ATI Readon 5670 > Nvidia gtx 460

[zekeke85]

Hi,

So I just installed the 460 but the graphics on Starcraft 2 are now worse than when I had the HD 5670. Why is that?

I don't know if this is relevant but I had to bend the *** out of the bottom part of the metal stubs sticking out of the 460 to fit it in the computer.

 

[purple stain]

Plz list your full system specs.(CPU,Mobo,etc.)

List the make/model of your power supply.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

bend metal stubs? you dont mean capacitors do you? if so, then you have probably ruined your card. If you have to bend anything apart from the rear metal bracket (i have needed to do this before to fit my case properly) then you are going to have issues.

 

[Herr_Koos]

You bent it? Whoops...

 

[zekeke85]

My computer is an HP m8100n. Everything is stock except the video card and PSU.

The video card is EVGA Nvidia GTX 460 and the PSU is http://www.cputopia.com/psu-replacement-hp-media-centerm8100n.html

 

[zekeke85]

Hi,

So I just installed the 460 but the graphics on Starcraft 2 are now worse than when I had the HD 5670. Why is that?

I don't know if this is relevant but I had to bend the *** out of the bottom part of the metal stubs sticking out of the 460 to fit it in the computer.

EDIT:

By metal stubs I mean the brackets that hold the end sticking out of the computer with all the place for the outlets-no capicitors. I'm also downloading drivers from NVIDIA but it seems the same driver is available on the cd that came with the purchase, 270.61.

Oh yes, I also have 32 bit XP instaed of the stock VISTA.

 

[purple stain]

Thats fine.As long as you didnt bend anything on the card it will work fine.

Also don't think that PSU can handle a GTX460.You should stop using the graphics card until you can buy a new one.

Basicly the card doesn't have enough power to run at it's full speed so it's downclocking to not burn itself out because of the lack of power.That is why it is performing worse than the 5670.

 

[zekeke85]

Oh. That's kinda depressing- I bought that PSU just because I was upgrading the video card.

Can you recommend one for me? Cheapest as possible under 100? What about my current PSU isnt good (it's 550W).

 

[purple stain]

I feel bad for you that PSU is such a rip off.Priced at $70 and it's really worth $30.

The problem with that PSU is that it only has 25amps on the 12/v rail and that means it's only capable of delievering around 200~250 watts on the 12/v rail which is no where near what you need to power a GTX460.This is a common occurance with unreliable power supply makers such as HP that say it deleivers a certain amount but in actualuality it doesn't even deliever close to what they say.

Here's a really decent and reliable PSU.And it's Modular.

Antec 550watt Modular $65+$2 Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

 

[Herr_Koos]

A good quality 500W should be able to handle the GTX460 with ease. The 550W wattage rating doesn't mean much, anyone can slap a sticker on. The real question is how much power the PSU is actually able to deliver under load.

Could you perhaps grab GPU-Z from here:

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

and use it to see what your card does under full load conditions? Thus, does it achieve full clock speeds?

 

[wolfram23]

I agree that you need a new PSU. Corsair or Antec ~500/550W will be fine.

Also, make sure you completely uninstall ATI catalyst and drivers and even run Driver Sweeper.

 

[jjb8675309]

yeah for that matter one of those antec earthwatt 430 watt psus would be just fine, just like in that budget build toms had a while back running a gtx 460 on that psu...

 

[jjb8675309]

the problem is the earthwatts psu is usually not much cheaper than the 500-550 antec so the antec is probably the best choice

 

[zekeke85]

Thanks everyone for the help.

Should i also invest in a better cooler?

The GTX is SO much louder than the HD 5670 and I'm a little worried it might overheat.

 

[Herr_Koos]

^ No. According to all the reviews I've seen, the 460 is one of the coolest cards out there, both at idle and under load. You still need a case with decent ventilation and airflow of course.

 

[jyjjy]

EDIT:

By metal stubs I mean the brackets that hold the end sticking out of the computer with all the place for the outlets-no capicitors. I'm also downloading drivers from NVIDIA but it seems the same driver is available on the cd that came with the purchase, 270.61.

Oh yes, I also have 32 bit XP instaed of the stock VISTA.

Your card really came with a cd with drivers that came out about 2 weeks ago?
Yeah, return that PSU if at all possible. This Antec Earthwatts 500w for $50 is a good deal and would be more than enough;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

 

[purple stain]

i'd seriously spend the extra $10 for the Modular.

 

[jyjjy]

It's actually $17 more including shipping. It's also a lower segment of Antec's lineup. The EA500D is higher efficiency with Bronze certification and has the same amount of power as the BP550 on the +12v rail despite the supposed 50w lower rating.

 

[purple stain]

I didn't know what modular was back when I bought my PSU.Knowing what it is know I would gladly pay the extra money for the modular.I have a huge nest of 4 pins with no where to put them.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

All my cables fit behind the side panel in my case just fine, it depends on your case i guess. Modular is good though and i would gladly take modular over non-modular. Just depends on what your willing to spend, if your on a strict budget, stick to standard good quality psu's like the antec mentioned above.

 

[zekeke85]

Thanks a lot all.

One last question I have is once I get my PSU and vid card setup, what kind of monitor should I get?

I heard that the bigger the monitor the more demand on the video card so I want to get one where I can max out the settings on Starcraft 2 with my current specs.

Oh, while I'm at it, best RAM replacement?

Here's the specs:

Processor, Operating System and Memory
Operating system installed
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
Processor
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 5600+ for TRUE multi-tasking
• 2.8GHz, 1MB + 1MB L2 Cache, 2000Hz System Bus
Chipset
NVIDIA nForce 430
Standard memory
3072GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory (2x1024MB & 2x512MB for ultimate performance) (expandable to 8GB)
Memory type
DDR2-SDRAM
Memory slots
4 DIMM (240-pin, DDR2) (occupied)
Internal drives
Internal hard disk drive
500GB
Hard disk controller
SATA hard drive
Hard disk drive speed
(7200 rpm)
Optical drive type
SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology
Optical drive speed
16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW,, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+R DL, 8x DVD-R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CDR, 32x CDRW, 40x CD-ROM
System features
Memory card device
15in1 memory card reader
Modem
56k modem
Network interface
Ethernet 10/100/1000BT integrated network interface
Video adapter
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE Graphics with TurboCache with 128MB dedicated graphics memory. Up to 623MB Total Available Graphics Memory as allocated by Windows Vista®
Video RAM
128MB
Compatible interactive TV services
NTSC TV tuner, over-the-air ATSC high-definition television tuner, and FM tuner (antenna included)
Internal audio
High Definition Audio, 8 speaker configurable
Keyboard
HP Keyboard
Handheld remote control
HP Media Center remote control with IR (infrared) receiver
External drive bays
2 external 5.25" (one available)
External I/O ports
6 USB 2.0 port(s), 2 FireWire (IEEE 1394) port(s), Microphone/Headphone; S-Video; Composite Video; Audio inputs (L & R), Microphone/Line-in/Line-out (back), 2 PS/2; Digital Audio-out; LAN; Rear speaker-out/Side speaker-out/Center (subwoofer); VGA-out;
Expansion slots
2 PCI slots (occupied), 1 PCI Express x16 slot slot(s) (occupied)
Software
Included/Pre-installed software
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7.0; Windows Mail; Adobe® Reader 8.0
Software - education / reference / entertainment
Windows Media Center
Software - internet & online
Internet Solutions (Up to 3 months service included) * Bell Sympatico High Speed Internet * EastLink High Speed Internet Access * Netscape High Speed Internet Service * Netscape Accelerated Internet Service * Shaw High-Speed Internet Access
Software included
Recovery partition (including possibility to recover system, applications and drivers separately); Optional re-allocation of recovery partition; Recovery CD/DVD creation tool; Symantec™ Norton Internet Security™ 2007 (60 days live update)
Dimensions / weight / warranty
Weight
13.80 kg
Package weight
20 kg
Dimensions (w x d x h)
192 x 420 x 385 mm
Package dimensions (W x D x H)
500 x 600 x 340 mm
Warranty Statement
Service Options: - Hardware: One year parts and labor from date of purchase - Software: 90 day technical toll-free phone assistance - Service Delivery: Customer Replaceable Parts; Return to hp for repair; Authorized Service Provider. For information, visit www.hp.ca/support

 

[Herr_Koos]

I have the exact same CPU. You won't be able to max SC2 out with it. Believe me, I have tried.

 

[wolfram23]

For RAM, 4-6gb is the most useful amount for gamers, but you also need a 64 bit OS to support more than 3.5 gigs.

Anyway with a GTX 460 you can run games at 1080p with high settings so basically you can get any monitor you want. But definitely the CPU will be a weak point for some games like Starcraft 2. If you can overclock it would help, although it seems like you have a prebuilt which usually lock you out of OCing.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

your CPU is too slow. time for a new motherboard/cpu.

 

[jyjjy]

I have the exact same CPU. You won't be able to max SC2 out with it. Believe me, I have tried.

This isn't quite true. The CPU can deliver a certain number of frames per second which he may consider inadequate but the GTX 460(once properly powered) will certainly let him max out the graphical settings in the game without decreasing what performance the CPU can actually give. It is true that SC2 specifically is quite CPU bound so if that is the main game the OP is interested in then a CPU upgrade is a good idea but yeah, it will require a new motherboard as well.