Can I upgrade my graphics card?

hutch67

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Jul 5, 2012
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Hello, I wonder if anybody can help.. I was hoping to upgrade my graphics card. I have trawled the Internet but can't find any websites that offer a function of "if you have this motherboard/setup, you can have these graphics cards installed" (niche in the market if you ask me!)

Model:
HP a6150.uk

Specs:
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 2.4GHz
4GB RAM

Current GPU:
Nvidia Geforce 9500GT

I am not looking to run the highest-spec games out there but I do want to run Guild Wars 2 on a very high spec when it comes out :)

Thanks
 

Khalan

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Jun 7, 2012
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Most consumer motherboards made within the last 8 years will most likely support any consumer graphics card on the market.

Your 9500GT is a PCI-Express card. As long as you have the power to run it and the space to fit it you can buy any Nvidia or ATI PCI-E GPU that you can afford (though more powerful cards will be limited by your processor).
 

hutch67

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Jul 5, 2012
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Thanks for your prompt responses guys, I really appreciate it.

Sunius, I've had a look inside and found that I have an ATX-300-12Z PSU. A quick Google says this is a 300W (makes sense..) PSU. My budget is £100 and as far as I'm aware my case is standard size.
 

s3anister

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May 18, 2006
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Regardless of your budget being about a hundred quid, you're limited by your PSU; any serious graphics card is going to require at least a 500W or higher PSU. With this limitation your best bet is going to be a card like the AMD Radeon 7770 or 7750, they currently are the fastest cards that do not require an external PCI-E power connector, which your PSU likely doesn't even have.
 

hutch67

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Jul 5, 2012
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Thanks for the heads up and recommendation, I'll look in to those cards you suggested as I didn't really anticipate needing to change my PSU too, if it comes to that then I may as well get a new processor too :)
 

hutch67

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Jul 5, 2012
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Ok thanks very much guys, I've researched the 7750 and it looks to be the card for me.

One quick final question, an Amazon search yields three different results under AMD Radeon HD 7750; Asus, Saphire and VTX3D... what's the deal with these because the price swings by about £10 between them?
 

subasteve5800

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Sep 15, 2010
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The price swings are most likely due to the speeds each card is set at. Some have what's called a manufacturer's overclock on them. Basically, the card can go faster than it's reference design at the cost of higher power draw and heat generation. It's also possible that some of the cards have DDR3 vRAM instead of DDR5. I would recommend going with the DDR5 option if it's available.

One final piece of advice, check how many Amps your PSU actually puts out. There should be a sticker on the PSU somewhere, it should look like a gird of sorts. Sometimes, OEM PSUs are not up to quality.
 

muradw2

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Sep 29, 2011
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Those are companies that buys the original GPU build (I think) then they do some modifications to the card (like overclocking a bit/alot or add special futures like lower OCing temps) and the print the company's name on it (ASUS, Gigabyte) and ship them in hardware markets.
Personally I'd go with ASUS, but it's up to you and what they offer (longer warranty or more futures).
 

s3anister

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May 18, 2006
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The price difference is usually arbitrary but like it was said sometimes the card manufacturer overclocked the graphics card at the factory so that you don't have to do it yourself. As for brands I'd recommend, you can't go wrong with ASUS or and I've had good cards from Sapphire, but they're not my favorite brand. Gigabyte is also a good brand if you can find their cards.
 

hutch67

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Jul 5, 2012
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Ok so I've purchased the Gigabyte Radeon 7750 and I open up the back to try and install it and I see this:

download.jpg


I hope you can make it out, it looks like the video card is directly attached to the motherboard (the white cable running horizontally across the picture). Does this make upgrading impossible? How can I detach the current card without damaging it or the motherboard? If you need a higher quality picture I can upload that too.

Sorry if I'm pushing my luck on here but you guys are genuinely faster and more helpful (not to mention free ;)) than full on tech support. Thanks.
 

sp0nger

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Nov 5, 2008
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I cant really tell from that pick, but if its in any kind of PCI slot, you need to pinch the prong (it sits on the slot that the video card is in) on the end then slide the card out, use the empty slot next to refrence where the prong is

ive never heard of a discrete video card being perminently mounted to a motherboard you should be fine
 

hutch67

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Jul 5, 2012
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download-1.jpg


Is this any better, I've rotated it too so the cable is now running vertically. It seems the cable is soldered in to both the graphics card and the motherboard? Makes me unsure of how to remove the current card.
 

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