Upgrade for ATI Radeon HD 4200

[vinnie paul]

I'm looking for an upgrade to my ATI Radeon HD 4200. I have a $150 budget. I would prefer a nividia Gpu upgrade im fine with buying EVGA or anything GeForce to put things short any ideas?

 

[haider95]

Hey Vinnie, can you please elaborate on that one? What are the rest of your computer specs and what do you need the graphics card for?

 

[vinnie paul]

the rest of my specs are

Windows Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit

Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 650 Processor

Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4200

Total RAM: 7.7 GB

HDD Size:1 TB
The card will be used for gaming.

 

[haider95]

I see, do you know what your power supply is, We can't recommend a Graphics card until we know what Power Supply you're running as its the main component that powers the system and the Graphics card. Insufficient power puts your entire system at risk and we don't want that to happen.

Your specs are a bit old by todays standards but still fairly good. If you can, provide a picture of the label of your power supply. It should look something like this

http://www.shuttle.eu/_archive/older/en/prod/xpc/600/sn41g2v2_psu_sticker.jpg

 

[haider95]

Also, what resolution are you gaming at?

 

[vinnie paul]

1600x900 but its fine to tune it down a little

 

[haider95]

If your Power supply came with a prebuilt system then i guess its safe to say its not a good quality PSU and just enough to get your system by. However, Installing a new Graphics card would mean that you'll have to upgrade your power supply. Here's a good deal on newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1200129

For that price you should be searching for a HD7850. If you can't afford it then look for a GTX650Ti but you will need to upgrade your power supply for that card. If your Power Supply has a 6 Pin Pci express connector then you're safe to put in the GTX650ti. The 6 Pin power connector looks like this:

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSAep7FvulQQ-j_tVwNSgHvHm12uvjD65XG-01XzE01C3eOY3D5iQ

It can either be black or white. Search for this and if you find it, you're safe to install a GTX650ti which will support your gaming needs at that resolution.

However if you do not want to upgrade your power supply, You're gonna have to settle with a lower powered card such as the HD7750 which costs around $110. It is a good card and will get you by in most games of today at that resolution (of course with the Anti Aliasing turned off)

 

[vinnie paul]

What is the difference between the Gtx 650 and the GTX 650ti?

 

[bak0n]

for 900p gaming you don't need to spend more than $100.00 to max all your settings. If you want to plan on future gaming needs on a 1080P monitor and a better CPU, then: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html
The GTX 650Ti is your card. Personally I'd save $50 and grab something that'd still max all your settings.

 

[feeblepenguin]

The difference is the ti is better, and more expensive.
nvidia just has a confusing naming scheme

 

[haider95]

A 650ti Is a better revised version of the GTX650 and offers more cores (768 compared to GTX650's 384) More transistors and better memory bandwith. Overall better in the gaming department.

 

[jtenorj]

If you don't want to mess around much with rebates(and avoid paying more than 150 up front), try this gpu and psu:

pny gtx550ti for 99.99 and free shipping at bestbuy: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/PNY+-+GeForce+GTX+550Ti+1GB+GDDR5+PCI+Express+Graphics+Card/2264415.p?id=1218318379818&skuId=2264415&ci_src=11138&ci_sku=2264415&AID=10474050&PID=3938566&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FPNY%2B-%2BGeForce%2BGTX%2B550Ti%2B1GB%2BGDDR5%2BPCI%2BExpress%2BGraphics%2BCard%2F2264415.p%3Fid%3D1218318379818%26skuId%3D2264415%26ci_src%3D11138%26ci_sku%3D2264415&ref=39&CJPID=3938566&loc=01

Corsair cx430 psu for 34.99 and free shipping after a $10 MIR at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

145 before rebates, 135 after(10% below your budget of 150). Make sure your case can accept a standard atx power supply and a graphics card that is about 4 inches wide, about twice as long and uses 2 expansion slots.

The gtx550ti is faster than a gtx650 but slower than a more expensive gtx650ti. Good psu for this upgrade and another in the future with 1 pcie 6pin.

 

[jtenorj]

Most gt640 and the gtx650 use the gk107 graphics chip. gtx650ti and gtx660 use the gk106 graphics chip. gtx660ti, gtx670, gtx680 and gtx690 all use the gk104 graphics chip. The new Geforce titan uses the gk110 chip. Here's a wikipedia page with details on cuda cores, texture units, rops, memory width and clock speeds(scroll down a smidge to find the relevant cards): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units#GeForce_600_Series

 

[vinnie paul]

http://www.apevia.com/ProductsInfo.asp?KEY=X-Dreamer4-GN

Would this case support

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPHA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009WIW87E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

?

 

[haider95]

Yes it should have no problems housing that graphics card. Nice graphics card but STAY AWAY from cooler master PSU's. They are merely generic brand PSU's with the cooler master label slapped onto them. They are not at all efficient (They don't carry the 80+ certification label) You should be searching for a cheap CX430 or a XFX Core Edition 450w PSU They should provide better build quality and 80+ effeciency.

 

[haider95]

I managed to find some good power supplies that fall within your budget.

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-VP-450-Energy-Certified-Supply/dp/B004IZN3K2/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1361690442&sr=1-4&keywords=cx430

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Watt-EPS%C2%A0-CX430/dp/B0092ML1SC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1361690683&sr=1-2&keywords=power+supply+unit

That's the cheapest viable options i could find. Best of luck

 

[vinnie paul]

Thanks Ordered it all thanks for all the help. Before I made this topic I almost ordered a GeForce 520 GT. You've all been a good help especially you Haider95.

 

[haider95]

Oh my a GT520 O_O saved you there didn't we. Hope all goes well with your new graphics card

 

[jtenorj]

What did you end up getting? I hope the psu was a cx430 at newegg(save 10 bucks over amazon after rebate and a single relatively strong +12v rail). Also, is the apevia your current case? It looks like it has great airflow, but may well pick up a lot of dust. Make sure you are using some canned air or something else relatively safe to help regularly remove dust.

 

[vinnie paul]

jtenorj I got

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IZN3K2/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009WIW87E/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


And my its not my case at the moment I ordered it a couple of days ago. And the place my pc is at the moment is very circulated and my pc doesnt really pick up dust but ill keep some canned hair handy just incase.