GPU question and possibly asking for recomendations?

[fjthegamer]

Hey guys, I just recently bought myself a new gaming pc, was a bit of trouble to start with but it's fine now
Unfortunately, I'm not really satisfied with the graphics card(PNY Geforce 210 512MB)
This is an older motherboard style(DDR2) but the graphics card is PCI-E so it runs fine, just a question though, Can I run the newer style GPU's on this machine? As in it's a DDR2 machine what gpu types can I run(DDR3, GDDR5, GDDR4, Etc) and can anyone give me some recommendations? Thanks.

 

[DarkOutlaw]

Depends on what type of PCI-E slot it is, but you should be able to get any GPU that is compatible with your slot/power supply. If your motherboard/new PC comes with this 210 GPU and DDR2...you might just want to return the whole thing because you got ripped off.

 

[carowden]

Yeah you can, the ram on the graphics card isn't the same as the motherboard ram. You can run pretty much what your power supply can handle. what are the machines specs?

 

[Maxx_Power]

Hey guys, I just recently bought myself a new gaming pc, was a bit of trouble to start with but it's fine now
Unfortunately, I'm not really satisfied with the graphics card(PNY Geforce 210 512MB)
This is an older motherboard style(DDR2) but the graphics card is PCI-E so it runs fine, just a question though, Can I run the newer style GPU's on this machine? As in it's a DDR2 machine what gpu types can I run(DDR3, GDDR5, GDDR4, Etc) and can anyone give me some recommendations? Thanks.

If you just bought a NEW gaming PC, then you should be able to run just about any PCI-E video card.

The VRAM type (DDRx, GDDRx) is not related to your main memory type (DDRx). You can mix and match all you want.

 

[Maxx_Power]

If you have a NEW gaming pc, why do you have an older motherboard with DDR2 ?

What is the model of your motherboard or brand name and model of the PC ?

 

[fjthegamer]

It's called an Advent T9509, core 2 quad, 3gb ddr2 ram and a 480 watt psu.

 

[fjthegamer]

and the motherboard is a foxconn, not sure what model, though.

 

[fjthegamer]

and the PCI type is 2.0

 

[Maxx_Power]

and the motherboard is a foxconn, not sure what model, though.

Ah okay, so I think you got a new used computer ? Either way, any video card today you want to toss in would work. With that power supply unit, I would say, stick to 6870 and below. The 7850, 560 Ti's may be a bit of a stretch power wise, especially with a core 2 quad which isn't as efficient as today's quad core CPUs.

 

[Maxx_Power]

and the PCI type is 2.0

PCI-E type is 2.0, I assume you mean. That doesn't restrict you to anything since PCI-E 3.0 compatible cards are all backwards compatible with PCI-E 2.0 with minimal loses.

 

[fjthegamer]

Ah okay, so I think you got a new used computer ? Either way, any video card today you want to toss in would work. With that power supply unit, I would say, stick to 6870 and below. The 7850, 560 Ti's may be a bit of a stretch power wise, especially with a core 2 quad which isn't as efficient as today's quad core CPUs.

Refurbed, actually, but yeah, I feel like sticking with Nvidia, anyone got some recommendations for a decent Nvidia card?, most likely below 50 quid, but I'd go high as about 65..

 

[Maxx_Power]

Refurbed, actually, but yeah, I feel like sticking with Nvidia, anyone got some recommendations for a decent Nvidia card?, most likely below 50 quid, but I'd go high as about 65..

50 Quid ? You are in the UK then ?

 

[Maxx_Power]

At that price range, you are far better off with another used, or refurb card. Something along the lines of a 550, 550 Ti, maybe even a 450 Ti. Nothing new in that price range will give you decent gaming performance.

 

[fjthegamer]

At that price range, you are far better off with another used, or refurb card. Something along the lines of a 550, 550 Ti, maybe even a 450 Ti. Nothing new in that price range will give you decent gaming performance.

Ah, well, I shall take a look on ebay, report back with what I can find and then ask for the communities opinion

 

[fjthegamer]

Update, so far, In the price range that I'm looking for, I can get a Geforce 8800 768MB or a 9800 512MB, or a Radeon 5450 512/1GB or a 6450 2GB
Which should I get honestly in all your opinions?

 

[fjthegamer]

infact, is there any way I could SLI two 6450 2GB's? Cause 2 of them are just in my price range, and how good would it be, on level with in your guy's opinion?

 

[Maxx_Power]

infact, is there any way I could SLI two 6450 2GB's? Cause 2 of them are just in my price range, and how good would it be, on level with in your guy's opinion?

The 6450 is an AMD card, which means if you can use >1 of them together, then it is called Crossfire. But pedantics aside, the 9800 is the fastest, but be VERY CAREFUL, a lot of 8800 and 9800's are dying due to some manufacturing problems, like "bump gate" (I think only some of the 9800's are affected). People are getting rid of those as fast as they can these days.

Even if you CAN or want to crossfire two 6450's the performance will be very low compared to a 5670.

I think here is a good list of cards you can get for that much money used:

ATI Nvidia
5770/6770 with GDDR5 550 Ti /550
5670 with GDDR5 450
6670 with GDDR5

Or older stuff:
ATI Nvidia
4870/4850 260/280

For around what you said is feasible for you, look under used for 69.99 pounds.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11189-00-20G-6770-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B004XSJR5Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1343326609&sr=8-4

That will be really good in performance, with really good features and very good performance.

Don't shop for cards in this range based on the VRAM if you shop new. With such a weak render back end and shader core counts, they won't be able to make good use of >1GB of VRAM, and your games will stutter due to rendering issues long before you will run out of VRAM. Also, a lot of lower priced new cards uses slow DDR3 but with 2GB instead of 1GB to entice you. Don't fall for this. The speed of the VRAM is far more important here than the amount. Go for GDDR5 equipped cards, they are your best bet.