Sick of my HD3200 IGP.... Need upgrade advice.

[Crow550]

Gateway DX4200-09

Hey my current setup is: http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668220.php

I haven't bothered updating since the games I do play were playable. While I can play L4D2. It's a little less than 30 FPS which is not good. Unless I turn everything down and it looks like a first gen PS2 game.....LOL.

Got Windows 7 Home Premium & Xtreme Music X-Fi card.

I want something that will give me good frames and visuals....


Thanks.

 

[happy medium]

You have a 300 watt power supply.
If you don't want to replace it, get a 9800gt low power version and save some money.
It will be 3 times faster then your IGP.
They go for about 90/100$

 

[hans030390]

A 4650/4670 should also run off the 300 Watt PSU. I ran a 4650 on a 300 watt PSU.

 

[Crow550]

Yeah but I said I might be getting: BFG 550W Power Supply with Thermaltake 220W SLI Subsidary bay power supply....

 

[edplayer]

how much do arms and legs cost where you live?

 

[Crow550]

LOL. Well i'm getting a good deal on the power supply. So I figure why not.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

You can't do SLI or Crossfire; your motherboard doesn't support it. Also it would be a bit of a waste to do a high-end GPU setup with that pretty weak processor.

There's no need to get two power supplies either. In fact you don't have to get a new PSU. Take Happy Medium's advice. Get a low power 9800GT or 9600GT, a GTS 240, a Radeon HD4770, or a Radeon HD4670. These should work fine wth your current setup.

 

[Crow550]

Will I be able to run most games at the highest settings at max res?

Plus the power supply deal is for $35 which I thought was a pretty sweet deal.

I want to some what future proof. Then again I don't know what games in the future I want...... Right now I plan to get GTA 4 and Ghostbusters......Other than that...... Whenever HL2 Episode 3 comes out. Maybe Serious Sam HD episode 1 and Doom 4.....

So trying to figure out how much to invest in an upgrade.....Do I invest some in a new card then save for something better in the future....Or save now and go for it now?

Also thanks for reminding me that the mobo needs to support SLI / Crossfire. I don't know what I was thinking.... I guess because the HD3200 does some Hybrid Crossfire thing with like a HD3450.

Thanks....

 

[cusideabelincoln]

What is max res? You need a really beefy video card to run all games at their highest settings at 2560x1600. For 1080p, you can run almost all games just fine with a video card like a GTX260, HD5770, or HD4890. With any of these three cards I would suggest you upgrade the power supply; the BFG for only $35 will work fine and you won't need the Thermaltake.

Oh yeh, GTA4 for the PC is only $7.50 at steampowered.com. I suggest you get a steam account (if you don't have one) and buy it! Ghostbusters is also on sale for $6.79. Hurry before the GTA4 deal runs out.

 

[Crow550]

My monitor does 1440x900.

As for the power supply. I might get it. Waiting for an e-mail response.

I'm debating on GTA 4 & Ghostbusters.....As I am busy with other games and think by the time I get to these two titles. They will be $5 clearance at retail stores..... However I am debating this.....

 

[Crow550]

Snagged up GTA4 when it was on sale. I won't be getting that power supply.

So I need to find the best video card for my power supply or the best that will need a bigger power supply and go from there.

 

[hans007]

i good 300 watt, and most big box name computers have pretty decent PSUs. will be able to support much more than a 4670.

you could probably easily run a radeon 4770 or 4850 or 5770 in there.

also , the 9100e is a pretty slow gaming cpu at only 1.8ghz.

i'd probably suggest upgrading to whwatever faster cpu that board supports. it has a 780g in there, so it should be am2+, but make sure the bios supports the new AM3 chips, or just go get an older cpu like say a 7850 dual core that will definitely work.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

I don't think the AMD 7850 would be that much of an upgrade over the 9150e for GTA4, which likes quad cores. Not to mention it the 7850 will use more power. It would be worth the "risk" to go for any Athlon II X4 (620, 630) or Phenom II X4 (800, 900 series) or even a Phenom II X3.

A Radeon HD5750 or 5770 would be the best performance per watt, and they don't use any more power than a 9800GT or HD4850 while being faster. Those two cards should work fine. The 4850 also uses quite a bit more power than the 4770, so I'm not sure why you lumped those two together.

As for a fast card which will probably require Crow to get a new PSU, I'd say a GTX260, HD4890, or HD5850 are about the only options.

 

[novice]

The OP never said if he had a budget, but if he does, he could just go for a Radeon HD4670. It will run fine on his 300W PSU, and will be a great improvement over his onboard video. He should be able to play most games at his 1440 x 900 resolution with that card. If he has the cash and wants to upgrade his PSU, then the sky is the limit, but he will be bottlenecked by that CPU. While it is a quad core, not that many games take full advantage, and that particular quad core is only clocked at 1.80 Ghz. I think a number of dual core cpu's with higher clock speeds would outperform it on most games.
Still, all things being relative, the 4670 is a great "bang for the buck" card, and would be a very noticeable improvement over the 3200 onboard video. Wouldn't even be a bad idea to just get one of those, and upgrade the PSU, too.

 

[evolucion8]

Yeah, my brother's in law has a HD 3870 which performs the same as the HD 4670 and he can max Need for Speed Shift plus 4x FSAA, and he can do the same with Resident Evil 5, everything at his native resolution of 1280x1024.

 

[Jovec]

If your budget is small, at 1440x900 just get a 4670 and be done with it.

If you plan to keep upgrading, you'll eventually be looking at a new PSU, new CPU, and new monitor if you want to get to the limits of something like a 5770 or better.

 

[Crow550]

Would this be a good choice? If I get it for a good deal?

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814121272


As far as budget goes....I could start an upgrade path, however it would be by part. So like GPU then Power Supply, then CPU. That would work. Just don't have the dough to buy it all at once........Right now.

As far as a new Monitor goes.....I am happy with the one I have. I might go bigger or dual, down the road.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[evolucion8]

Would this be a good choice? If I get it for a good deal?

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814121272


As far as budget goes....I could start an upgrade path, however it would be by part. So like GPU then Power Supply, then CPU. That would work. Just don't have the dough to buy it all at once........Right now.

As far as a new Monitor goes.....I am happy with the one I have. I might go bigger or dual, down the road.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Nice card, but appears to be deactivated, good for gaming performance under 1440x900 or lower.

 

[Crow550]

Nice card, but appears to be deactivated, good for gaming performance under 1440x900 or lower.

I found it somewhere for $70 used.

I'd need a 450 watt power supply.

Plus some of the reviews on newegg.com say the fan is crap and it over heats?

 

[evolucion8]

Usually companies uses cheap thermal paste, and sometimes the cooler isn't even set properly. Seating the cooler along with a thermal paste change, dropped my videocard temps during usage by 10C, which isn't bad at all.

 

[Crow550]

Debating on two cards now. Your input is welcome.

ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB or (whoops this is too old). Both fairly cheap. What's the reviews on these cards?

Or should I wait for something better?

Also might be snagging a bigger power supply soon too.

 

[toyota]

Debating on two cards now. Your input is welcome.

ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB or NVIDIA Geforce 8500GT 512mb. Both fairly cheap. What's the reviews on these cards?

Or should I wait for something better?

Also might be snagging a bigger power supply soon too.

oh dear lord I hope you are not serious. if you are actually thinking that an 8500gt is remotely in the same catagory as a 4850 then step away from the computer and do not touch it ever again, lol. the 8500gt is piss poor for gaming and is much closer to your igp than a 4850. really how did you find those cards to be in a similar price bracket anyway?

 

[konakona]

that was a bit harsh
but yeah 4850 is quite potent at 1080p and anything under it when overclocked. 8500gt on the other hand... I am not sure if I would find a place to use it even if it was given out free of charge. hell, my secondary rig has a (cheap) 9600gso.

 

[toyota]

that was a bit harsh
but yeah 4850 is quite potent at 1080p and anything under it when overclocked. 8500gt on the other hand... I am not sure if I would find a place to use it even if it was given out free of charge. hell, my secondary rig has a (cheap) 9600gso.

I was not trying to be harsh. it is amazing that somebody could be that much out of the loop though but I guess we all were at one time. even if he didnt know anything about video cards surely just doing a few minutes of research would have made him realize the 8500gt is not in the same category.

I still want to know where a 4850 and 8500gt are being sold at similar prices. somebody is either getting ripped off or a superb deal.

 

[exar333]

If your budget is small, at 1440x900 just get a 4670 and be done with it.

If you plan to keep upgrading, you'll eventually be looking at a new PSU, new CPU, and new monitor if you want to get to the limits of something like a 5750/5770 or better.

+1. (added the 5750 option)