matter the brand of the 5770?
Click to expand...

No, though people are recommending to stay away from XFX: cut down PCB affecting overclocking and 4way crossfireX

No, though people are recommending to chose XFX: double lifetime warranty, that actually means something (if registered within the first 30 days of ownership).

No, however, I'd recommend sticking to the following: XFX, ASUS, or a refernce model.

Either way, I'd chose one that looks like it would exhaust the air outside of the case, despite the very low power draw and heat dissapation of the HD5770.


edit: despite what I said, these are the best choices based on price and technical aspects.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447&cm_re=hd5770-_-14-150-447-_-Product - warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161344&cm_re=hd5770-_-14-161-344-_-Product - cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898&cm_re=hd5770-_-14-102-898-_-Product - price + very quiet and effective cooler
 
xfx has reference models, if you get them soon after launch. I have a reference xfx 5850. there may still be some reference-style boards by xfx floating around somewhere in retail or online. that way you get the best of both worlds.

jeremyshaw said:
No, though people are recommending to stay away from XFX: cut down PCB affecting overclocking and 4way crossfireX

No, though people are recommending to chose XFX: double lifetime warranty, that actually means something (if registered within the first 30 days of ownership).

No, however, I'd recommend sticking to the following: XFX, ASUS, or a refernce model.

Either way, I'd chose one that looks like it would exhaust the air outside of the case, despite the very low power draw and heat dissapation of the HD5770.


edit: despite what I said, these are the best choices based on price and technical aspects.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447&cm_re=hd5770-_-14-150-447-_-Product - warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161344&cm_re=hd5770-_-14-161-344-_-Product - cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898&cm_re=hd5770-_-14-102-898-_-Product - price + very quiet and effective cooler
Click to expand...
 
+1 for a GTX 460 1GB if he's running 1080p or higher.
If he's running 1680x1050 or less a 5770 will be enough.
 
Make sure your friend's dell can handle these newer cards. I mean you didn't list any specs other than the psu. Is the system a pcie x16 bus. I guess I'm saying you should always list specs or a model # in this case.

If Pcie I would recommend the GTX460 1GB, with it's low power draw it should be able to overclock very well and give him the best performance with his budget.
 
jimmy818 said:
GTX 460
Click to expand...

vjcsmoke said:
+1 for a GTX 460 1GB if he's running 1080p or higher.
If he's running 1680x1050 or less a 5770 will be enough.
Click to expand...

Imaulle said:
is the GTX 460 still good? I'm looking to upgrade my 8800 GT for the release of FFXIV next month


I had my eye on this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130563
or this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130571


or should I get the 1 gig if I can? I don't care about brand too much I just want the best bang for buck and best quality card in that price range (under $250)
Click to expand...

yep 460 still is good ... check out a review with 20+ games Here
 
Guys keep in mind though, I would be installing this video card in a prebuilt system by dell with a 350w power supply. Someone already addressed the power consumption used by a GTX-260... how would a 460 rate on this guys power supply?
 
Lord_Exodia said:
Make sure your friend's dell can handle these newer cards. I mean you didn't list any specs other than the psu. Is the system a pcie x16 bus. I guess I'm saying you should always list specs or a model # in this case.

If Pcie I would recommend the GTX460 1GB, with it's low power draw it should be able to overclock very well and give him the best performance with his budget.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I did list it was an Inspiron 530 desktop. I used to have his motherboard information but my blackberry messenger won't go back that far... I know it was a Foxconn motherboard. Based on his existing video card I would say I believe it is PCI-E x16. I see you did note that the 460 has a low power consumption... lower than the 260?
 
Imaulle said:
is the GTX 460 still good? I'm looking to upgrade my 8800 GT for the release of FFXIV next month


I had my eye on this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130563
or this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130571


or should I get the 1 gig if I can? I don't care about brand too much I just want the best bang for buck and best quality card in that price range (under $250)
Click to expand...

I just replaced my 8800GTS with a GTX460 two days ago. Well worth it. I game at 1600x1200. I can now use anti-aliasing at this resolution with newer games. I typically use 2 or 4xAA with 8 to 12 AF and high settings for shadows, lod etc... with the new card. My 8800GTS struggled with these settings (The games I've been playing the most lately are Dragon Age and Fallout 3) so I hadn't used them much in the last year or so.

I almost forgot how much better things look with AA. Even 2xAA makes a dramatic improvement.
 
You can probably get by with that PSU and a GTX 460 if you don't heavily overclock and overvolt the GPU.

The other thing to consider is the 460 needs 2x 6-pin PCIe connectors. If you don't have that you'll have to use 2 molex converters which will require 4 total 4-pin molex available.
 
Hi all,

It's not cutting close, it's damn near impossible. these things idle @ 160 and full load @ 307.
Please keep in mind that the average pre build system uses a crap psu with 70% (or less) efficiency.
So putting a load like that on psu like your friend has equals blue screens and a busted psu within a month.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-review/13
Check the link. Just upgrade the psu aswell. Pre build sucks by the way!
No offence to you or your friend. :)

Good luck
 
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You better check the PS first to make sure you even have any available power connectors PCI-e or Molex for an adapter. The Dell box (which was given to me, I'd never actually buy one) I have in the bedroom had exactly one extra power connector and it was SATA only.

On the bright side, that Dell I was able to just throw in a 450W PS I had lying around. The newer ones seem to just use standard ATX power supplies, but again you'll need to double check. For your $250 limit I'd got with a new $50 PS and a $200 GTX460.
 
The PCIe spec is 250w. These cards are made to pull no more than that at factory setting. His 350 will be fine at stock settings.

The link from guru3d shows full system wattage and that's running a hungry i7. Even then it's 307w. The OP system will be below 300w.

With that said a 400CX would be a good buy if it will fit in the system and he could still stay below $250 total if he goes with a 768mb card.
 
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vjcsmoke said:
350W is cutting it close depending on your system specs and the quality of your PSU.
The 460 consumes around 250-270W under load, and around 110W idle.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-gf104-fermi,2684-13.html
.
Click to expand...

Nathalex said:
Hi all,

It's not cutting close, it's damn near impossible. these things idle @ 160 and full load @ 307.
Click to expand...


You guys are posting power draws from complete computers and then saying that is what the 460 uses.

GTX 460, by itself, will generally use under 150W while gaming. Even one overclocked to 800MHz.

Yet without knowing the quality of the psu, I would think its safe to stick with the 5770.
 
come on a crappy pre build system psu.....one of those silver steel things? think about the efficiency.
And how old is it anyway? ( efficiency is even less) To keep a long story short go for 50 bucks psu to end all your worry's.
 
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