Graphics card help

[SpiffyLancelot]

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz 3.10 GHz
RAM: 6.00 GB
System type: 64-bit OS
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6450

I know this isn't the best forum for this kind of question, but this IS in anticipation for Skyrim afterall.

I'm a bit worried my crappy entry level graphics card won't handle Skyrim, I'm wanting to get a new one but I'm mildly tech-tarded. My price range is around 300 dollars, I live in new zealand, so any companies would need to be able to ship internationally... Ideally I'd love to get one from a Australian or New Zealand hardware company, or trademe.co.nz.

So! For my price range, which card do you guys recommend I get? Thanks in advance! Also, can anyone confirm that what I have is indeed a PCI-E card? I don't want to accidently get the wrong graphics card... Exact computer: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/au/en/ho/WF06b/12454-12454-3329740-64546-64546-5035348-5036188.html

[MrShooter]

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz 3.10 GHz
RAM: 6.00 GB
System type: 64-bit OS
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6450

I know this isn't the best forum for this kind of question, but this IS in anticipation for Skyrim afterall.

I'm a bit worried my crappy entry level graphics card won't handle Skyrim, I'm wanting to get a new one but I'm mildly tech-tarded. My price range is around 300 dollars, I live in new zealand, so any companies would need to be able to ship internationally... Ideally I'd love to get one from a Australian or New Zealand hardware company, or trademe.co.nz.

So! For my price range, which card do you guys recommend I get? Thanks in advance! Also, can anyone confirm that what I have is indeed a PCI-E card? I don't want to accidently get the wrong graphics card... Exact computer: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/au/en/ho/WF06b/12454-12454-3329740-64546-64546-5035348-5036188.html

The card you have is entry level, but it's not completely underpowered. It should run skyrim, maybe not on very high settings.

I looked up the technical specifications on your computer and it DOES have a PCI-Express slot, which is being used by the 6450.
Unfortunately, the power supply of your computer is only 300 watts, which will be a severe hindrance for upgrading your graphics card.

Mid-high end graphics cards consume a lot of power, and if you go over the limit of your power supply (also taking the power consumption of the rest of the computer components into consideration) you can experience all sorts of fun problems like video errors, crashing, or your power supply shorting out and taking the motherboard with it. Low power graphics cards don't get a whole lot better than the one you have now.




To be safe, you probably want to add a new power supply to the list.

Here's a pretentiously named but very well reviewed 500 watt power supply (http://www.dtconline.co.nz/components/componentview-specs.asp?partid=9971) that should last you for quite a long time. It's about $100, I'm afraid that was among the cheapest I could find in New Zealand (shopping outside my country is haaard).

You can try your hand at looking for other places that carry it, or other power supplies, but don't get a previously owned power supply. And DON'T get a cheap power supply, like a "700 watt" power supply for under $100. Cheap power supplies have crappy components that can short out and take the computer with them. They're nothing to screw with. Stick to brands like Antec, Corsair, PC Power&Cooling, and Coolermaster.

And here's a Radeon HD 56770 PCI-Express video card (http://www.dtconline.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=11065). It's not top of the line, but it's a pretty huge upgrade. I've used a 5770 (the 6770 is the same thing as a 5770, the tech industry is a scary place) two years ago, and it had no problem maxing out most games, including Fallout: New Vegas. The only thing that gave it hell was Metro 2033.

The total for both the power supply and the video card is $280, so you should be good to go.

[SpiffyLancelot]

Hey, thanks soooo much! That's a big help, I'll see what I can do about my power supply too then! :)

Erm, is there anything special I need to know about power supplies? Like are there different sizes? Or do any fit? Because I was looking at this one maybe... http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/components/cases-power-supplies/power-supplies/auction-410503973.htm

[Caiobrz]

I would go for the nVidia GTS 450.

Same price, but support PhysX =p

linky: http://www.dtconline.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=10686

As for the PSU you can calculate how much you need here: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

[MrShooter]

Hey, thanks soooo much! That's a big help, I'll see what I can do about my power supply too then! :)

Erm, is there anything special I need to know about power supplies? Like are there different sizes? Or do any fit? Because I was looking at this one maybe... http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/components/cases-power-supplies/power-supplies/auction-410503973.htm

Most PSU's are all a standard size, you'd have to go out of your way to find a non-standard PSU, and most of those are less than 100 watts designed for really small computers. You've got a standard computer design so pretty much any power supply should be compatible.

Replacing the power supply is a bit of a pain because there are about a dozen cables that connect to various PC components. You will have to unplug the computer, then open it up and unplug all of the cables inside and remember to plug the same cables back in with the new power supply.

The power supply you linked is also a good brand and is at a much better price. You should get it as long as it's new, I don't trust secondhand computer parts so much.

I would go for the nVidia GTS 450.

Same price, but support PhysX =p

linky: http://www.dtconline.co.nz/component...p?partid=10686 (http://www.dtconline.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=10686)

As for the PSU you can calculate how much you need here: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

PhysX is an awful, awful joke of a physics engine that looks buggy as hell at the best of times, is intentionally crippled on the PC platform (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/07/did-nvidia-cripple-its-cpu-gaming-physics-library-to-spite-intel.ars) so that an nvidia card is "necessary" to run it, and is used by like 5 games in any respectable capacity, and nvidia is a horrible corporation

I am also saying this as an owner of those physx games and a high end nvidia card

seriously, physx is a pile of garbage

But other than that yeah, that nvidia card is comparable to the 6770 and is the same price
From what I can find the 6770 is significantly better preforming in benchmarks though

[Caiobrz]

Oh no here comes fanboysm on top of this.

On PhysX only (not ATI vs nVidia common flame wars we are all used about):

If you actually had played Alice: Madness Returns, the first game to actually use full PhysX capabilities (or not, it still does not really use the APEX module), you would know it is AWESOME and makes a huge difference. The game with PhysX on high is a totally different game than with that off (and the PS3/XBOX versions run it with no PhysX since they can't handle it). All other games you own that say they use PhysX, well, they don't, they probably use like 10% of it's features, and badly (namely games which claim to use it: Mafia and Batman Arkam)

PhysX is not a pile of garbage, it's just not being used fully yet, and the only engine which fully supports it so far is UE3. Expect UE3 future games to use it. Also, old cards that supported PhysX 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 were indeed buggy garbages (my card supports PhysX 1.1 and I still get better results on those games by forcing PhysX to the CPU)

Just because ATI does not have any technology to compete with PhysX, it's no reason to trash it. ATI is now starting to make their own Physics technology. They went all CUDA on their cards, but ended up proving it was a bad move because people want VISUAL engines on their GPU, and not extra CPU power "if possible".

As graphic cards, both are awesome (is there a third brand? probably not ... RIP Voodoo)

But yeah, most same-years nVidia and ATI cards are usually on par on benchmarks. One year ATI has the edge, other nVidia. It almost falls in picking whatever floats your boat, and clearly nVidia floats mine, and ATI floats yours ;)

But I do hate how many drivers and stuff Catalyst installs, I usually try to clean it up to save on memory, and hate the clogged interface to set things up. nVidia drivers also install some garbage I disable though

[UOGSammich]

Well, the good news is $300 will get you a premium card. We're talking top 5 GPUs available. The bad news, that website doesn't list your Power Supply.

Future-Proof + blow skyrim away = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161388

Play skyrim on high = Radeon 5770 or GTX460 -- I wouldn't recommend purchasing below those cards.


http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

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Egad!!: I'm fairly certain these will give you the highest settings with all settings turned up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* GeForce Mars II Dual GTX 580 3GB
* Radeon HD6990 4GB
* GeForce GTX 590 3GB
* Radeon HD6870X2 2GB
* Radeon HD5870X2 4GB
* Radeon HD5970 4GB
* Radeon HD5970 2GB
* GeForce GTX 580 3GB
* GeForce GTX 580 1536MB - GeForce GTX 460 2Win 2GB
* Radeon HD6970 2GB
* GeForce GTX 570 1280MB
* GeForce GTX 480 1536MB
* Radeon HD6950 2GB
* Radeon HD6950 1GB
* GeForce GTX 295 1792MB
* Radeon HD4870X2 2GB
* Radeon HD5870 2GB
* Radeon HD5870 1GB
* GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
* GeForce GTX 470 1280MB
* Radeon HD6870 1GB
* GeForce GTX 560 1GB
* Radeon HD5850 1GB
* Radeon HD6850 1GB
* GeForce GTX 460 2GB
* GeForce GTX 285 2GB
* GeForce GTX 460 1GB
* GeForce GTX 465 1GB
* Radeon HD4850X2 2GB
* Radeon HD4850X2 1GB
* GeForce GTX 285 1GB


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High at least: Mileage may vary, but these are well-performing cards that could put you in the max criteria depending on resolution. Some of these cards may be "outdated," but are all rather good and will definitely be able to play Skyrim and look nice at the same time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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* GeForce GTX 460 768MB
* GeForce GTX 460 SE 1GB
* Radeon HD5830 1GB
* Radeon HD6790 1GB
* GeForce GTX 275 1792MB
* Radeon HD4890 2GB
* GeForce GTX 280 1GB
* GeForce GTX 275 896MB
* GeForce 9800GX2 1GB
* Radeon HD4890 1GB
* GeForce GTX 260-Core 216 896MB
* GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
* Radeon HD4870 1GB
* Radeon HD5770 1GB / HD6770 1GB

[noodlesoup]

Stick with what you've got imo.

Sure, you wont have AA or afew other things, but its not really worth the hassle for a slight upgrade of a gfx and the hassle of a new psu imo.

If you go down that route, you may aswell just buy a new PC.

[peteed1985]

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz 3.10 GHz
RAM: 6.00 GB
System type: 64-bit OS
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6450

I know this isn't the best forum for this kind of question, but this IS in anticipation for Skyrim afterall.

I'm a bit worried my crappy entry level graphics card won't handle Skyrim, I'm wanting to get a new one but I'm mildly tech-tarded. My price range is around 300 dollars, I live in new zealand, so any companies would need to be able to ship internationally... Ideally I'd love to get one from a Australian or New Zealand hardware company, or trademe.co.nz.

So! For my price range, which card do you guys recommend I get? Thanks in advance! Also, can anyone confirm that what I have is indeed a PCI-E card? I don't want to accidently get the wrong graphics card... Exact computer: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/au/en/ho/WF06b/12454-12454-3329740-64546-64546-5035348-5036188.html

$300 can get a really good video card. AMD 6950 2gb from ASUS, or even a 6970 :)

For shop idk one that ships to NZ lol all the ones here in Australia that I can find will only ship to Australia.

You should be able to find a PC part wholesaler over in NZ though so i'd suggest trying if you decide to upgrade.

[Cobalt2202]

I have a similar question as well. And I don't want to create another thread on this topic.

I have around possibly 200 to 300 dollar budget on my PC upgrade, but can go a bit further if needed be. My question is, should I upgrade my CPU or my Graphics card?

My spec:
Windows 7 Ult 32 bit
Intel E8500 Core 2 Duo 3.2GHz
Nvidia 9800 GTX
4GB RAM

Which part of my PC would be best to upgrade?

[Caiobrz]

My spec:
Windows 7 Ult 32 bit
Intel E8500 Core 2 Duo 3.2GHz
Nvidia 9800 GTX
4GB RAM

Which part of my PC would be best to upgrade?

Your CPU is more updated than your video card, so I would consider the video card. However, I think that with that setting you will be able to play the game just fine.

[Cobalt2202]

Your CPU is more updated than your video card, so I would consider the video card. However, I think that with that setting you will be able to play the game just fine.

Thanks.

[rob1407]

One last thing. Make sure you have space.....

The main reason I stopped buying ready made PCs were:
- case-size
- Power supply (picked up in prev reply)
- Motherboard size

Basically, you might have a good rig, but because you bought a system from a vendor they tend to weld the mobo into place. The mobo is usually custom for that pc build, so even though you have the pci-e slot you need to consider whether you will be able to fit the new card in (both depth and length). A lot of cards in the real gaming arena (I'm not gonna get techy) take up a massive amount of space.

I also reflect MrShooter's comment about power supply - you'll need more. Bigger the better. A lot of peeps will try to adjust you to exact need. However, if you have some bandwidth your PSU will have a longer life.