Graphics Card to play SimCity? Currently have HD2000 graphics

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pman555

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Hey everyone, I have a PC that I built mainly as an HTPC with no real graphical power. It did run Diablo III fairly well, but I'd love to be able to play SimCity so that it looks as beautiful as it should. Yes, I know there are lots of problems with the game, but I plan on waiting until it gets sorted out.

The processor is an Intel i3-2100 with integrated HD2000 graphics.

The power supply is 400W.

Is there a decent graphics card, at a reasonable price, that can be added to my system?
Thanks!

EDIT - FULL SPECS:

MOBO: Gigabyte z68ma d2h b3
Processor: Intel i3-2100 w/ integrated HD2000 graphics
PSU: Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W
RAM: 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series
Case: Silverstone GD04
 
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maxinexus, anything less expensive but still decent? I was hoping I could spend around $40, but I may be dreaming.

Arich - here are the specs:
MOBO: Gigabyte z68ma d2h b3
Processor: Intel i3-2100 w/ integrated HD2000 graphics
PSU: Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W
RAM: 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series
Case: Silverstone GD04

I'd be playing on a large HDTV, so resolution would be 1080p if possible.
 
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ya,,, thought so...i highly doubt a 7750 would be the best card for you.

unfortunatley we are limited to your psu wattage...nvidia recommends a 500 watt psu for their 650ti. even a 7770 is limited to a 450w psu

my personal opinion and not gospel but i dont really like mating strong graphics cards to weak psu's.

guys will say your fine cuz you have 30 amps on the 12v but i always like headroom.
 
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So you think there aren't any graphics cards I can add to my system without also upgrading my PSU?
 
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well you htpc started out as that....didnt need much and thats fine...now you wanna turn it into a gaming machine running a game thats graphically intensive on a large hdtv.

your core i3 is ok but succeptible to bottlenecking if you get too crazy.anything over a 79XX series nvidia would limit it.

i would say this...look into a 7850 radeon or 650ti geforce gpu...those can push the pixels onto your hdtv faster and have a smoother experience when your scrolling around your city. then, yes, i recommend a psu upgrade to 500w.

on a personal i was gonna get a 650TI myself but because my psu is limited i went with a 7770 which is on order. (see sig)
 
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I really appreciate the advice.
I'm not trying to go crazy and turn it into a blazing gaming system, and my budget is pretty limited.
Do you think this card will help out so that I can play it at decent quality?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102933&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Desktop+Graphics+Cards-_-N82E16814102933&gclid=CJfsvbfy6rUCFZCf4Aod7zcAIA

It works with a 400W PSU
 
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well if you can go with low to medium graphics (i dont) the 7750 mentioned earlier would be your best bet and far better than the 6450.

but if you must absolutely adhere to your budget get the 6450...just dont expect much of it.:)not much better for 40$
 
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Thanks guys. Is there something in between the two?
I really can't spend $100 on a graphics card, but $60 may be do-able.

My issue is that I don't really game on PCs all that much and I don't want to waste too much money on a graphics card only to play SimCity for a few months (my game attention span)
 
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You may want to try e-bay or a local classified for a used 5770/6770 or something similar to it. My kids regularly play web games, Sims 3, Planetside 2, Need for Speed, and similar games on my HTPC which is a hand me down machine. It consists of an i3-530, 8GB, and a 5770. Sure it isn't a screaming gaming machine, but everyone in the house loves being able to use a PC on the TV so no one really cares about performance as long as they can play their games on the TV (also a 1080p TV). I have it running in a 380w power supply, so you should be fine there.

According to VideocardBenchmark.net the 5770 scores about 1600 and the HD 2000 should be somewhere like 400 or so... which puts it about 4 times quicker.


 
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It looks like the 5770 needs a 450W PSU.

I think I may stick with the 6450 just because it's pretty inexpensive and if I don't play too often, I won't feel too bad wasting the money on it.
 
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I types out a reply, not sure where it ended up.

Anyway, the 5770 will only need a 450 watt power supply if you got your supply for 5 bucks off the back of a truck on the side of the road. Like I said, mine is running off of a 380 just fine. You can even see over at anandtech that the 5770 in a test rig that's got some pretty beefy other components ends up peaking at 262 watts from the wall. Assuming an 85% efficient power supply that means their test machine was only using 223 watts or so.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/296?i=228.229.233

Anyway, I would also like to point out that the 6450 is not a gaming card, and not really a step up from what you have now. Ify ou take a look at videocardbenchmark.net they have an i5-2300 (which has the HD2000) rates at 277, where the 6450 is rated at 291 . . . only a 5% improvement. The 5770 however is rated at 1666, a 500% improvement.
 
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Another note on your PSU... it's rated at 30A down the 12v line... or 360 watts. If you look at a cheaper 480 watt power supply like the LOGISYS Computer PS480E12 (new egg has it for 18 bucks) 480Watt, it's rated at 16A on the 12V line . . . 192 watts. That's the reason AMD has to say a 450 or greater, to cover garbage supplies like that.
 
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