new GFX card?

[Kirkreng]

Ohai ther, so my birthday is coming up soon. And from the money i am getting for my birthday i want to buy a new graphics card. Only problem is, i don't jack about PC hardware(or software for that matter ).

So what do i need to consider when buying a new graphics card?

[tisnman]

First thing is compatibility, then price, then gaming needs

 

Compatibility = slot on the board, and power consumption

 

and you will have to balance the price and the gaming needs.

[Bjossi]

If you can find out what the name of your computer's motherboard is it would be a good start.

[Kirkreng]

If you can find out what the name of your computer's motherboard is it would be a good start.

How do i do that? :S

[tisnman]

Hardware info

 

http://download.cnet.com/HWiNFO/3000-2094_4-10437916.html

[BTGBullseye]

After you find out what motherboard you have, let us know your general budget (maximum amount you will pay for a new card) and we can probly find a dozen cards that'll fit your needs.

 

You might want to find out what PSU you have, or at least how much wattage it can handle. (that it also a limiting factor on what video cards can be used in your system without a PSU upgrade) Problem is, you have to open your case and look for the wattage rating on the PSU itself, and some either don't list it or make it nearly impossible to find out.

[Luis]

Also please look for the BRAND of the PSU... I wouldn't put a nice gaming card with a piece of crap PSU, it's wasting your money :S

[BTGBullseye]

Also please look for the BRAND of the PSU... I wouldn't put a nice gaming card with a piece of crap PSU, it's wasting your money :S

If it's a generic with 800+ wattage it should still be fine for a card that requires 400 watts.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Also please look for the BRAND of the PSU... I wouldn't put a nice gaming card with a piece of crap PSU, it's wasting your money :S

If it's a generic with 800+ wattage it should still be fine for a card that requires 400 watts.

I agree with BTG. The brand isn't as important as the specs of the PSU, or the amount of wattage it gives.

[Kirkreng]

So much technical terms xD

Anywho, here is a bunch of information i know nothing about that the HWINFO prog gave me:

[BTGBullseye]

So much technical terms xD

Anywho, here is a bunch of information i know nothing about that the HWINFO prog gave me:

The motherboard does have a PCI-E x16...

 

Mow we just need to know your PSU wattage rating, and your budget...

 

Also, I personally recommend using CPUID CPU-Z instead of the utility that you used. (it can give us all the info necessary for upgrading everything, excepting of course the PSU)

Edited March 28, 2011 by Guest (see edit history)

[Kirkreng]

So much technical terms xD

Anywho, here is a bunch of information i know nothing about that the HWINFO prog gave me:

The motherboard does have a PCI-E x16...

 

Mow we just need to know your PSU wattage rating, and your budget...

I don't know the budget since i am going to use my birthday money to buy it, so i will have to wait and see how much i get. That shouldn't take to long though because my birthday is 3rd of april.

And how do i find out my PSU wattage rating?

[Luis]

So much technical terms xD

Anywho, here is a bunch of information i know nothing about that the HWINFO prog gave me:

The motherboard does have a PCI-E x16...

 

Mow we just need to know your PSU wattage rating, and your budget...

I don't know the budget since i am going to use my birthday money to buy it, so i will have to wait and see how much i get. That shouldn't take to long though because my birthday is 3rd of april.

And how do i find out my PSU wattage rating?

 

remove your PC's sidepannel using a screwdriver to remove the screws and look for the PSU (usually up in the case, but is sometimes down in gaming/workstation cases, I have a Cooler Master Cm 690 II and it comes in the bottom.). Look at the PSU and check for the ''Maximum output''.

 

 

Well a couple of friends of mine have had bad experiences with shitty PSUs tha say ''700w'' but are not even capable of giving a stable 400w and end burning up their systems... I feel more confident with an Antec or Corsair than a generic PSU...

[BTGBullseye]

Well a couple of friends of mine have had bad experiences with shitty PSUs tha say ''700w'' but are not even capable of giving a stable 400w and end burning up their systems... I feel more confident with an Antec or Corsair than a generic PSU...

Yes, but there are several versions of name brand PSUs that suck when compared to their generic counterparts... I used to have a couple of them. (started burning any time you went over 25% of the output rating, and the generics were going to 135% without issues)

[Luis]

Well a couple of friends of mine have had bad experiences with shitty PSUs tha say ''700w'' but are not even capable of giving a stable 400w and end burning up their systems... I feel more confident with an Antec or Corsair than a generic PSU...

Yes, but there are several versions of name brand PSUs that suck when compared to their generic counterparts... I used to have a couple of them. (started burning any time you went over 25% of the output rating, and the generics were going to 135% without issues)

 

You mean like Antecs that are based on seasonic designs? (just and example because both of those are excellent)

[BTGBullseye]

You mean like Antecs that are based on seasonic designs? (just and example because both of those are excellent)

It really doesn't matter since I doubt he has anything name brand in a prebuilt system... (the only place that you can get that particular motherboard)

 

I would be surprised if it's got a rating over 350w.

[Luis]

He's using IGP. Even a 4670 would be better and a 350w PSU can handle that

[BTGBullseye]

Yeah, but it might be a single rail 250w PSU... They do still put them in prebuilts. (will not run much more than an old HD 3650, or a GT 8800)

[Kirkreng]

Wow, i totally forgot about this thread, woops

Anyhow so my budget is 130€. But now that i think about it, i don't know if that is enough. Because i MIGHT need to buy a bigger case as well, the one i have right now is tiny and i am not sure if i even have enough space for a new GFX card.

[Lord Sinister]

My case is pretty small (and was around £13), and I was just able to squeeze in an ATI HD6850. That cost me around £140 I believe. Chances are you could probably grab that or a slightly less powerful HD6X series with your money. I'm no expert though. The best I can recommend is read tech review websites, and user reviews on purchase sites and see what people say, things to watch out for etc. Good luck.