Need Help with GPU Upgrade (possibly PSU, too)

[Guest]

Hello,

This is my motherboard:

ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 AMD 780L Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 255(3.1GHz)

PSU: 500W

GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB PCI Express Graphics

I want to upgrade the video card as I'm an avid WoW player. I realize that game isn't very demanding graphics-wise, but from what I've been reading an upgrade is necessary.

1) What graphics card should I look at purchasing? Would NVIDIA GTX 260 or Radeon 5770 work?

2) Would a 500W PSU would be able to support that particular graphics card you suggested?

Thanks in advance for the responses!

 

[ace700]

Are you plaining on upgradeing you computer later on to either sli or xfire motherboard?

 

[davcon]

Yes either one of those cards is a good choice depending on your budget.
The 460 is better then the 5770 and 5830.
Buy a 1gb version though.
And 500w psu is enough power if you don't plan on adding a second card.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Which brand is your PSU? and what's your total budget for the upgrade?

 

[Guest]

No. To the best of my understanding, WoW does not accomodate for SLI or CrossFire modes, as it was hard-coded before that technology was introduced. It was also designed for dual-core systems. As such, I tried to get the best possible CPU, which I came close to considering I paid $550 for this rig, and I was planning on using one GPU and upgrading every 18-24 months. So, seeing as WoW is the only game I play, this is all I'm looking to do in the future.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Which brand is your PSU? and what's your total budget for the upgrade?

 

[ace700]

When world of warcraft expension comes out with its new expension will support singal or dual graphics modes. I don't think it will support 3sli or 3 xfire since not lot of games support the full function right now. The only difference between singal and dual graphics is a bigger area to see the field. I would get an psu that supports both sli and xfire and get a card the supports either of them till you decide to go with it.

 

[Guest]

no clue on the brand of PSU, just know it's 500W. Whatever the stock PSU is for cyberpower, that's the brand. No real budget for upgrade. I won't be purchasing the absolute top of the line card because you don't need it in order to max out the frame rates for WoW, so I'm looking at quality right now.

My other question would be, is this AMD mobo compatible with NVIDIA cards? Or is ATI my only option?

 

[hell_storm2004]

Without a specific budget, its quite hard to guess. But any ordinary PSU would definitely be a major concern when it comes to modern PC parts. The need for good, clean, stable power is of utmost importance.

You may say, its working fine till now, so wont be much of a problem in the future, but know it, that it maybe a major disaster!

Suggest going for an HD5770 and a Corsair VX550W PSU.

 

[aford10]

I'd suggest something like an ATI 5770 or 5850, and this OCZ 550w PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022&Tpk=ocz%20550

 

[Guest]

When world of warcraft expension comes out with its new expension will support singal or dual graphics modes. I don't think it will support 3sli or 3 xfire since not lot of games support the full function right now. The only difference between singal and dual graphics is a bigger area to see the field. I would get an psu that supports both sli and xfire and get a card the supports either of them till you decide to go with it.

Yes. It enables it. This doesn't necessarily translate into it improving performance for the game. I can't tell you how many posts I've read from disgruntled WoW players asking why their two incredible cards aren't performing better than their original setup with SLI-enabled. Blizzard refuses to update the main graphics engine, rendering the dual-card framerates lower than those of a single card on many accounts. I have yet to come across anything suggesting that Blizzard made any concerted effort to make Cataclysm SLI-beneficial to the player (albeit SLI-enabled).