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Need a sub $120 upgrade

mojothehut

mojothehut

Senior member
Hey all
My buddy has a 4 year old machine and wants to replace an Nvidia 9600GSO 512mb, he does not want to spend over $120..

His system
AMD Phenom x3 710 (2.6ghz tripple core I believe)
4gb DDR800
Gigabyte AM2 770 motherboard.
550watt with 12v@30amps
Im wondering if something like the 7750 would be a decent all around performance boost over the Nvidia 9600gso
Something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121633

Is there an Nvidia option that would be better? He prefers Nvidia anyway.
 
No nvidia options in that price range right now. The 7750 is ok but is really only a good buy if you need its small size and low power consumption. A cheaper hd6770 would be just as fast.

Here's an awesome deal ($75AR) on the ASUS, identical to that 7750 you found but with the 6770 GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121442
 
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Can't you get a used gtx 460 for 120, I saw a used MSI cyclone on Amazon for only 100$ + 6$ for shipping. That's a much better card than a 7750.
 
Leyawiin said:
Is he leery of "white box" stuff? You can get a GTX 460 1GB (original 675 mhz version) for $110. Only has a one year warranty though being its bulk packaging.

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?Inv...0-PCIE-1024-CO

B.S.
Click to expand...

WoW $110 that's a real great deal on a 1GB 256bit GTX 460 and man that card can still run great in any game out today and is one of the best Nvidia cards ever made OP please do yourself a big favor and hop on this deal.
 
Assuming the CPU can handle it, a new or used GTX 460-1GB or HD6850 would be my preference. You can find HD6850s for $120 after rebate w/ free shipping during sales sometimes.

I wouldn't buy from geeks.com as they are shady. If they say it's new it may be refurb. If they say it's refurb it may be broken. There's a reason why it's in bulk packaging, and a 1 year warranty is lame compared to 2+ with real retail boxes, not to mention how you have no idea if they intend to honor that warranty or not. Factor in shipping/tax if applicable, too.
 
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mojothehut said:
Hey all
My buddy has a 4 year old machine and wants to replace an Nvidia 9600GSO 512mb, he does not want to spend over $120..

His system
AMD Phenom x3 710 (2.6ghz tripple core I believe)
4gb DDR800
Gigabyte AM2 770 motherboard.
550watt with 12v@30amps
Im wondering if something like the 7750 would be a decent all around performance boost over the Nvidia 9600gso
Something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121633

Is there an Nvidia option that would be better? He prefers Nvidia anyway.
Click to expand...
If these numbers don't lie... 7750 should be an adequate upgrade for your buddy. It might not be the fastest card around but certainly, one of the most power efficient.

Here is how performance goes:

 
Don Karnage said:
Are you and Gordon the same person?
Click to expand...
Why would you say that. I would not recommend a 768mb card and I was going to make a comment of the fact that 768mb Vram is really a no go in today's day and age of PC gaming but I didn't want to make any waves. Even at the resolution I use which is 1680x1050 I frequently hit 700mb+ Vram usage in almost every game I own.
 
Ah thanks everyone for the feedback. Another quick question he brought up..
He's planning on building a Trinity APU system as his upgrade this summer. He's interested in the Fusion crossfire option.

Will the 7750 be one of the low end cards able to Crossfire with the new APU coming out? I know the current APUs can use some low end 6000 range cards...
 
best bang for buk with the $120 limit is that 460 deal, although stick with amazon or newegg for the buy, because if it croaks you can send it back, no hassle.

DO NOT get complicated. Fusion Crossfire is bullshit, and doesn't scale well most of the time, and at best you'll get 10-15% performance boost, while introducing micro-stutter, and a myriad of other compatibility problems.


If your friend upgrades anything else in his PC, he'd just be burning money, because it's dead end, no overclocking headroom, unreliable motherboard, DDR2, omg, just kill me.
 
mojothehut said:
Ah thanks everyone for the feedback. Another quick question he brought up..
He's planning on building a Trinity APU system as his upgrade this summer. He's interested in the Fusion crossfire option.

Will the 7750 be one of the low end cards able to Crossfire with the new APU coming out? I know the current APUs can use some low end 6000 range cards...
Click to expand...

He shouldn't build a Trinity if he's buying a gpu. The CPU in that thing is no good.
 
mojothehut said:
Ah thanks everyone for the feedback. Another quick question he brought up..
He's planning on building a Trinity APU system as his upgrade this summer. He's interested in the Fusion crossfire option.

Will the 7750 be one of the low end cards able to Crossfire with the new APU coming out? I know the current APUs can use some low end 6000 range cards...
Click to expand...

trinity42atnrablog.jpg


Edit: this is for mobiles but you get an inside for desktops.
 
7750 is a good upgrade, but if power consumption isn't a problem (and a 550w PSU is plenty for anything in your price range) the 6850 or 460 is a better performer for the money.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
7750 is a good upgrade, but if power consumption isn't a problem (and a 550w PSU is plenty for anything in your price range) the 6850 or 460 is a better performer for the money.
Click to expand...

His PSU is claiming only 30amp on the 12v rail. That seems a little low my 600 watt corsair rates it at 48 amps. What if he is using a diablotek or some other fake unit a 6850/460 might be too much.
 
Rambusted said:
His PSU is claiming only 30amp on the 12v rail. That seems a little low my 600 watt corsair rates it at 48 amps. What if he is using a diablotek or some other fake unit a 6850/460 might be too much.
Click to expand...

The 6850 only pulls <40 more watts than the 9600GSO he already has in there. There are probably ways he could shave 40w off of other aspects of the running system. Undervolt the CPU maybe.

http://www.hwcompare.com/5969/geforce-9600-gso-512mb-vs-radeon-hd-6850/

I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's not like trying to add a GTX 680 to a Dell with zero extra wattage headroom.

I would swap out the PSU for something beefier if there was an SLI/Crossfire rig in my future, though.
 
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