new vid card upgrade..

[Kamal187]

hi im new to this board..how are you guys doing? I was given a computer as a gift its a gateway dx4300-11

It specs are amd phenom II x4 805 running at 2.5 gighertz
8 gigs of ddr2 ram running at 800 mhz
1 tbb hdd
dvd-rw drive
integrated 3200 igp..
300 watt psu..

I want to update the videocard for this computer i know the psu is very lacking but what videocard can i get that can play most games with ease and still look pretty good looking..I dont plan to spend more than 120 bucks and im not willing to upgrade the psu for now..Any help would be appreciated..Thank you

 

[Kamal187]

bump

 

[zerocool84]

What rez are you going to be playing at?

 

[Schmide]

Without getting a PSU upgrade you're looking at

ATI
5770 $160
5750 $130
5670 $100
4770 $100?
4670 $50-70

nVidia
gts250 $120
9800gt $100
gts240 $90
9600gt $80

 

[Kamal187]

ill probably be playing at 1280 by 1024 x 32 unless i can push it even more? I have a monitor that does 1600X900.. i went to the psu calculator and it gave me 253w i will use up at most...if i were to get the 4670.

 

[Schmide]

Although I don't see any exact deals at the moment. With some tricks I've seen 5750s drop into the $120s. You could definitely get away with that power envelope and have very decent frames at 1680x1050.

Do you need it this second or could you shop around for a week or so.

 

[Kamal187]

i dont need it right now but within a month or so. But judging by all my computer specs can that hd 5750 run on a prebuilt pc with 300w psu..I dont want to mess up my computer because my father b ought it for me..

 

[Schmide]

Yeah a quick estimate of the 12v power

60w Phenom II 805
50w 5750
30w chipset
12w 8gb ddr2
15w HD
25w DVD fans etc

167w or 14a

 

[jvroig]

50w 5750

Where did this estimate come from? I thought it had a TDP of 86W? Does it actually use a lot less power, without really needing its 6-pin connector?

 

[NoQuarter]

Where did this estimate come from? I thought it had a TDP of 86W? Does it actually use a lot less power, without really needing its 6-pin connector?

xbitlabs.com has the 5750 at 44W at load, 60W in torture test.

 

[jvroig]

Wow. So does this mean it is faster than a 4770, uses less power, and I assume most naturally also heats up far less?

 

[TemjinGold]

You got it.

 

[Hey Zeus]

5750 is a great card

 

[Kamal187]

holy shit im about to open up my pc and check the psu..what should my psu read in order for me to tell its good? im illiterate to things like this..lol U guys are so helpful unlike those douchebags on gamefaqs.com

 

[Schmide]

12v line needs 18A+

 

[happy medium]

mabe this is it?
2 ,12v rails at 10 and 15 amps?


http://www.atxcases.com/item.asp?id=1476&desc=gateway-6500582-300-watt&referid=162164

Hopfully this one with 2 18 amp rails.

http://support.gateway.com/s/POWER/6506054R/6506054Rsp2.shtml

I think it safe to say a 5750 will be ok with either of these psu's.
If thats the one he has?

 

[Schmide]

Actually it's this one FSP300-60THA

PDF

12v1 8A
12v2 14A

Edit: It's actually a weird PSU. The 4-pin CPU power is the 12v2 and the 12v1 is for the rest of the system. So on his system you have ~60w on the 14A and 100w on the 8A which would max it out. In light of this I'd have to drop my recommendation to the 5670.

 

[Rezist]

Is a 300W PSU gaurenteed to have a 6 pine PCI-E power connector? Cause all he has now is integrated...

 

[TemjinGold]

Is a 300W PSU gaurenteed to have a 6 pine PCI-E power connector? Cause all he has now is integrated...

No but the 5750 doesn't need one.

 

[happy medium]

Actually it's this one FSP300-60THA

PDF

12v1 8A
12v2 14A

Which should be more than enough.

What rail is going to use 80% (at best) of 8 amps? 6 amps for CPU and board?
Hopefully he can use the 6 amp rail for JUST the card. 72 watts

 

[happy medium]

No but the 5750 doesn't need one.

Correction the 5750 that cost 155$ dosen't need one.
Is it even out yet?

 

[Schmide]

See edit...

Edit above below

Edit: It's actually a weird PSU. The 4-pin CPU power is the 12v2 and the 12v1 is for the rest of the system. So on his system you have ~60w on the 14A and 100w on the 8A which would max it out. In light of this I'd have to drop my recommendation to the 5670.

 

[Rezist]

If I was the op I'd take a pic of the PSU and check connectors. Otheriwse a 4670 or wait for 5670 prices to drop.

 

[happy medium]

See edit...

Good call.

 

[Kamal187]

all i know is that my psu doesnt have a power switch behind it..im about to open up my case and take pics with my digi cam..Ill upload them in the next 20 minutes..God damn gateway..