Checking Compatability for a New Graphics Card

[alchmstlva]

Recently, I've been running into problems with my graphics card and I'm looking to upgrade. My current card is an ATI Radeon HD 4600 series card and I'm looking into the ASUS GTX 650 Ti as a possible replacement. I'm just worried about possible compatibility issues with my current setup as was hoping I could get someone to take a look for me.

My current build is as follows:

Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit SP1

CPU
Intel Core i7 3770K @ 3.50GHz
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology

RAM
4.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)

Motherboard
MSI H61M-P21(B3) (MS-7680) (SOCKET 0)

Graphics
512MB ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner)

Hard Drives
302GB Maxtor 7L320S0 ATA Device (SATA)

Optical Drives
ATAPI iHAS120 6 ATA Device

Audio
AMD High Definition Audio Device

The two cards I'm considering are here and here.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[rolandzhang3]

What's your power supply and budget? the 3770k can be paired with a much better card than the 650 Ti which isn't going to last you very long in modern games

The first card you listed is much better than the second since it's a 2GB GTX 650 Ti Boost which is a fair bit more powerful than the regular 650 Ti

These cards are compatible with the motherboard since almost all motherboards nowadays have at least one PCI-Express x16 slot

The 650 Ti Boost (and its AMD equivalent the 7850) offer similar performance to the PS4, so you could definitely go with the cheaper 7850 and upgrade in a year or two to something much better

If you're going to upgrade, might as well make it a worthwhile one and go for a middle-higher end card like the 760/7950 or even the 770/280x/7970

Adding 4GB more of DDR-1333 RAM and going to Windows 7 64 bit would also be a good move to make (adding another HDD would also be something to consider since games nowadays are getting larger in size)

There was a 7950 for less than $200, but sadly it's out of stock as of now

You're probably gonna need a new power supply for a modern gaming card, either of these would do nicely

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10600kr

 

[Avro Arrow]

The GTX 650 Ti isn't a good buy because it doesn't have good performance for the money. The ASUS GTX 650 Ti costs $140 (-$20 rebate) and has 1GB of GDDR5 VRAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121686
If you meant the ASUS GTX 650 Ti OC, then it costs $150 (-$15 rebate) and has 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121725
Meanwhile, they both get blown out of the water by the MSI Twin-Frozr Radeon HD 7850 for $140 (-$30 rebate) and it has 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663
The MSI Twin-Frozr is one of the most respected OC and cooling system combinations on the market, comparable to the HIS IceQ and Sapphire Vapor-X. There is no contest here, the HD 7850 GPU alone is faster than the GTX 650 Ti and adding the factory overclock and Twin-Frozr cooling solution only extend its lead. The fact that it's the same price as the 1GB GTX 650 Ti non-overclocked and is cheaper than both when the rebates are taken into account only makes it a slam-dunk. Happy gaming!

 

[alchmstlva]

What's your power supply and budget? the 3770k can be paired with a much better card than the 650 Ti which isn't going to last you very long in modern games

The first card you listed is much better than the second since it's a 2GB GTX 650 Ti Boost which is a fair bit more powerful than the regular 650 Ti

These cards are compatible with the motherboard since almost all motherboards nowadays have at least one PCI-Express x16 slot

The 650 Ti Boost (and its AMD equivalent the 7850) offer similar performance to the PS4, so you could definitely go with the cheaper 7850 and upgrade in a year or two to something much better

If you're going to upgrade, might as well make it a worthwhile one and go for a middle-higher end card like the 760/7950 or even the 770/280x/7970

Adding 4GB more of DDR-1333 RAM and going to Windows 7 64 bit would also be a good move to make (adding another HDD would also be something to consider since games nowadays are getting larger in size)

There was a 7950 for less than $200, but sadly it's out of stock as of now

You're probably gonna need a new power supply for a modern gaming card, either of these would do nicely

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10600kr

My power supply is a LOGISYS PS480E12 (see here).

As for a budget, I'm not looking to go too expensive. $150 to maybe $170 is probably about how much I'm willing to pay at the moment but I might spend a little more.

 

[alchmstlva]

The GTX 650 Ti isn't a good buy because it doesn't have good performance for the money. The ASUS GTX 650 Ti costs $140 (-$20 rebate) and has 1GB of GDDR5 VRAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121686
If you meant the ASUS GTX 650 Ti OC, then it costs $150 (-$15 rebate) and has 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121725
Meanwhile, they both get blown out of the water by the MSI Twin-Frozr Radeon HD 7850 for $140 (-$30 rebate) and it has 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663
The MSI Twin-Frozr is one of the most respected OC and cooling system combinations on the market, comparable to the HIS IceQ and Sapphire Vapor-X. There is no contest here, the HD 7850 GPU alone is faster than the GTX 650 Ti and adding the factory overclock and Twin-Frozr cooling solution only extend its lead. The fact that it's the same price as the 1GB GTX 650 Ti non-overclocked and is cheaper than both when the rebates are taken into account only makes it a slam-dunk. Happy gaming!

Wow, That last card looks intense. I will definitely keep that card in mind when I decide to purchase! Thanks!

 

[rolandzhang3]

Ah, that power supply is definitely not up to the task for a modern gaming card, it only has a very weak 12v rail at 16A

It would be best to get a new PSU and that 7850 for now, then upgrade the graphics card in a year or two when you feel it isn't enough anymore

The PSU is fairly expensive but it's a worthy investment

If you're ever going to pay extra for a decent part, let it be the power supply

At the very least buy an 80+ bronze version

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $159.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-16 21:11 EST-0500)

If you'd like to save a little, the EVGA 600B isn't a bad choice either

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10600kr

 

[Avro Arrow]

Logisys is crap. That probably came with your case, I've seen Logisys cases that come with those for free. That should tell you how good it is. But worry not, if $170 is what you can spend, we'll take the $140 for the Twin-Frozr HD 7850 (110 after rebate, remember) and it leaves you with $30. I think that this might do the trick:
Thermaltake TR2 TR-600 600W - $45 (-$15 rebate):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153166
Now this is by no means state-of-the-art but it will be a solid performer and will power your system reliably for probably a decade. Thermaltake is a decent name, decent enough to be considered a brand-name power supply and the fact that it's rated at 600W which is what AMD recommends for TWO Radeon HD 7850s in crossfire means that you will have absolutely no problems with it. The total is $185 (you did say you'd spend a bit more if you had to) but the total after rebates is only $140. So I think that we might have a winner here! 😀

 

[Avro Arrow]

My power supply is a LOGISYS PS480E12.
As for a budget, I'm not looking to go too expensive. $150 to maybe $170 is probably about how much I'm willing to pay at the moment but I might spend a little more.

Logisys is crap. That probably came with your case, I've seen Logisys cases that come with those for free. That should tell you how good it is. But worry not, if $170 is what you can spend, we'll take the $140 for the Twin-Frozr HD 7850 (110 after rebate, remember) and it leaves you with $30. I think that this might do the trick:
Thermaltake TR2 TR-600 600W - $45 (-$15 rebate):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153166
Now this is by no means state-of-the-art but it will be a solid performer and will power your system reliably for probably a decade. Thermaltake is a decent name, decent enough to be considered a brand-name power supply and the fact that it's rated at 600W which is what AMD recommends for TWO Radeon HD 7850s in crossfire means that you will have absolutely no problems with it. The total is $185 (you did say you'd spend a bit more if you had to) but the total after rebates is only $140. So I think that we might have a winner here! 😀