8500gt upgrade 300w

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joe61878

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Oct 9, 2011
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Hello. I used to be good at shopping for video cards, but I've been out of the game for a while & so now need some help.

I have an HP a6250z with a 300W power supply. It has only one PCI Express X16 slot (I assume v1.0, not 2.0). I currently have an Asus Nvidia Geforce 8500gt installed in that slot.

I would like to upgrade but really do not want to spend more than $75-$100 & have no intention of replacing the power supply. Just looking for something that is minimally an 8800gt so that I can meet the minimum specs for Elder Scrolls V (Skyrim) coming out soon. Better is fine too as long as it is in budget.

I appreciate any ideas that folks have. Thanks!
 
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with your budget and PSU
I would recommend a HD 6670 GDDR5 version
make sure to get the GDDR5
something like this one is good
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161375
comes with free game
also others by Asus and MSI are nice

will be fine for minimum to medium specs
actually I have a HD 5670
very similar in performance
and it will play Crysis 2 DX9 1920x1080 Hardcore
also play Metro 2033 DX 10 1920x1080 high settings

the HD 6670 is about 10-20 percent faster than the HD 5670 I have
so you will be good for medium setting gaming up to 1920x1080

also 300w is fine for HD 6670
it doesnt need an external PCIe power connector
it can only draw 75w max (limit of PCIe slot)

one issue is the PCIe V1.0 slot
I have a 1.0 slot and the HD 5670 2.1 worked fine
but there are sometimes issues with 2.1 cards in some 1.0 slots
so make sure to save your box receipt and packaging just in case
also make sure to update to the latest BIOS through HP

otherwise you would have to look for a 2.0 card
in which case I would suggest the GT 240 GDDR5
slightly slower than the HD 6670 but a solid medium level card
though I am not sure of PSU requirements though I know it is a low powered card
 
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^+1

You want a Radeon 5670 or 6670 DDR5.

The 5670 is a good deal faster than a GT 240, with an 8800 Ultra about halfway between them. I'd be inclined to chose the 5670 over the 6670 because the performance difference (~15%) doesn't justify the 33% increase in price ($60 to $80).
 
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Keep in mind that the game is meant to be played on medium settings or higher, so don't expect too much.

If that machine is running an Athlon x2 4600+ like I think it is, you may want to look into upgrading sometime soon. That CPU will limit you in games as well as the graphics card. Especially if you have a Micro Center nearby, upgrading might be a lot cheaper than you think. $250 will buy you a new CPU w/ free motherboard, $100 Windows 7, 4GB of RAM, and a Corsair CX430 power supply. $22 more and you can get a new case too.
 
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Your comment just wasted about 15 minutes for me at work after I downloaded Ski Free and decided to download Jezzball too. Jezzball is a dangerous game...oddly similar to Civilization in terms of how much time can be spent playing it.
 
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Thank you both -- I greatly appreciate the input. I am somewhat torn between the two opinions. You are both probably right in that ultimately an upgarde would be a better choice. I unfortunately do not live remotely close to a Micro Center, so I don't know where I would go to get the kinds of upgrades that you both suggest. Although I can change out memory and video cards, I am less hesitant to attempt a motherboard upgrade on my own. Do you have other suggestions besides a Micro Center as to where I might be able to have this done relatively cheaply?
 
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cheap is not the right term to use in your case. as getting anything to pop into your system would add up and cost more

1| you want a new GPU - check
2| you'll need a new psu to power that GPU - check
3| you might experience an issue with your PCI-E slot if its 1.0a (or b i think) and won't detect the GPU - check. if its 1.1 then your ok
4| you'll then experince a bottleneck with your cpu - check so you'll want a higher end CPU

is this your system?

point from all these;
1|don't buy office machines to power your entertainment needs - they are advertised for entertainment but leave out the fine details
2| you're looking dead in the eye for a new system altogther.

3| open a thread here at tom's asking for build suggestions and you're making headway :)

oh
[:isamuelson:6]
 
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Are you honestly comparing graphics on a 360 to a PC?

If that's all your going for OP, then buy a 5670, play the game on low settings at 1280x720 and you can have a game that looks like garbage just like ALL PS3 and 360 games.
 
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okay i tried to stay out of this last comment with the *360* - but i couldn't help it :lol:

@ OP - we have tried our best at settling the issue - and :lol: consoles don't even see half what we see on a desktop with a dedicated card :lol: let alone controlling a character (total fail when it comes to FPS') :lol:
 
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Ok guys. So forgetting about the whole 360 comparison for a moment, I am okay with running skyrim on medium settings (does not have to be max - but want to do better than minimum). I have seen suggestions for ATI 5670 (gddr5), ATI 6670 (gddr5), a partial upgrade, and a new system -- all in this single thread.

Seems like the majority of posts are putting a partial upgrade as a waste of money, so I either go cheap with just the video card or get a whole new tower. For the new system, I would need over $500 which is not in my budget right now unless I wait for Santa Claus later this year. Maybe that is the best option in the long run, but consider this.

I have been reading reviews for the ATI 5670 and 6670, and whether it can run on a 300w power supply is questionable (some say yes because it only consumes 75w, and some say no because it depends on what else is in your system). So I have done some research. If I were to get an upgraded card for my system given the above specs, it would probably be an Asus EAH6670, 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1. This runs $90 on Newegg after rebate. But then I see one of the posts about my system not being able to handle that card because of the processor, which is in fact Dual Core AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6 GHz, or because of the single PCI Express X16 slot which is v1.0 and might not be compatible with a 2.1 card.

Do you guys think this card would work given my specs? Or do I wait until Christmas, hope for a new system, and delay my Skyrim joy for over a month?
 
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The 5670 and 6670 can pretty much both run in any system. they're pretty much designed specifically for OEM systems like yours that can't handle a power hungry card.


$500 for a new build? Nah...you can get a major upgrade for MUCH cheaper. All my prices are pretty accurate to Newegg.com stuff and include shipping...

CPU: $189 for i3-2100/H61 combo
This will get even cheaper after Bulldozer comes out this week.

Mobo: Find in a combo above

RAM: $22 4GB 1600CL9 after $10 rebate kit somewhere on Newegg

PSU: $20 Corsair CX430 after $20 rebate--wait for a sale. Sign up for Newegg's email list

Case: $20 The cheapest thing you can find or reuse your old case. Slickdeals.net had some nice ones on sale for $18 w/ shipping last week. Keep your eyes peeled for deals here.

DVD: Free if you use your old one, $18 if you don't.

HDD: Use your old one, buy a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB when you get the cash.

Windows: Free if you already have a copy, $30 if you're a student, $100 if you're not and don't find a sale.

TOTAL: $251 w/o Windows

Then add in a graphics card. I'd recommend you wait until Black Friday and get a 6870 on sale for $130 or so. I've seen them for $145 after rebate.

Here's a testament to the i3-2100's gaming prowess: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

EDIT: Looks like there's no more i3/cheap mobo combos. So I guess you'd go with one of the i3/RAM combos?
 
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specs for Skyrim
http://www.systemrequirements.in/system-requirements-for-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim.html

8800gt minimal
GTX 460 or HD 6850 recommended

core2 duo 2.0 or a Athlon x 2 2.0 minimal
quad 3.0 recommended


so even right now you could run low settings
with a HD 6670 you should be able to do medium to high


But the factor is whether your PCIe 1.0 slot will support the HD 6670 2.1

my HD 5670 2.1 works in my 1.0a slot

it really depends on your chipset whether it will run 2.1 cards

Do you know what you chipset is?



with that said

If Christmas will possibly bring you new system
then the $100 you have now could be used for more worthwile
upgrade on new system

try running Skyrim at 1280x1024 low settings on your system now
it does meet minimum setting requirements
it is only a DX9 game

DX9 is much easier to run than DX11
 
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@king smp--He has an 8500 GT. Min spec is 8800 GT, which is 7x more powerful (112 CUDA cores vs 16). A 6670 is about 1.5x as powerful as that--so it DEFINITELY won't do high--especially if you consider it's only about half as powerful as the 6850 they recommend. And recommended specs are usually for medium settings.

I doubt a 6670 can do medium based off of Oblivion not even maxing out on my GTS 250, which is 70% as good as a 6670. Elder Scrolls are notoriously graphically intensive for RPGs.

Also, the Athlon x2 will limit your fps dramatically. That CPU alone will cause you to struggle to maintain the 30fps playability threshold.
 
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Chipset per HP website is GeForce 6150SE nForce 430. Is there anything a step up from 6670 that still consumes the same level of power? Is the Asus EAH6670, 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 a card that would work given my chipset?

As far as the processor, I know it will bottleneck, but it does meet Skyrim minimum standard. Video card doesn't, which is why I started there.

My quick research says that the 6870 wouldn't run given my PC specs -- I would need more power for that. So I am thinking more and more it is either 6670 GDDR5 or wait until Christmas & hope. Even a partial upgrade, including a video card, will run me close to $350, and I just don't have that budget right now.
 
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It is a fact that the 6670 is the fastest card that doesn't need a 6-pin connector, followed by the 5670 closely with the GT 240 a ways off.

The Asus you mentioned is a 6670 and I can't tell you for sure whether it'll work. Everything is SUPPOSED to be backwards compatible.

If I were you, I'd start with a PSU upgrade if your computer has a normal ATX or mATX case.. You'll be able to take that with you. Then you'll have the freedom to get whatever graphics card you want and take that with you to an upgrade. Note that you'll be CPU bottlenecked, not GPU bottlenecked with anything stronger than a 5670.
 
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from looking up the chipset I think the 2.1 card will work
but no guarantees

my mistake thinking you had a 8800

my HD 5670 ran elder scrolls at all high settings

it can run Crysis 2 DX9 at 1920x1080 HARDCORE settings

and a HD 6670 is a little faster

and I doubt that Skyrim will be more demanding than Crysis 2......


here is Crysis 2 Hardcore 1920x1080 on HD 5670
which is similar to HD 6670 (6670 is about 20 percent faster)

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpooky777?feature=mhee#p/u/4/BqoFA9Q5zSc
 
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