Computer Upgrade Help!

[BrandonSBCA]

Okay I'm now searching for two things now Power Supply and a Video Card. The Power Supply would only be used if the card requires more power, but if the card doesn't require a whole lot of power then I can just buy the card and still run it.

Any help would be nice.

 

[BrandonSBCA]

Don't everyone raise their hand all at once....

 

[provenlogic]

Sorry .

How can i help you sir?

J/K

Since i didn't read your initial posts, what exactly are you looking for? What kind of video card? Gaming? Professional? Mid-range? High-End? Uber-super? Low-end? Nerdgasm-OMG-Nuclear-Power-Planet-Required-High-End?

Any particular chip brand you want to stick to? You can choose from all of two . What do you plan on using the card for? What do you want out of it? How long do you want it to last? How much are you willing to fork over for it?

The power supply is secondary, we need to figure out what kind of video card you want first. You may not need a new supply at all, then again if you get a Quad-SLi video card array, you might need more power... just a hunch.

 

[BrandonSBCA]

Sorry .

How can i help you sir?

J/K

Since i didn't read your initial posts, what exactly are you looking for? What kind of video card? Gaming? Professional? Mid-range? High-End? Uber-super? Low-end? Nerdgasm-OMG-Nuclear-Power-Planet-Required-High-End?

Any particular chip brand you want to stick to? You can choose from all of two . What do you plan on using the card for? What do you want out of it? How long do you want it to last? How much are you willing to fork over for it?

The power supply is secondary, we need to figure out what kind of video card you want first. You may not need a new supply at all, then again if you get a Quad-SLi video card array, you might need more power... just a hunch.

I usually wanted a video card for gaming and something that can stand the power supply of 330 watts. I don't want a really really powerful card, I was just looking for suggestions on if it is good to use with the computer I have now since the only thing I need is a good video card, that's the only thing keeping my computer from running smoothly. PCI-Express seems to be a high demanding card....

If you see what I mean.

 

[tatu101]

Hello I'm back, I've been dying to ask this question.

Okay I came to the conclusion that I need memory, a video card, and possibly a power supply.

I'm afraid to even open my computer. But I was mainly wanting memory at first, I searched and it told me I had two 512MB PC2 4300 (266MHz) memory sticks, which came up to 1GB of RAM. 256MB of memory was used though for the Integrated video card. So I thought okay all I need to do was find those type of memory sticks and insert like a two 1GB memory sticks o I can have 3GB of memory. That would come up to like over 100 dollars.

Then I needed a video card, a PCI-Express video card, when I looked online for them, they said they it requires a 400watt power supply, and I looked online for information on what type of power supply I had, I read a review somewhere about my computer that inside the computer contained a 330watt power supply. So I looked everywhere for one and this is where I'm stumped.

I pretty much need to buy a Powerful power supply in order to upgrade a nice video card into my system? I've seen video cards that were 256MB PCI-Express video cards and they say that I need a 300 watt power supply, so would that be a good choice? Can anyone recommend some video cards that aren't over 200 dollars that will be able to work on a 300watt power supply?

have you tried compressing your files on your local hard drive do that then use disk defragmeter and then use disk clean up that should give you some memory the video card it seems like youre toast oh uninstall things you dont use on youre computer anymore to that should give you some memory to. Do you have a pc or a laptop?

 

[BrandonSBCA]

have you tried compressing your files on your local hard drive do that then use disk defragmeter and then use disk clean up that should give you some memory the video card it seems like youre toast oh uninstall things you dont use on youre computer anymore to that should give you some memory to. Do you have a pc or a laptop?

I have a PC and I already figured out the memory I now have 2GB of RAM so I can run more applications without worrying of running low on system resources. The only scare I came close to was when copying a DVD.

 

[tatu101]

oh that makes good advice

 

[provenlogic]

You should never compress the contents of your local hard drive - especially the one that holds the Windows folder and Program Files folder - any space you save would be at the sake of slowing down your PC unbelievably. Compressed files have to be decompressed to be used and re-compressed afterwards.

Ditto, compressing your HDD is absurd (that seems to be my new favorite word these days...). Now, compressing your junk files to save space, that's another thing. If you have porn, compress away. But don't do it to anything that's actively used... EVER.

 

[provenlogic]

I usually wanted a video card for gaming and something that can stand the power supply of 330 watts. I don't want a really really powerful card, I was just looking for suggestions on if it is good to use with the computer I have now since the only thing I need is a good video card, that's the only thing keeping my computer from running smoothly. PCI-Express seems to be a high demanding card....

If you see what I mean.

Well lets start with what kind of card you have now? What kind of interface you have? AGP, PCI, PCIe? 330 watts is INCREDIBLY low by today's standards. I'm surprised your PC runs stabily on that low a wattage. I'd probably suggest you get a new PSU no matter what video card you get. And certainly if you get a PCIe card you're going to have to get a new PSU. The good news is that PSUs are pretty cheap.

So basically you want a mid-level gaming card? You might skim these and see if you like anything:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130088

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150228

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130086

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150238

 

[BrandonSBCA]

Well lets start with what kind of card you have now? What kind of interface you have? AGP, PCI, PCIe? 330 watts is INCREDIBLY low by today's standards. I'm surprised your PC runs stabily on that low a wattage. I'd probably suggest you get a new PSU no matter what video card you get. And certainly if you get a PCIe card you're going to have to get a new PSU. The good news is that PSUs are pretty cheap.

So basically you want a mid-level gaming card? You might skim these and see if you like anything:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130088

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150228

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130086

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150238

If I was to already get a new power supply I would probably will be getting a very good video card nothing that goes beyond $200 dollars. I've actually seen a good decent amount of cards.

I don't know how to install the PSU so I might just take that to a computer expert to have them install it. Also I'm on PCIe, I did see some good cards that had minimum 300 watt PSU usage. Because this video card I have no is taking up about 200 to 300MB of memory from my system.

 

[provenlogic]

If I was to already get a new power supply I would probably will be getting a very good video card nothing that goes beyond $200 dollars. I've actually seen a good decent amount of cards.

I don't know how to install the PSU so I might just take that to a computer expert to have them install it. Also I'm on PCIe, I did see some good cards that had minimum 300 watt PSU usage. Because this video card I have no is taking up about 200 to 300MB of memory from my system.

Hrm, ok. Well then do you mean $200 total? Or just for the video card? Do you want a video card that goes right up to $200? There are a lot of levels of decent, good, great, and uber video cards. Ranging from $150 anywhere to $600. You've got to figure about $50-$75 for a good PSU as well.

Either way, you're going to need a new PSU for your PCIe video card (they like to suck power), in addition to the card itself. You can probably get away with both a good video card and a good PSU for $300. If that's too much, then you'll have to get less video card.

Do you want me (or anyone) to just pick this out for you? Or how would you like us to help?

 

[BrandonSBCA]

Hrm, ok. Well then do you mean $200 total? Or just for the video card? Do you want a video card that goes right up to $200? There are a lot of levels of decent, good, great, and uber video cards. Ranging from $150 anywhere to $600. You've got to figure about $50-$75 for a good PSU as well.

Either way, you're going to need a new PSU for your PCIe video card (they like to suck power), in addition to the card itself. You can probably get away with both a good video card and a good PSU for $300. If that's too much, then you'll have to get less video card.

Do you want me (or anyone) to just pick this out for you? Or how would you like us to help?

$200 dollars max for the card, and about whatever it costs for the power supply. I found a power supply that received a lot of good reviews, but I'm totally clueless on how to install a power supply because I've never installed one before in the past.

Anyone can do it, but not many people play games on their PC so they can't help me much on that.

 

[BrandonSBCA]

X-Finity PSUs get great reviews all across the web and you can pick up a 500w one for 70-80 bucks.

http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=60&pPath=383&productID=383

Wow they actually have one at amazon.com for 50 bucks!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BGKIUK...e=380333&creativeASIN=B000BGKIUK&linkCode=asn

 

[provenlogic]

I'd check and see if they have that PSU on www.newegg.com, they usually have lower prices than TD, and they have a warehouse very near you in CA, which means shipping will be quick.

As for video cards, i'll just go ahead and recommend any of these 3 for $200. Personally, i like the brand eVGA, i've never had a bad experience with them, and they have a nifty trade up program, if any time within 3 months you decide you want a better video card, you send them the old one and they'll send you the new one and all you pay is the price difference between the two. The other brand here is XFX, also a very reliable brand.

$164.99 - EVGA 256-P2-N765-AR GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

$179.99 - XFX PVT84GUDF3 GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

$209.99 - EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - My personal fave. Twice the memory for only $10 more than you were looking at, and guess what, it comes with a $10 mail-in-rebate . It even uses a standard Molex power plug, which makes compatibility easier.

All of these are DirectX 10, Vista, and HDCP compatible, so they'll take you into the future nicely. Well as far as you can expect any hardware to these days. If i were you, i'd go with the 3rd one, but any of those is ok by me. Noelie?

 

[BrandonSBCA]

I think I might end up going with the third one, that would one be a nice buy.

 

[provenlogic]

I think you'd be pretty happy with it. That's a lot of card for $200. And with eVGA's step up program, assuming you want something even better within 90 days, you only pay the difference in the price. But i think it's probably a great card for you. It can CERTAINLY handle Vista Aero, and pretty much any game. It's not uber top of the line, but unless you are going to play first person shooters at 60fps for hours on end, i don't think you need an uber card. And this one is pretty uber for the price.

Noelie, any opinions?

As for the PSU, i don't know if you had your heart set on one particular brand, but i'd check out what newegg has, they ofter have deals, and they have a ton of selection. And i've never had a single problem with newegg, their reputation is impeccable with me. I've spent literally thousands of dollars with them over the years. Anyways, let us know what you decide!

 

[_AJ_]

you could always go with ATI's 2600 series cards they also use less power than the nvidias i think and dont need another connector except some for the fans 400w power supply is all that is recommended which is good for me since my psu is 400

the prices are in aussie dollars so and include tax so you could probably find them cheaper over there

XpertVision ATI HD2600XT Super PCI-E 512MB 128-bit DDR3, Dual DVI, Fan

ASUS EAH2600XTD4-HTDI-256 Radeon HD 2600XT, 256MB, DDR4, PCIEx16, VGA, HDTV, DVI-I, HDMI
this one has ddr4 ram but only 256 mb

 

[provenlogic]

I'd definitely go with the 3rd one - it's a beaut and I'd get the biggest fuck-off PSU your money can buy (like the X-finity 600w one). I have to go to my local PC superstore tomorrow and buy something now - all you guys buying new stuff makes me feel left out.

p.s. Despite someone in the reviews criticising the molex connector power supply on the card I think it's a great idea and as another reviewer pointed out you can get a Y connector to give it a dual rail power supply.

edit: I'm not mad about the DVI-2-VGA adaptors - will they not stick out a bit once the VGA connection is in? I'd be of the mind to put a rubber band or a tie of some kind on it to keep it supported.

The molex is better imo. Comes with a splitter like you said, won't take up your plugs.

All good cards come with 2 DVI connectors now. Even mine does, so i have to use DVI>VGA adapters (that come with the card). There is ABSOLUTELY no quality interferance whatsover, that's been proven time and again by hardware guides. And they only stick out about what, 2 inches max. That's nothing bad at all, i've been living with them for years. And the adapters actually have thumbscrews that go into the video card bracket, just like a monitor cable. And on the back, they have thumbscrew receivers for you to screw the monitor cable plug into. So there's no need for ties.

Anyways, i'm off to the beach for R&R, next post (hopefully) will come from me sipping a mai tai (sp?) by the pool. See ya's!

 

[me12121]

If I was to already get a new power supply I would probably will be getting a very good video card nothing that goes beyond $200 dollars. I've actually seen a good decent amount of cards.

I don't know how to install the PSU so I might just take that to a computer expert to have them install it. Also I'm on PCIe, I did see some good cards that had minimum 300 watt PSU usage. Because this video card I have no is taking up about 200 to 300MB of memory from my system.

A PSU isn't very hard to install. My 70 year old uncle who barely knows anything about computers installed one recently when his PSU broke down. Really, all you have to do is take out the wires connecting the PSU to the motherboard, CD drives, hard drives and possibly fans and then unscrew 4 screws on the back of the power supply. It'll slide out, then you can put the new one in and connect the wires to where you disconnected them on the old one.

 

[sheep]

I did see some good cards that had minimum 300 watt PSU usage. Because this video card I have no is taking up about 200 to 300MB of memory from my system.

Erm, I'm confused. In the Mac world, video cards have their own memory. How is your card taking 200-300MB from your system? What am I missing?

The other question I have, is if you have a 300 watt PS now and put in a 600, where does the additional heat go, and if you say into your room, isn't the temperature of the air going back into the box going to increase?

Inquiring minds need to know.