Video Card to put in a Free PC.

[OneWayTraffic]

I've got a free PC surplus to requirements at the school I work at. I'm looking to put a Video Card in it that will let me play the best games on it that I can without upgrading any other pieces, or bottlenecking the GPU unnecessarily.

I. Processor/CPU: Pentium Dual Core E6300 @2.9GHz IIRC

4GB RAM 500GB HDD.


II. Current Graphics Card: Onboard. G41.


III. Display Resolution: Unknown, though it's with a 19inch 4:3 monitor, so I'm guessing 1200x1024. In reality I will game at whatever resolution it can handle.


IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age).
Generic 400W with 300W available on the 12V rails. (19A and 16A apparently but the math doesn't add up...)


V. Case Specifications: Mid size tower.



Purchase Details:

I. Budget? I'm planning to spend about $150NZD max. I can get a Sapphire or Gigabyte Radeon7750 for about this, or a 640GT. For about $30 less I can get a 630GT or a 6670. The dollar amount isn't the most important thing, as long as I'm getting bang for buck and a match for the system.

V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play?

It's more about getting the GPU first and then finding the games to play. I have Oblivion, HL2 and Portal that I'd like to replay, FWIW I mostly play Starcraft 1 currently. Starcraft 2 would be nice, at whatever detail settings will make it work.




VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
No, but I will consider a OC to the CPU.


Additional Notes

I just want a good match for the old CPU with maximum bang for buck given the limitations of the system. Please no suggestions to buy a new m/b CPU combo now, it's not gonna happen.

I will be getting a new laptop from school as well. It's possible I could also game on that, if the GPU is any good.

 

[Sheep221]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121448 this would be good for the games you want to play(not sure about SC2 but the rest will work) I would not recommend to invest more than $100 in GPU for this type of computer

 

[SPBHM]

7750 sounds like a good option...

 

[MeldarthX]

best bang for your money would be 7750 it won't break any records; but it will give you best frames .....and won't push the psu too hard either

 

[OneWayTraffic]

Yes I was leaning towards the 7750. I find it fairly difficult to keep tabs on the relative performance of the newer Nvidia cards, but the Radeon scheme I can understand.

The last gaming PC I had was a Athlon64 3000 and a NV GTS8600 with a gig of RAM.

I take it that the Pentium and 7750 will be a 3x or 4x increase?

 

[MeldarthX]

at least

 

[DominionSeraph]

7750.
If the 6670 was half the price, it would be in the running, because it would pair pretty well with the Pentium E6300. But it might occasionally GPU limit the CPU, and the extra horsepower of the 7750 can always be used on AA, so for only a 20% difference it really points to the 7750.

You might want to look for used 6770/5770 (same card, different name). That would also work nicely.

 

[notty22]

If possible get a gddr5 video card vs a 7750ddr3. The ddr3 is less powerful.

 

[Jimzz]

Yep DDR5 7750. The DDR3 just sucks. It like the GT640, good chip but held back by the awful memory.

 

[vailr]

GTX 650, which occasionally can be found for ~$70 USD (new), after rebate.
Don't know about NZD $ pricing, however.

 

[r3awak3n]

I would probably look into the used section, get something a little better for your price range.

 

[Arkadrel]

I take it that the Pentium and 7750 will be a 3x or 4x increase?

Yep a 7750 should be a 300%+ upgrade in performance compaired to the 8600 GTS.

It should also cut your power consumption down by alot (esp in idle mode),
if you keep your PC on alot, it could pay it self off in saved electric bills.

Also a 7750 is faster than the 5770s, and plenty of people with 5770's are able to play
Oblivion, HL2 and Portal ect just fine.

exsample:

old review (earlier drivers) of a 7750 running Portal 2.
You can see its giveing decent FPS even while running
1920x1200 - Very High Quality + 4xMSAA/16xAF


Starcraft 2 might be pushing it, if you want to play at 1920x1200 though...

 

[lavaheadache]

I'd probably look for a used GTX 285 or HD 4890, something along those lines. I would rather have a top of the line card from yesterday than a shoddy card from today. That's just me though

 

[DominionSeraph]

I'd probably look for a used GTX 285 or HD 4890, something along those lines. I would rather have a top of the line card from yesterday than a shoddy card from today. That's just me though

His PSU can't handle those leaf blowers.
And yes, you are the only one. I'd rather have a 6570 than a 12MB Voodoo2.

 

[Eureka]

I'd probably look for a used GTX 285 or HD 4890, something along those lines. I would rather have a top of the line card from yesterday than a shoddy card from today. That's just me though

I wouldn't. Same performance, but runs hotter, requires more power, requires more space, and doesn't have some of the newer tech. Why bother?

7750, 650, 7770, or 650 Ti... they all should work rather well. I think stretching it a bit and getting a 650 Ti isn't out of the question, but I believe you will need to pull an extra power line for the PCI-e power.

The 650 Ti will give you the most performance, but only if you can find it within the same price range as the 7750. At retail price, the 650 Ti costs as much as a 7850, and you'd be far better off going for the latter in that case.

It seems like you're not in the US, so I can't help you find a good price for one. Between all the choices you've listed, the 7750 is the best choice.

 

[r3awak3n]

When I was talking about getting something used I was talking about say a 560ti for example, might be more than he wants to spend but I sold mine like 5 months ago for $125 but I know they went up.

 

[KompuKare]

I'd probably look for a used GTX 285 or HD 4890, something along those lines. I would rather have a top of the line card from yesterday than a shoddy card from today. That's just me though

Totally off topic, but while I don't agree with you for GPUs, I think that's excellent advice for laptops. I'd much rather have used business-grade laptop (Thinkpad, Elitebook etc) than a made-as-cheap-as-possible plastic consumer laptop even if that means going back a generation or so with the CPU. Might just be me though...

 

[frozentundra123456]

Yep DDR5 7750. The DDR3 just sucks. It like the GT640, good chip but held back by the awful memory.

I didnt know they even made a DDR3 version of the HD7750. Anyway, something to make sure about, but the 7750 would be my choice as well. Decent performance, easy on the PSU, and doesnt require an auxilliary connector, except maybe for the ghz edition.

 

[OneWayTraffic]

Well I 'splashed out' and bought a 7750 for $161 NZD. That was the GDDR5 version the DDR3 was about $20 less for 2GB of slower memory. Why you'd want 2GB of too slow vs 1GB of faster is beyond me but oh well.

I looked at second hand cards; Some decent deals along with the $30 X1600 lol, but all involved 4850s, GF285s or the like that would involve a PSU upgrade. So no thanks.

 

[DooKey]

Well I 'splashed out' and bought a 7750 for $161 NZD. That was the GDDR5 version the DDR3 was about $20 less for 2GB of slower memory. Why you'd want 2GB of too slow vs 1GB of faster is beyond me but oh well.

I looked at second hand cards; Some decent deals along with the $30 X1600 lol, but all involved 4850s, GF285s or the like that would involve a PSU upgrade. So no thanks.

Good call. You'll be happy with that 7850.

 

[OneWayTraffic]

Good call. You'll be happy with that 7850.

Well I would be. :sneaky:

But I'll have to settle for what I got I think.


Oh and thanks everyone for the advice. Even though I was pointed where I was already headed, validation is always nice to have!