Please help me pick a new vid card for my son

[celetor]

His system:

Phenom II X4 840T 2.9 Ghz
6 GB ram
Windows 7 64 bit

I don't know know more specifics - he doesn't live with me. And I'm out of the loop nowadays w video cards and don't know what would be overkill with the limitations of his CPU. He mostly plays TF2 which I know doesn't take much - but I'm sure he'll need more power in the future. Thinking of spending between $150-250.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Dark Shroud]

With that CPU I would get him an AMD HD 6870. Depending on the sale or rebate you can find them for around $150 at Newegg.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Is this an OEM pre-built system? What is the PSU ratings? What resolution does he game in?

 

[celetor]

Thanks for the replies. I forgot about power supply! I'll have him check it.

It's a gateway DX4350. I told him to check and make sure it has a PCI-E slot. Probably going to need a new PSU, too.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

With that CPU I would get him an AMD HD 6870. Depending on the sale or rebate you can find them for around $150 at Newegg.

+1

For the OP: Or a 6850, however, the CPU could do with a small overclock.

But due to you mentioning that it's a pre-built Gateway system, it worries me that the BIOS is locked, and unlocking one is risky if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[Joseph F]

I would get him a Radeon 6870. It's cheap, starting at ~$160, and it performs quite close to a 1GB Radeon 6950.

 

[d3fu5i0n]

It's a gateway DX4350. I told him to check and make sure it has a PCI-E slot. Probably going to need a new PSU, too.

It has one PCIe x16 slot. I checked here: http://support.gateway.com/s/desktop/2011/gateway/dx4350/DX4350sp2.shtml
It covers all the DX4350s.

It's best to check visually, but either way, PCIe has been the standard for many years now, and it's basically guaranteed.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Thanks for the replies. I forgot about power supply! I'll have him check it.

It's a gateway DX4350. I told him to check and make sure it has a PCI-E slot. Probably going to need a new PSU, too.

If you need a new PSU this Corsair CX430 v2 is the model to get on the low end, it will handle the HD 6870 that myself & others have recommended.

 

[Dark Shroud]

It has one PCIe x16 slot. I checked here: http://support.gateway.com/s/desktop/2011/gateway/dx4350/DX4350sp2.shtml
It covers all the DX4350s.

It's best to check visually, but either way, PCIe has been the standard for many years now, and it's basically guaranteed.

:thumbsup: I was just going to check this myself. Since this PC isn't that old either it will be PCI-Ex 2.0 as well. My old Gateway system was PCI-Ex 1.0. I've also had old HP systems with no PCI-Ex slot of any kind or even AGP.

I've learned my lesson about being pre-built to always check the model's specs online.

 

[superjim]

Provided the PS is up to snuff, I'll add another vote for the 6870, nice mid-range card for the $$ and his Phenom II will handle it just fine (Skyrim aside ).

 

[celetor]

Thanks for all the replies and d3fu5i0n for even looking it up for me. I'll go with the 6870.

Thanks again!

It has one PCIe x16 slot. I checked here: http://support.gateway.com/s/desktop/2011/gateway/dx4350/DX4350sp2.shtml
It covers all the DX4350s.

It's best to check visually, but either way, PCIe has been the standard for many years now, and it's basically guaranteed.

 

[Black-Wolf]

Another vote for the 6870

 

[watek]

Would that card fit into that case?

I had a ATI 5850 that wouldn't fit inside a MATX case.

 

[lkkgg72200812]

you can choose gigabyte 6870. I like its two big fans and quiet when gaming~

 

[frozentundra123456]

As others have suggested, I am sure you will have to upgrade the power supply for a 68xx card. I doubt the OEM power supply has enough watts or the proper connectors for a 68xx series GPU (or anything except a card that runs from the PCIe slot only.)

Another option would be an HD6670. That card does not require an external power connector. It should run on an OEM power supply, but might be pushing it with a quad CPU. I am sure it would run TF fine, but depending on resolution, you would be limited to medium settings on recent, more demanding, games. BTW, what resolution will he be using?

 

[Stuka87]

I would make sure th power supply also has the required PCI-E power plug that a 6870 will require.