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Video Card Upgrade

P

Piph05

n00b
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Messages
49
Been out of the loop for quite some time. Im looking to do some upgrades to my comp or possibly even build a new pc but I am having trouble figuring out what video card to go with. Right now i have a ATI x1800 512mb...im looking at probably spending 200 max on a card. Any idea what would be a good upgrade with that price range? Thanks.
 
posting in the general hardware section would be your best bet.

also asking for upgrade info without computer specs makes it kinda hard to give accurate advise.
 
Sikkyu said:
posting in the general hardware section would be your best bet.

also asking for upgrade info without computer specs makes it kinda hard to give accurate advise.
Click to expand...

Yea sorry. This is what I have right now but i plan on upgrading a few things if not just build a new rig.

Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13ghz
ATI Radeon X1800 512mb
2GB DDR2 Corsair XMS 2 PC6400
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3

Thanks for the reply. Ill prob post this in the general hardware forum also since im not really sure what I am giong to fully do.
 
You can get a used 4870 for around $100. That's probably all you "need" for that size monitor until you do a full upgrade.
 
$200 budget would get you

Radeon HD 4890 (I don't think you need this one for that res)
Radeon HD 5770

A Radeon HD 4770 would already be a massive upgrade from an X1800

BTW, your E6400 is running at stock speeds? You don't want to considering O/C it? The DS3 mobo can o/c that cpu.

Also, what PSU do you have right now and how old is it?
 
Piph05 said:
Yea sorry. This is what I have right now but i plan on upgrading a few things if not just build a new rig.

Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13ghz
ATI Radeon X1800 512mb
2GB DDR2 Corsair XMS 2 PC6400
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3

Thanks for the reply. Ill prob post this in the general hardware forum also since im not really sure what I am giong to fully do.
Click to expand...

Hmm, your CPU is a bit old. The highest you'd probably want to go for video card would be a 5850 but that would be a bit higher than your $200.00 price range. I'd probably recommend a 5770 or 5830 to you. The 5830 isn't out afaik and I think it suppose to come out soon to fill the gap in price-ranges a little bit. The 5770 is only around $150.00-170.00 (with bing cashback) so its within your price range. I might consider getting a tiny bit more ram since an additional 2GB of ddr2 6400 ram can be bought for pretty cheap online(Read: $20.00-$40.00)

If your going to upgrade your CPU and want to keep the same motherboard, you could go with a reasonable quadcore processor like a Q6600 or a Q9450 and be good for a decent while in terms of processing speed since those both use LGA775(the right socket for your motherboard). If you go for the faster iCore i7 series, you'll need to replace your motherboard and most motherboards for the i7/i5 series require DDR3 ram so your upgrade cost would increase a bit signifcantly.
 
ATI 5770 as long as you have PCI express that is :p

Also make sure you have enough of a power supply.
 
HardwareGuru said:
$200 budget would get you

Radeon HD 4890 (I don't think you need this one for that res)
Radeon HD 5770

A Radeon HD 4770 would already be a massive upgrade from an X1800

BTW, your E6400 is running at stock speeds? You don't want to considering O/C it? The DS3 mobo can o/c that cpu.

Also, what PSU do you have right now and how old is it?
Click to expand...

The E6400 is running at stock speed, i've never tried to O/C anything before. The psu i believe is Antec Smartpower 2.0 450w, its about 3 years old.

WBurchnall said:
Hmm, your CPU is a bit old. The highest you'd probably want to go for video card would be a 5850 but that would be a bit higher than your $200.00 price range. I'd probably recommend a 5770 or 5830 to you. The 5830 isn't out afaik and I think it suppose to come out soon to fill the gap in price-ranges a little bit. The 5770 is only around $150.00-170.00 (with bing cashback) so its within your price range. I might consider getting a tiny bit more ram since an additional 2GB of ddr2 6400 ram can be bought for pretty cheap online(Read: $20.00-$40.00)

If your going to upgrade your CPU and want to keep the same motherboard, you could go with a reasonable quadcore processor like a Q6600 or a Q9450 and be good for a decent while in terms of processing speed since those both use LGA775(the right socket for your motherboard). If you go for the faster iCore i7 series, you'll need to replace your motherboard and most motherboards for the i7/i5 series require DDR3 ram so your upgrade cost would increase a bit signifcantly.
Click to expand...

The ram was something i was definately planning on upgrading also. Im almost considering just rebuilding a new rig. I built this computer almost 4 years ago, and it lasted me awhile, it was definately a great investment. Maybe i should just do a complete overhaul instead of upgrading here and there?
 
If your willing to spent more money to build an entire rig than go for it. That Antec Smartpower PSu is no good. I had those and refused to buy another psu and just reused it. I ended up damaging 2 motherboards. If you wanna go on the cheap upgrade for now, then Id do a new PSU, VIDEO CARD and HSF for $200.

If your running a 32bit O/S like Win XP or Vista/Win 7 32bit, you should still be ok with the RAM. I'm only on 2GB of RAM myself with Vista 32bit.
 
Zachstar said:
Nah I dont think you need a full upgrade yet. However I do believe you could use a new power supply. You might try that one but a 3 year old PS might not like being pushed within 50W of its limit for long... Your choice.

BTW this is a new 5770 but reviews say the cooler is nice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363&cm_re=5770-_-14-121-363-_-Product
Click to expand...

HardwareGuru said:
If your willing to spent more money to build an entire rig than go for it. That Antec Smartpower PSu is no good. I had those and refused to buy another psu and just reused it. I ended up damaging 2 motherboards. If you wanna go on the cheap upgrade for now, then Id do a new PSU, VIDEO CARD and HSF for $200.

If your running a 32bit O/S like Win XP or Vista/Win 7 32bit, you should still be ok with the RAM. I'm only on 2GB of RAM myself with Vista 32bit.
Click to expand...


Lol yea that power supply crapped out on me within the first 2 months, i had a warranty on it though so i just stuck with it. I have alot to think about, still not sure if i should just upgrade or rebuild. Main thought behind rebuilding is the fact that I am done with school, have a full time job and am living with the parents to just save money. So I dont have many expenses, rebuilding now makes sense instead of waiting until I have my own place. Ahhh decisions.
 
I would definitely upgrade the PSU. That Smartpower 450 is at least 4+ years old. It doesn't even have Power Factor Correction on this power supply. I would say O/C the E6400 cpu. the P965 DS3 mobo is a pretty solid mobo. Then, I would get a new psu + video card

HSF - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus for $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

VIDEO CARD/PSU - XFX Radeon HD 4770 + Antec NEO ECO 520W both for $164.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.339702

The HD 4770 is waaaay faster than a Radeon X1800. Improve both the cpu by overclocking it and video card is improved as well.

Total: $194.97

You still can use these parts in your new AMD or Intel Quad build.
 
+1 for vid card and PSU. The HSF would allow you to OC the CPU and vastly increase your game performance from current levels. Whenever you are ready to upgrade your monitor plan on replacing MB/CPU/RAM at that time. If you do it all right now you are looking at $800-$1000 including a new monitor if you go with semi-budget parts.
 
Building a computer for the long term is a pain in the butt.. However if you truly think that Financial considerations in the future could be "Tight" Then a new build would be a better idea. But its going to be a bit expensive but you need stuff that is going to be still running strong with advanced 2012 or 2013 games.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 This CPU is the core to get right now. Pair it with a 790GX Motherboard and a 5870 or 5890 and you are good to go for years in my opinion.
 
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