Mashugana Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I thought I had a decent machine but I have to run SWTOR at all the lowest settings. I wonder if I can upgrade my graphics card? My worry is my power. I currently have a Radeon HD 5670 and a 350w power supply. Intel Core Duo 2.3ghz. My research indicates that this is about as far as I can push a 350w power supply. Am I right? TYVM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jybwee Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/ Are just a few, none are perfect but will give you a pretty good idea. Always give yourself a little breathing room when upgrading your PSU. From AMD.com - (http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/ati-radeon-hd-5670-overview/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5670-overview.aspx#3) Suggested ATI Radeon™ HD 5670 1GB GDDR5 System Requirements PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard 400 Watt or greater power supply recommended (500 Watt for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode) Edited January 25, 2012 by Jybwee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra-one-niner Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I'm currently running a ATI HD6750 with a 350 watt power supply, and I'm not having any problems, however, I believe anything above the 6700 series requires its own power plug. I was wondering about upgrading my power supply also, so I'd be curious as to the answers in this thread also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zyonix Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 buy good 600-700 w power supply and forget about this problem for next couple years ! Dont think,that install new graphic card with this supply is good idea. You must have at least 400-450W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jybwee Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 recommended is of course a recommendation. You want to take the chance by saving money on a PSU be my guest. I have built many o systems and PSU is definitely NOT the place to save money.. tho i do overclock and like to stress my systems so take that for what you will. I make sure i have a good brand with good reviews and plenty of breathing room for overclocking and future upgrades. Spend the money now and when you get rid of that crappy cpu and decide to upgrade then you'll have a PSU to start ya off, and possibly a gpu. 2 of the best brands, just in my opinion tho - Corsair or Coolermaster. Just make sure to look up reviews and do your research before buying anything.. good advise for any purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarrot Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 buy good 600-700 w power supply and forget about this problem for next couple years ! Dont think,that install new graphic card with this supply is good idea. You must have at least 400-450W I would agree. Upgrade the Power Supply... Right now you can grab a decent 700w supply for 60 Bucks after rebate. It's essentially half off... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owsley Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 FYI Here is a good Power Supply FAQ. BTW you need a new one. http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1036 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evilpuppy Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 dear god.. 350w PS... your under powering the hardware you currently running. There is no way you can upgrade to a modern graphics card on a 350w. Upgrade your PS before buying a new video card! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashugana Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks all. I am trying to squeeze all the life out of this PC that I can, then build a new one from scratch later this year (like, Christmas). So, which option makes the most sense: 1) Keep what I have, use ATI Overdrive to overclock my graphics card 2) Spend the money on a power supply upgrade, then move that power supply over to the new PC later this year (saving money) 3) Leave it as is and wait to rebuild the whole thing Thanks again - learning lots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owsley Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Thanks all. I am trying to squeeze all the life out of this PC that I can, then build a new one from scratch later this year (like, Christmas). So, which option makes the most sense: 1) Keep what I have, use ATI Overdrive to overclock my graphics card 2) Spend the money on a power supply upgrade, then move that power supply over to the new PC later this year (saving money) 3) Leave it as is and wait to rebuild the whole thing Thanks again - learning lots. You might be pushing the limit of your PS right now. Upgrade now and use it in your new build later this year. BTW i went SSD for my boot disk and SWTOR. It's pretty amazing. Prices are dropping rapidly. Consider it when you do a new build. Edited January 25, 2012 by Owsley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashugana Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks - that makes sense. Will an upgrade in PSU have any beneficial effect (i.e. better performance from my card)? Or is it more of a safety precaution to run what I already have? Thanks again - graphics cards have always confused me. I sincerely have no idea what card is better than my 5670. You'd think anything 6xxx is an upgrade, but I do not think it is that simple. Gah. Its like they try and confuse me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jybwee Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Thanks again - graphics cards have always confused me. I sincerely have no idea what card is better than my 5670. You'd think anything 6xxx is an upgrade, but I do not think it is that simple. Gah. Its like they try and confuse me... Bascially the way AMD/ATI does it is - First number is which series the card is from, higher is USUALLY better but definitely NOT always. second number is kinda the meat of the numbering system - x4xx - really low end budget cards x5xx, x6xx - little lower than avg. x7xx - middle of the road, probably most sold x8xx - now we getting into gamer cards x9xx - enthusiast cards, mmmmm third number is just breaking it down further from the second basically. fourth number.. um.. idk tbh in most cases i have this way of thinking about it.. let's take your card, the 5670 so it's rating in my mind a 6.7 (1-10 scale) in series 5 My card - 6970 so it's rated (in my mind) a 9.7 in series 6 edit: oh the NOT always part - whatever you do, do NOT buy a 9200 or something thinking its the best series out there. I'm not exactly sure when they changed the whole numbering system but i've been thinking of it the way i mentioned for quite a while and hasnt failed me yet. Thanks - that makes sense. Will an upgrade in PSU have any beneficial effect (i.e. better performance from my card)? Or is it more of a safety precaution to run what I already have? It's more precautionary... BAD things can happen when you ain't giving your card the juice it's asking for. Edited January 25, 2012 by Jybwee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owsley Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Thanks - that makes sense. Will an upgrade in PSU have any beneficial effect (i.e. better performance from my card)? Or is it more of a safety precaution to run what I already have? More to prevent system damage. I had an underpowered PS a long time ago and when a game did something CPU and graphicly intense at the same time, the system would crash. Not good for your hard drive and other componants. You need to build for peak power consumption. Edited January 25, 2012 by Owsley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowmedown Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) dear god.. 350w PS... your under powering the hardware you currently running. There is no way you can upgrade to a modern graphics card on a 350w. Upgrade your PS before buying a new video card! His system is probaly drawing about 185 WATTS total max load if that much. His GPU draws TDP 61 WATTS http://www.hwcompare.com/5905/radeon-hd-5670-vs-radeon-hd-6850/ Edited January 25, 2012 by blowmedown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yvin Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi everyone, We've closed this thread as we have consolidated discussions related to hardware and builds: The Ultimate guide to speeding up win 7 on low/mid range systems ready for TOR!*Ultimate* Desktop PC Performance GuideDesktop computer hardware Q&ALaptop computer hardware Q&ALooking to build a machine? Also, please be sure to see our FAQ regarding Technical Requirements: http://www.swtor.com/info/faq#171060 Please continue your discussion at the above links. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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