Question ISSUES -- Upgrading my graphics card to Windows 10

[grmb2000]

Currently running Windows 7 Ultimate ( 64bit )

Motherboard Name Asus M4A785-M (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN)

CPU Type QuadCore AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition 965, 3415 MHz (17 x 201)

CPU Sockets/Slots 1 Socket AM2+

Motherboard Chipset AMD 785G, AMD K10

System Memory 3840 MB (DDR2 SDRAM)
DIMM1: Corsair XMS2 CM2X2048-6400C5 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-18 @ 400 MHz) (4-4-4-13 @ 270 MHz)
DIMM2: Corsair XMS2 CM2X2048-6400C5 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-18 @ 400 MHz) (4-4-4-13 @ 270 MHz)

BIOS Type AMI (11/20/12)

Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 4200 (256 MB)

Disk Drive ( Primary ) WDC WD2003FYYS-02W0B1 ATA Device (2 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive WL2000GSA6472E ATA Device (1863 GB, IDE)

Hi Everyone!

First, as I imagine you have heard so many times before that I am not hugely tech savvy, know enough to just tick along like most people, so please bear with me here.

I built my own PC some years ago, but now, with my trusty and all Windows 7 operating systems to be phased out by Microsoft soon, I have to start thinking about upgrading to Windows 10, which in itself is causing some problems. As you can see from the above list of components my pc meets most of the requirements for Windows 10, except for my graphics card. I was stunned to discover that my onboard ATI Radeon HD 4200 (256 MB) graphics card is considered very weak when it comes to running with Windows 10.

Ok !.....cutting to the chase here!.....I need a new graphics card that will not only work with windows 10, but will fit into my PCI-E x16 v.2.0 slot
and is under $50 in price. I am a moderate gamer and I watch blu-rays on my pc all the time. Can anyone suggest a graphics card to suit my needs, as well as my pc system requirements and windows 10 requirements? (tall order I imagine)

Upon research I discovered that Windows 10 utilizes a new DirectX 12 with something about “ AAA” rated, not sure that this is?
Also, could someone clear up the confusion I am having with my PCI-E x16 v.2.0 slot in understanding not only whether I can fit a graphics card version above the slot capability Version it actually is ( v.2.0 ) Also, does it matter when running a DDR 2 system memory as I do which DDR memory comes with the new graphics card DDR 3,4 and so on?

One last question and I will be quiet, I promise !........ I am thinking about dual booting my system (Windows 7 - Windows 10) will this affect the type of graphics card I should buy?
Thank you in advance, if you need more Tech info. don’t hesitate to ask I will try to provide it.

Thank You!

 

[Lutfij]

Given how your platform is quite aged, how old is the PSU in the system? I could suggest a GTX750Ti but even that is more than what should be on the platform. To make matters worse, you shouldn't be on legacy hardware since you're only going to run into more issues as more and more versions of Windows 10 comes out.

I've been dealing with older hardare running Windows 10, having heating issues due to lack of proper driver support. I'd suggest getting an entry level PC that fits your needs instead of patching up a sinking ship(so to speak).

 

[grmb2000]

Currently running Windows 7 Ultimate ( 64bit )

Motherboard Name Asus M4A785-M (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN)

CPU Type QuadCore AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition 965, 3415 MHz (17 x 201)

CPU Sockets/Slots 1 Socket AM2+

Motherboard Chipset AMD 785G, AMD K10

System Memory 3840 MB (DDR2 SDRAM)
DIMM1: Corsair XMS2 CM2X2048-6400C5 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-18 @ 400 MHz) (4-4-4-13 @ 270 MHz)
DIMM2: Corsair XMS2 CM2X2048-6400C5 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-18 @ 400 MHz) (4-4-4-13 @ 270 MHz)

BIOS Type AMI (11/20/12)

Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 4200 (256 MB)

Disk Drive ( Primary ) WDC WD2003FYYS-02W0B1 ATA Device (2 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive WL2000GSA6472E ATA Device (1863 GB, IDE)

Hi Everyone!

First, as I imagine you have heard so many times before that I am not hugely tech savvy, know enough to just tick along like most people, so please bear with me here.

I built my own PC some years ago, but now, with my trusty and all Windows 7 operating systems to be phased out by Microsoft soon, I have to start thinking about upgrading to Windows 10, which in itself is causing some problems. As you can see from the above list of components my pc meets most of the requirements for Windows 10, except for my graphics card. I was stunned to discover that my onboard ATI Radeon HD 4200 (256 MB) graphics card is considered very weak when it comes to running with Windows 10.

Ok !.....cutting to the chase here!.....I need a new graphics card that will not only work with windows 10, but will fit into my PCI-E x16 v.2.0 slot
and is under $50 in price. I am a moderate gamer and I watch blu-rays on my pc all the time. Can anyone suggest a graphics card to suit my needs, as well as my pc system requirements and windows 10 requirements? (tall order I imagine)

Upon research I discovered that Windows 10 utilizes a new DirectX 12 with something about “ AAA” rated, not sure that this is?
Also, could someone clear up the confusion I am having with my PCI-E x16 v.2.0 slot in understanding not only whether I can fit a graphics card version above the slot capability Version it actually is ( v.2.0 ) Also, does it matter when running a DDR 2 system memory as I do which DDR memory comes with the new graphics card DDR 3,4 and so on?

One last question and I will be quiet, I promise !........ I am thinking about dual booting my system (Windows 7 - Windows 10) will this affect the type of graphics card I should buy?
Thank you in advance, if you need more Tech info. don’t hesitate to ask I will try to provide it.

Thank You!

Thank you so much for the prompt reply. Here is the information that you requested:

Epower ZU-400w Epower Power Supply ZU 400w 400w Atx 20 2x Fans 2x Sata

Getting a whole new system is out of my reach right now and I have to do with what I have for the time being unfortunately.

Could you please give me a little more infomation about the heating issues you are speaking of because I have a pretty hefty heatsink and fan cooling the CPU or are you referring to the power consumption of the new graphics card and subsequent heating issues of the graphics card becoming hot?