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Best gpu for my old machine...

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RussianSensation said:
Ya, I read through this entire thread and noticed my big mistake. Ya, the OP is in a real tough spot now.



Now I agree. $60 for X2 4800+ leaves $40 for a videocard. This is one of those cases where it seems the entire system may need to be scrapped as it's better to save up another $50-100 to upgrade to something semi-decent that could actually be used for budget gaming for 2-3 years.

I mean an A10 7870K + Mobo + $30 8GB DDR3 2400 is starting to become a reality and that will smoke an X2 4800+ & practically any $40 GPU.




The issue with Core 2 Quads is this:

Gaming_03.png

Gaming_05.png


At that point it would be $70 spent on that tower + $30+ on a modded Q9550 Xeon version = $100 wasted to get a system WAY worse than an A10 7870K + mobo combo that costs $130 at MicroCenter OC and has a 512 GCN GPU inside!
Click to expand...

Sorry, but is 512 gcn like the integrated graphics, and is that 512 like the mb in memory like mine is 512mb memory card
 
cbn said:
I am aware of that issue.

It is just that a complete Windows Core 2 machine costs the same (or less) than a Socket 939 x 2 4800 processor by itself. And will be faster with needing the quad core.

Also, that A10-7870K/ motherboard combo is just two parts. It needs PSU, case, Operating system, RAM, Storage. So it's a lot more expensive.
Click to expand...

And that does make a lot of sense, for the same price as the processor for my machine, it might be smarter to do that, and just get a graphics card for that machine with my ram..... I need to thank all of you guys for the help, this is the stuff I need to hear. I mean I am learning a lot from this and the input is greatly appreciated
 
FishSlayer said:
And that does make a lot of sense, for the same price as the processor for my machine, it might be smarter to do that, and just get a graphics card for that machine with my ram..... I need to thank all of you guys for the help, this is the stuff I need to hear. I mean I am learning a lot from this and the input is greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

I just realized that Dell Optiplex 330 is not a Tower.

When it says "Desktop" it really means something that looks like this:

Optiplex330_2_6.jpeg


With that mentioned there are some nice SFF HP DC7900s in there with E8400s for around the same price.

You would need a low profile card though, like the PNY GT 730 GDDR5 for $52.99 AR shipped:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133542

14-133-542-TS
 
All of this feel like using a cotton ball to clean up a decapitation. If I were in your situation OP I'd just wait. Moving from painfully slow to slightly less painfully slow seems pointless.
 
OP, if you want something eventually more powerful I would also look at refurbished Core i5 Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge machines.

Not the most powerful CPUs in this day and age of 4+ Ghz i7 quad cores, but still quite respectable even by these forum standards.
 
skipsneeky2 said:
This card is as far as i would go with your system and its $60 new..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...27804&cm_re=msi_gt_740-_-14-127-804-_-Product

There is some used 6950 and 6970s for just a hair bit more but Nvidia often times apparently offers more performance with lower end cpus.Having ran AMD and Nvidia it is true depending on titles.
Click to expand...

That is the 3rd time for that card, and about nvidia being more friendly with lower end cpus....so I have to consider the cheapest upgrade, but I am getting a lot of good ideas
 
RussianSensation said:
Thanks! :thumbsup:

Your PSU really let you down. It could probably be possible to buy a $22 Q6600 and find a $40-50 P35 motherboard but and then get a $20 CPU cooler and overclock but your PSU won't handle that with a dGPU too.

I found this thread pertaining to your mobo:

"HP Tech support says [transcript from online chat re my hp Pavilion m7100e]:

This motherboard can be upgraded with the following processors
Athlon64 X2 4800
Athlon 64 4000
Sempron 3200"

Athlon 64 X2 4800 can be found for less than $10 on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Dual-Co...929679?hash=item280e70418f:g:zUgAAOSwdpxUXoy8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Athlon-...045028?hash=item2106811aa4:g:l1gAAOSwNphWXx4N

That's a good starting point to get your CPU to meet minimum specs for some of those games as cbn kindly pointed out. :thumbsup:

EDIT*** Woops*** I made a huge mistake.

Looks like your board is a Socket 939, not AM2 so the AM2 X2 4800+ won't work:
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=294618

S939 X2 4800+ are crazy expensive/overpriced = $60+.

At that point you are better off going to MicroCenter in Orange County and picking yourself an AMD APU 7870K rig and buying $30 8GB DDR3 2400. Or alternatively even starting off with a low end Pentium/i3 on the Intel side would work and then once you have the $ upgrade to an i5. You might need to calculate all your options because your S939 mobo is going to limit your CPU upgrade path severely.
Click to expand...

I don't even know if you'd need to pay that. I've had system sitting up on Kijiji (think Craigslist) for weeks that consisted of the following.
P5Q SE2
Q6600 + bonus E2140
4GB DDR2-800
HD5770
500GB HDD
Cheap 350W PSU, cheap case and DVD burner
For US$100, no bites at all other than some schmuck asking if it came with a legit copy of Windows 7 or newer.

Buying a used or refurb system would probably be a better use of $100 than trying to upgrade his current platform. You can pick up a Dell 790 with an i3-2100 for $130, but even adding in a modest used GPU would probably push him up to $160+
 
skipsneeky2 said:
This card is as far as i would go with your system and its $60 new..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...27804&cm_re=msi_gt_740-_-14-127-804-_-Product

There is some used 6950 and 6970s for just a hair bit more but Nvidia often times apparently offers more performance with lower end cpus.Having ran AMD and Nvidia it is true depending on titles.
Click to expand...

The problem with a 740 for the same money is that it is a bit of a dead end for him. Should he later on have a little more to upgrade his system, a Dell Optiplex 990 refurb with a i5-2500 is available right from Dell for $165. If he was a source on a cheap 6970, it's going to be twice as fast as a 740 when he does upgrade his system.
 
FishSlayer said:
I am in California, and unfortunately I am using a Amazon gift card, so the gpu I guess, that I decide to buy has to be thru Amazon. But that is a good offer and I do appreciate that, that is really cool man
Click to expand...

If you are limited to buying through Amazon here are choices available through that retailer so far:

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-...rds=MSI+Computer+Video+Graphic+Card+N740-1GD5

http://www.amazon.com/PNY-GeForce-G...&sr=1-1&keywords=PNY+GeForce+GT+730+1GB+GDDR5

Prices are higher than Newegg.
 
cbn said:
If you are limited to buying through Amazon here are choices available through that retailer so far:

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-...rds=MSI+Computer+Video+Graphic+Card+N740-1GD5

http://www.amazon.com/PNY-GeForce-G...&sr=1-1&keywords=PNY+GeForce+GT+730+1GB+GDDR5

Prices are higher than Newegg.
Click to expand...

I almost feel as stumped about this machine as I did with the first post lol, I have a lot to consider here, I almost just want to buy a gpu and see what happens, but it makes so much more sense to get a machine with more capability for the same price as the cpu and gpu I would eventually upgrade too
 
FishSlayer said:
That is the 3rd time for that card, and about nvidia being more friendly with lower end cpus....so I have to consider the cheapest upgrade, but I am getting a lot of good ideas
Click to expand...

I ran at one point a x4 9150e with a gtx650 which was what the GT 740 is rebadged and games like COD BO2 ran pretty damn well with that old cpu.I had mixed that cpu up some time back with a 6770 and the experience was quite different.

337.50 and newer drivers really worked some magic for Nvidia cards.

With a newer rig with something like a 2000 series or better i5,you could go either camp without much penalty in performance but for older cpus in my experience the nvidia camp really has offered the better experience.

The x4 9150e was a 1.8Ghz quad core so a bit newer then your x2 3800.
 
skipsneeky2 said:
I ran at one point a x4 9150e with a gtx650 which was what the GT 740 is rebadged and games like COD BO2 ran pretty damn well with that old cpu.I had mixed that cpu up some time back with a 6770 and the experience was quite different.

337.50 and newer drivers really worked some magic for Nvidia cards.

With a newer rig with something like a 2000 series or better i5,you could go either camp without much penalty in performance but for older cpus in my experience the nvidia camp really has offered the better experience.

The x4 9150e was a 1.8Ghz quad core so a bit newer then your x2 3800.
Click to expand...

My buddy is telling me to get a hd 6770 or 7770, but I am just not trying to buy something that is more powerful than what my system can even handle...and I have heard a lot about nvidia being more sensitive to cpus.
 
FishSlayer said:
My buddy is telling me to get a hd 6770 or 7770, but I am just not trying to buy something that is more powerful than what my system can even handle...and I have heard a lot about nvidia being more sensitive to cpus.
Click to expand...

Where are you located?
 
I would wait until you can do a full system upgrade.
 
Shmee said:
I would wait until you can do a full system upgrade.
Click to expand...

I am actually buying a completely new system in September, with about a price range of $2-3,000. I just want to turn this into a good backup, because it actually works good, I play not so intensive games like Aftermath and Infestation The New Z on high and only lag in the biggest cities, I play dayz on low settings and run around away from the biggest cities and have no problems, get into gun fights and win and lose lol,
 
I would sell the CPU+Motherboard+Ram+GPU and

Get a A8-7650K + Motherboard + 2400MHz ram
You will have a new platform with a Quad Core CPU + way faster graphics than what you have now. You will also have DX-12 support and you could upgrade to a dGPU next year for a new 14/16nm dGPU.

A8-7650K = $100

ASUS A68HM-K FM2+ = $30 AR
Free DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX 400 CPU Cooler w/ purchase, limited offer

G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C11D-8GAB = $30


Total = $160

With the extra heat-sink you can OC the iGPU to 900-960MHz and increase the iGPU performance by 10-20% easily in many games.
 
I would agree with Atena about a APU being a excellent bottom dollar upgrade and maybe the only viable one with a limited budget.

I nearly built a APU rig myself around the A8-7600 but i ended up with a bit more cash.G1820+GT 740+motherboard+psu+keyboard ran me $210 out the door.Had other parts already.

Even a cheap rig around the G1820+6950 would fly circles around the x2 3800 rig.Wouldn't even run $200 if you use your current hard drive,power supply,dvd rom if its sata based and computer case.
 
FishSlayer said:
lol yeah that is why I have not done it yet...but I probably will in about a month, I am trying to make this as decent a machine as I am capable of without replacing motherboards or cases if you know what I mean
Click to expand...

"Penny wise, Pound foolish."

Save your money, get an AMD APU rig when you can. A8-7600 or better.
 
VirtualLarry said:
"Penny wise, Pound foolish."

Save your money, get an AMD APU rig when you can. A8-7600 or better.
Click to expand...

For sure a 7600 or better.Quad core with a decent gpu for $85 is a damn good start.Could later slap in i think a 240 for hybrid crossfire on the cheap and gain a decent enough performance boost.

I may be wrong on which model for hybrid crossfire with the 7600.
 
Dont upgrade it at all. If you're doing a real build, its just money down the drain. It works as-is, and thats what you want for a backup. If you change things it might not work, and what good is that as a back up?
 
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