New here, looking for PSU/GPU advice

[tommycon]

I am looking to upgrade my pcs GPU, PSU, and RAM for a reasonable price, hopefully under $300.00.
I currently have a E-machines ET1331G-05w model pc.
Motherboard is MCP61PM-GM
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
4Gb Ram
300 watt PSU
GT 440 GPU
AMD Athalon x2 260 3.2Ghz
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

what do you plan on doing with this pc? There is a big difference between gaming level parts, and standard user parts.

 

[tommycon]

It will be primarily a gaming rig until I can save up enough to get a real one. It currently plays my games (WoW, Eve, LOTRO, SWTOR) at a mid-low setting 30-40fps. I don't care about shadows and lighting and all the things that strain a GPU.

 

[pcgaming98]

Yeah, this is a fairly old PC just by looking at the Athlon X2 270. There's not much you can do with it.

 

[tommycon]

The system is old, but other than higher settings in games, it runs lightning fast. Is there any direct upgrade to the GT 440 though?

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

I used to have a GT 610. I'm not sure how much of a performance boost you will get, but it should work for the games you suggested since they are relatively mild on the graphics.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

Since your budget is fairly high, I suggest you go for an AMD radeon 7750 since it needs no additional power connector, and it is pretty powerful.

 

[tommycon]

Would I be able to use a 7750 with my current power supply? If not, what sort of wattage would I be looking for? And if I do have to upgrade the PSU, could I run a HD 7770 with my current system? Thanks.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

You might need a 400watt psu , but no more than that would really be necessary.

 

[tommycon]

Ok, looks like I'll get a 400-500 watt and opt for the HD7770, Any final suggestions on the RAM size of the card? Ive seen 1-2 gb DDR3 and DDR5, my motherboard uses DDR2, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

Ok, looks like I'll get a 400-500 watt and opt for the HD7770, Any final suggestions on the RAM size of the card? Ive seen 1-2 gb DDR3 and DDR5, my motherboard uses DDR2, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

The 2 gig one is not powerful enough to use all 2 gigs of ram, it's basically just eye candy. Just get the 1 gig version and save some money.

 

[tommycon]

Sounds good. Do I need to worry about the cpu or gpu bottlenecking one another at all?

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

As a reference: my PC has a 3.4 GHz AMD CPU, and a radeon 7850 GPU. I get about a 2 - 3% bottleneck, which is basically nothing.

Considering this, the radeon 7770 should work well with your CPU.

 

[tommycon]

Thanks a lot! I'll up the PSU and get a HD 7770. That should leave room for a RAM upgrade to 8GB as well. Thanks again!

 

[tommycon]

One final question. Does it matter the style of the card? I see the asus radeon card, but there's many versions of it?
would this one be a good fit? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3907661&CatId=7387

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

One final question. Does it matter the style of the card? I see the asus radeon card, but there's many versions of it?
would this one be a good fit? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3907661&CatId=7387

Well, for this GPU you only really need one fan on the card because it does not produce as much heat as the top of the line cards. The one you linked to is great, and the value is perfect. I went for an XFX model, and I like the design of their cards, but ASUS also makes good products.