ATI Radeon HD 5750 or 4850?

[mediatrapper]

Hello fellow enthusiasts,

I am new to the computer hardware world and have only dealt with RAM replacement - Ha!

I am in the market for a new graphics card and would like to have some input from experienced users.

Here is the photobucket album of my computer and CPU-Z specifications:

http://s931.photobucket.com/albums/ad152/MediaTrapper/HP%20Pavilion%20Elite%20d5200t/?albumview=slideshow

A side note *When looking at the computer images, the 1st PCI card from the top is the Nvidia Geforce 9300GE and the 2 below are TV tuners which can be removed easily.



SO, down to the nitty gritty...

Should I consider buying an ATI Radeon HD 4850 or an ATI Radeon 5750? Does it look like my computer can handle the space? Does my PSU lack enough power even though the ATI needs only 450 watts? Suggestions?

It seems as though the 5750 would be the slightly faster card, but I'm worried about these cards fitting...I do not want to buy one if I can't trust the space inside. Also, note that I only have 1 PCIe x16 slot. Also, my PSU is only rated to 460 watts...


Specs:
Intel Q9400
4GB DDR2
Windows 7 Home Premium x64



Thanks in advance.



Best Regards,
Trapper Brown

 

[cyberkuberiah]

go for 5750 , lower power requirements and what exact brand and model psu u have ?

 

[greliu]

To be honest, it depends on what resolutions you plan on using. THe 5750 is close to the 4850, but the 4850 is becoming harder to find. (and to be honest, just go with a 4770 and OC it, if you can find that instead, if you plan on playing resolutions like 1680x1050) Overall, the 5750 would be better from a longevity point of view ( again if you plan on playing at 1680x1050 resolution) since it has dx11 support. However, if you want to save about $50 get the 4770, and to be honest, put it toward a larger power supply.

 

[mediatrapper]

Hmm...definitely some viable options there - but consider this: What if I was willing to install & purchase a better power supply and spend $50 extra bucks? Did you look @ my photobucket album, it's got pics of my system and I want to know your opinion of space. Honestly, I just want to make this computer a great video encoder/decoder with the ability to play next-gen games at medium framerates. Refer to my 1st message for clarification.

ATI 5750 or better>As long as it fits
ATI 4850 or better>As long as it fits

Remember, I'm a newbie to the computer hardware world so help me understand...If I have a PCIe x16 slot, that means my cards won't run at full clock because it's not 2.0? I'm in a need of a minor crash course here lol.

 

[greliu]

Yea, if you have a 1.0 PCI 16x express slot, but want to install a PCI 2.0 16x Graphics Card it will work, but it will only run at the bandwith of a 1.0 card, since it's limited to the power of a 1.0 slot. The cards should fit also, if im not mistaking, each card is roughly 9 inches long. (3.6 cm, don't know where you live so you might use metric) If you go to let say XFX website, they should show you the spec on their cards ( also, their cards have lifetime warrinties ...) You're asking a good question tho, since I am making the same decission. lol since I am cheap ( college is expensive lol ) I am probably going to go with the 4770 (its really just a 4850 clocked alittle lower), since I also don't play at super high resolutions, and its cheaper, but in the end, there kinda the same. The 5750 is really a direct x11 version of the 4850. And since upcoming games in 2010 are going to support it. You'll have the latest dx11 support... if thats really important to you. Also, you should prolly get atleast a 600 watt power supply.

 

[mactronix]

Looking at your configuration i would say that you need something more really. 25 inch 1080p screen needs plenty of power to run it and as said before 1680x1050 is about as far as you want to go with the cards you are talking about. It does depend on what it is you want to do with teh machine, Gaming at a reasonable spec then i would say a1GB 4890 as a minimum 5850 for preferance. However if gamings not too important then look at a 5770 or 4850 1GB or 4870.

Mactronix

 

[mediatrapper]

These are great answers, but I'm truly concerned about compatibility in terms of size and format. I may scrap parts off of this HP (ruins my warranty tho) and build a custom with a new mobo, etc. Also, is there any way to check if my PCIe x16 slot is 1.0 or 2.0 other than researching the board online? It's deathly difficult to find info on this motherboard. I do know it's manufactured under license from ASUS. Thanks again for all of the great answers!

 

[greliu]

Hey again Mediatrapper, thanks for the medal , anyway, sometimes, if you look around the slot ( on the actually motherboard) its printed right next to it. Sometimes its large and right there, other times you have to look very closly, but usually it is labeled on the motherboard

 

[jeffinak]

I am personnaly running a 577x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462
in my rig and am extremely happy with it, cool, quiet,low power consumption I pushed each clock up by about 50mhz(simple with ccc) andf have yet to find anything that slows my framerates (other than my shoddy ISP) when playing offline it handles anything I can throw at it, and as long as you avoid clearwire internet shouldnt be the same issue it is for me.


Raidmax skyline case
AMD phenom 2x4 955 black
Thermaltake duo orb cooler
Asus m4a78 plus MoBo
8 gigs ddr2 @800
xfx radeon 577xhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462
zephyr 750 watt psu
19 inch generic lcd monitor for the kids movies and a 23" LG lcd for me