CarbieChronicles Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 i am in need of a new card and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction, here are my specs: Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 BIOS: BIOS Date: 09/07/10 08:41:32 Ver: 6.04 Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.8GHz Memory: 4096MB RAMAvailable OS Memory: 3840MB RAM Page File: 2109MB used, 5567MB available Windows Dir: C:\Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashogy_reborn Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 your available budget is more important than your current specs. how much are you willing to spend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAWUSS Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 your available budget is more important than your current specs. how much are you willing to spend At the same time you don't want a crap VC with a SOTA everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nattodaisuki Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 i am in need of a new card and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction, here are my specs: Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 BIOS: BIOS Date: 09/07/10 08:41:32 Ver: 6.04 Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.8GHz Memory: 4096MB RAM Available OS Memory: 3840MB RAM Page File: 2109MB used, 5567MB available Windows Dir: C:\Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 11 As the second person wrote, it all depends on your current budget However, looking at your current specs I can say... Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.8GHz Mid-range CPU, so it would be the bottleneck if you got a High-end GPU card, like a Nvidia Geforce GTX670 or above or AMD Radeon HD 7870 or above. Memory: 4096MB RAM Why use a 64-bit OS when you only have 4GB memory? Make use of the features of an 64-Bit OS and get at least 8GB (two 4GB sticks) Having just 4GB, even with a 64-bit OS, you may run into Crash-to-Desktop problems. Conclusion: 1) Nvidia Geforce GTX660ti (or GTX660) , Geforce 650Ti (or GTX650) or AMD Radeon HD 7850, HD 7770 or HD 7750. 2) take out the two 2GB memory sticks (or one 4GB stick) and get at least Two 4GB memory sticks (matched pairs) Note: if you leave the old memory and just add new memory, it may cause your system to become unstable ( it may work fine sometimes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcadamsl Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 What the guy above said, but I would add to that if you got a factory build setup you are going to need a better power supply to power any mid range card . If it is 300 to 350 watts will need to upgrade it too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petnil Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Get more ram. loads of it. it´s a cheap upgrade and will make a difference. Also more ram doesn´t require more power. Bigger GFX might require more power. Like some said, top of the line GFX is overkill with that CPU, and if your powersuply is 300-350W you probably dont want a card that use more power than the one you allready have installed. Most times prebuild PC have just enough power and a little bit extra. If you only have problems in swtor and all other games run ok, then i´d start by only getting 2x4g ram. I´d probably just stick them in and cross my fingers that stability was fine. Usually it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malastare Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Wbut I would add to that if you got a factory build setup you are going to need a better power supply to power any mid range card . If it is 300 to 350 watts will need to upgrade it too THIS If your current system has an Athlon II X4 and a video card that isn't cutting it, then I'd say there is a 95% chance that you'll need a better power supply if you install anything like an nVidia 660 Ti. Not that the card is particularly power hungry, just that it's probably going to need more power than the PSU in your current system can supply. Also, if you have a Dell/HP system (or a build that you don't know the PSU manufacturer) then it's very likely that your current PSU is crap and unsuitable for gaming video cards. That's not me being judgmental about my pet brands, that's me being realistic. A lot of Dells and HPs ship with power supplies that cannot deliver their rated wattage under full system load. If they do, then it's often "dirty" power. Either case will have the same result: An unstable system prone to reboots and a much shorter life span (as bad power puts more wear on electronics). Whenever you upgrade your system, check to see if the power supply can handle your upgrades. Never upgrade a system when you have a low-quality power supply. Or, if you do, then keep up to date on current PC hardware, because it's very possible you'll be shopping for a new one soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zataos Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 (edited) My Suggestion would be a Gigabyte Radeon 7850 2 GB card found here on Amazon for $195 Here is a link to some benchmarks for a 1GB version of it (which is about $25 less), the card receives very high scores for value/performance Like the poster said above me, check your power supply as this card requires a 500w one Edited February 9, 2013 by Zataos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarbieChronicles Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 i do have a second power supple but i forgot what watts it is, i had a old card but it burned out because it was a piece of pooh. i forgot the name of the card and the company who i bought it from, i had best buy do all my work cause i am not very educated with computers, nor do i have the time to build one. YES i know they overcharge, in the city i live in i dont trust these hole in the all computer places, i have been burned by them before. i traded in a computer to upgrade to a better one, gave this guy cash, etc. this guy shuts down his business and is to never be heard from again. i know everyone says installing a video card is easy, but what if i break it while i am trying to install it? then i am out all that money and no one to blame but myself. so i am forced to goto these places like best buy and pay out the arse in order to have something to play. unless someone is willing to drive here and install it for free i have no choice but to pay more then i want just to get what i need, nice society we have.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbothirtytwo Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Can you stick your debit/credit card back into your wallet without breaking it? If yes, then you can install a video card. All you need is a screwdriver to secure it to the computer case after inserting it in the slot. As a few people said above, upgrade to 8 gb of RAM first. As long as you have 4 ram slots, there's no need to toss what you already have. If you get 2 matched 2gb sticks, you should be able to install them alongside your existing ram and still have everything running in dual-channel. That'll cost you maybe $35, and be a nice upgrade. And I agree with the dude above who recommended the HD7850. It's a mid-range card and a much better value than anything NVidia offers in the same range. I'd recommend either MSI or Gigabyte, but Asus, Sapphire, Powercolor, and XFX are also ok if you see them on sale. If your power supply is in the neighborhood of 350-400w you should be just fine with the 7850. Most folks vastly overestimate the amount of power needed for a basic system. You can run crossfire 7970's with a full water loop on less than 750w. Modern processors draw a lot less juice than they used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asuka Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Imo, if you can afford it, $1000 is pretty much enough to get the components to build a totally new rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malastare Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 My Suggestion would be a Gigabyte Radeon 7850 2 GB card found here on Amazon for $195 Alternatively: The GTX 560 Ti is of approximately the same ability and price, but it's more efficient, produces less heat, and doesn't have as many driver issues as the AMD 7000 series. In the end, either card is more than capable of giving you decent framerates at high levels of detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarbieChronicles Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 how can i find out what the watts of my 2nd power supply is? if i open the tower will it be right in plain sight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arohanam Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 You didn't mention the type of monitor. It is the lens in which you view the universe of Star Wars. The view is only as good as the lens, no matter how powerful the person peering into the vastness. In other words your monitor is only going to display what it is capable, no matter how much video card processing power Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malastare Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 how can i find out what the watts of my 2nd power supply is? if i open the tower will it be right in plain sight? Yes, there should be a sticker on it that declares all the voltages and how much power is supplied via each. Usually there is a grand total. That total isn't necessarily the sum of the power via each voltage, as many (ethical) manufacturers recognize that you cannot fully load every line out of the PSU simultaneously. Some will actually under-report the abilities of the PSU to account for this. In theory, you don't need a power supply with all that high of a wattage. Of course, most decent PSU's will note their wattage in several places. It shouldn't be hard to find out what you've got. If it is... then that's not a good sign. Either way, I'd think that 450W would be sufficient.... so long as the PSU is good quality. Lots of builders, however, use trashy PSU's as very few people care and its an easy way to save a few bucks. If you can't see a manufacturer, assume its a low-quality PSU, and pretend that its full wattage is only 75% of what it says (as you can't trust it to actually deliver quality power above that level). Figuring out what is a good manufacturer and what isn't is not really an easy thing to do. Some are universally bad (HIC, Diablotek...) Some are almost universally good (Seasonic, Corsair, Enermax, Tagan...). Most of them are just re-packaged PSU's made by someone else, so the brand alone doesn't help. If you can find out what it is, post it here and I'll try to figure out what you've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectreclees Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 (edited) Get a 650W Power supply and GTX 660. It'll run you a few hundred bucks but it's worth it. Both will last you a long time. Edited February 9, 2013 by spectreclees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarbieChronicles Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 You didn't mention the type of monitor. It is the lens in which you view the universe of Star Wars. The view is only as good as the lens, no matter how powerful the person peering into the vastness. In other words your monitor is only going to display what it is capable, no matter how much video card processing power not sure what kind this is, maybe ASUS, that is what it looks like at the bottom of the monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandraMoody Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Get a 650W Power supply and GTX 660. It'll run you a few hundred bucks but it's worth it. Both will last you a long time. I agree with this. That's what I did as well and am very happy with the results (Cept I went 850w on the psu in case I needed more for future upgrades and extra components) 650w will do you just fine. Get speccy (or sticker check) to see what voltage you need for the ram. But DEFINITELY up your PSU. Here's the 660 I got from newegg . Card runs cool and can handle every game I throw at it...and 2gigs:) 660 Card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arohanam Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 If the native resolution on your monitor is 1280 x 1024 then any card over the GTX560 is over kill. Follow the other good suggestions in this post....like upgrade the ram, etc. You are getting good advise here, better than the service you got from Best Buy. You know if you are ready and willing to install a PSU an video card then you are half way there to building your own PC. Go For It. Your current build will do the job to play SWTOR, however building your own will give you a feeling of accomplishment greater than saving the universe. (Disclaimer: Nothing is more important than defeating the Empire) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reagan_youth Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I have a similar CPU, but mine is OC'd to around 3.4. I upgraded my RAM to 16 gigs (2 8 gig stick bundle on sale for 60 dollars) and I upgraded my video card to the Gigabyte 2 gig 7850. I was running a 560 ti but had nothing but problems out of that card. The Radeon gives me much better performance, but I felt guilty buying it as I've always been a fan of Nvidia. My biggest complaint with the card is I hate CCC. Other than that, I have loved the performance from that card. Honestly though, I saw the biggest performance increase on my machine when I added more memory. Next up for me is a SSD then a new CPU (probably next year). Hope some of that helps you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarbieChronicles Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 I have a similar CPU, but mine is OC'd to around 3.4. I upgraded my RAM to 16 gigs (2 8 gig stick bundle on sale for 60 dollars) and I upgraded my video card to the Gigabyte 2 gig 7850. I was running a 560 ti but had nothing but problems out of that card. The Radeon gives me much better performance, but I felt guilty buying it as I've always been a fan of Nvidia. My biggest complaint with the card is I hate CCC. Other than that, I have loved the performance from that card. Honestly though, I saw the biggest performance increase on my machine when I added more memory. Next up for me is a SSD then a new CPU (probably next year). Hope some of that helps you out. not trying to be a troll, but everything said here is greek to me, i dont understand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts