Want to upgrade my graphics

[briansackett]

Hey guys, So my problem is that my current gfx card is only running bf3 beta smoothly on the lowest settings. The psu is from dell, the 500 watt one. Not 100% on the name. Also when I check the gfx card I have it just tells me that it's ATI Radeon 4800 series, 90% sure it's 4850. Got this computer from dell almost 3 years ago. I just want to be able to run bf3 on high, preferably ultra settings. Have 6 gb of ram and an i7 920 @ 2.67 ghz on the xps 435mt mobo. I was thinking maybe the gtx 560? I'm looking to spend 250-300$ on an upgrade, I would appreciate any other suggestions. Thanks!

 

[suteck]

Nice card and should work great. Only thing is you will probably NEED to get a better PSU to be able to run that card and the rest of the comp. The stats for that card say "Minimum 500W or greater system power supply with two 6-pin external power connectors". So make sure you have one of them also. I'd say minimum 650w but to be on the safe side I would choose a 750w or 850w. Of course that's probably half your budget.

 

[briansackett]

Well, 250-300 on the gpu. I wouldn't mind upgrading the pcu. Problem is I'm not sure which will fit, etc. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks suteck.

 

[suteck]

If your psu measures 6" across and 3" high it's probably an ATX power supply. You should be able to take it out and somewhere on it it should be listed as an ATX or BTX psu. Since you need to change it out might as well practice on it and take it out to check. Should only be 4 screws on the back. Might not even have to unplug anything - except it from the wall of course lol. If it's a standard atx psu then we can find you one with ease.

This ONE? OCZ OCZ750FTY 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified PSU ~$100
This ONE? CoolerMaster RS750-ACAAE3-US, 750W ATX PFC PSU for ~$105
This ONE? Thermaltake 750W PSU TR2 750W ATX12V EPS12V 86% Eff for ~ $135
How much can you spend on the PSU? Need one with an 80% efficiency at least. And I like the OCZ
And HERE'S a great deal if you don't mind factory refurbished, I would go with it! *Recertified* OCZ GameXStream 850W ATX12V v2.2/EPS12V Computer PSU SLI Ready

 

[geofelt]

Hey guys, So my problem is that my current gfx card is only running bf3 beta smoothly on the lowest settings. The psu is from dell, the 500 watt one. Not 100% on the name. Also when I check the gfx card I have it just tells me that it's ATI Radeon 4800 series, 90% sure it's 4850. Got this computer from dell almost 3 years ago. I just want to be able to run bf3 on high, preferably ultra settings. Have 6 gb of ram and an i7 920 @ 2.67 ghz on the xps 435mt mobo. I was thinking maybe the gtx 560? I'm looking to spend 250-300$ on an upgrade, I would appreciate any other suggestions. Thanks!

Here are the psu requirements for the nvidia cards:
GTX550ti needs 400w with 24a on the 12v rails plus one 6-pin PCI-E power lead.

GTX560 needs 450w with 24a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.

GTX560Ti needs 500w with 30a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.

GTX570 needs 550w with 38a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.

GTX580 needs 600w with 42a on the 12v rails plus one 6-pin and one 8-pin PCI-E power lead.

GTX590 needs 700w with 50a on the 12v rails plus two 8-pin PCI-E power leads or 4 6-pin power leads.

On the surface, your 500w psu should do the job.
On it will be a data plate which will tell you the amps on the +12v rails which is the important metric.
Do check that the physical dimensions of the card you pick will fit your case.

I would go ahead and try your 500w psu if it has been working well for you so far.

 

[briansackett]

Alright, so new problem. I've decided if I'm going to do this I might as well start building a new cpu. Will be a work in progress. But in the future I would like to run 2 gtx 560 ti's, possibly the new ati bulldozer, not sure the mobo etc... So I'm guessing 800w to be safe but I'd need 4x 6 pin's but would like it to fit in my dell for now also. Any suggestions?