[SOLVED] What is the highest end card compatible with my system?

[CrazyLo719]

I have an Hp Pavilion p6516f. More Specs below;

1TB HD

Foxconn H-RS880-uATX (Aloe) motherboard with
1 PCI x16 slot for graphics card
3 PCI x1 slots
1 PCI Express x1 minicard slot

AMD Athalon II x4 630 processor

6GB RAM

250w power supply

Currently ATI Radeon HD 4200 integrated <(thats what i want to replace)>

I'd like to know what the highest end graphics card compatible with my system is. I want to upgrade but do not know what to buy. -sorry if im posting this thread in the wrong place-

[emosun]

We need to know what your budget is for this upgrade , also your going to have to change the power supply as well.

[CrazyLo719]

my budget is any, i just want to know what i can get, and i do not want to change my power supply, i want something compatible with my system as is.

[Dogg]

If you aren't changing the power supply, then you aren't likely to be able to support any card. An addon card will draw more power...and you don't have any to spare.

[Tyree]

Even an entry level GPU won't survive long with a 250W OEM PSU.

[emosun]

Then the answer is simply none.

No one on our team is recommending a gpu with only a 250w power supply , not even a cheapo gpu.

[CrazyLo719]

ok, i am going to upgrade to a 500w power supply. i found one for not too much. can you now tell me what i can get? and if 500w isn't *required* then what amount of wattage will i need with your gpu recommendation? (if its any help, i want to be able to run BF3 nicely)

[CrazyLo719]

(I WANT AMD GRAPHICS<ITS AN AMD PC>)

[emosun]

Whats the make and model 500w?

With power supplies , brand and amperage is very important. No cheapo 500w power supply is going to power a gpu w/o frying. It would be easier if you simply gave use a total budget for a gpu and power supply and we picked something out that would fit the bill.

[CrazyLo719]

my budget is whatever it adds up to. i dont have a set limit, i want to know what it WILL cost. tell me what your ideal setup for both power supply and graphics card is, and we can go from there :) try to keep the price realistic and reasonable is all i ask.

[emosun]

A good place to start would be with something like this if you want bf3 to play well.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Newegg.com - HIS IceQ 5 H577QT1GD Radeon HD 5770 Turbo 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

Something a bit more higher end would be like this.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Newegg.com - HIS H697F2G2M Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

[CrazyLo719]

perfecto! :) now im not sure if my PCI slot is a 2.0. i cant find any specifics on it, all i know is PCI Express x16

[toothman]

That's a 1st-gen PCI-Express slot. It will slow down 2.0/2.1 graphics cards, but not significantly.

Your old Athlon processor is going to bottleneck any powerful video card you put in your system. I can't imagine you would see more performance out of any card more powerful than an HD6870. Fortunately the 6870 is an excellent BF3 performer.

For a fully smooth BF3 performance, you will want an FX-4100/Phenom II or better CPU, DDR3 RAM (1600 is best for BF3), and a 550 Ti or better (the 6870 is the best value/performance for BF3).

[emosun]

Bf3 isn't very resource heavy , even my old machine can play it with everything turned up , he should be ok.

[Amd_Man]

Originally Posted by toothman

That's a 1st-gen PCI-Express slot. It will slow down 2.0/2.1 graphics cards, but not significantly.

Your old Athlon processor is going to bottleneck any powerful video card you put in your system. I can't imagine you would see more performance out of any card more powerful than an HD6870. Fortunately the 6870 is an excellent BF3 performer.

For a fully smooth BF3 performance, you will want an FX-4100/Phenom II or better CPU, DDR3 RAM (1600 is best for BF3), and a 550 Ti or better (the 6870 is the best value/performance for BF3).

It's not not an old Athlon, it's an Athlon II X4 630 and won't bottleneck the graphics at all!

[CrazyLo719]

yea its a quad core at over 3Ghz per core. i have plenty of power and 6Gb of ram...i should be good there. and yes i dont want it all maxed out and utterly beautiful, just at a persay *cough cough* console level.

[toothman]

A 6850/6870 easily outperforms the xbox/ps3. I've played Skyrim on Xbox and Skyrim on pc with a 6850. Huge upgrade.

[emosun]

I believe the xbox 360 uses a modified ati x1800 series and the ps3 uses a modified nvidia 7800 series , both dinosaurs in comparison.

[akedm]

Hey. Just my 2-cents here. If it's feasible to you I'd get the power supply first. Dont buy anything else yet. I'm recalling a Gateway I had years ago. It had a Bestec brand power supply, and it couldnt be switched out for ANYTHING (Seasonic, Antec - Antec was good at the time, CoolerMaster, etc....). Lindmann (spelling???) tried helping me, Dai, all those guys that know this stuff forward and backward. I even sent to Lindemann a video of me testing out each wire in the power supply with one of those meters that reads everything about current.

Point is I wanted to do what you wanted to do and I was stopped cold with the power supply. Put in a new power supply - zip. Put back in my old Bestec 250w - worked like a dream, but I couldnt upgrade. Nearest we could figure is that it was a manufacturer thing - a Gateway thing. Now on the plus side, I also upgraded an HP (your brand) with no problems.

Since you have a pre-built system like mine, my 2 cents is to, if it's something you want to do, get a power supply first. As soon as it works in your system, it's all cake and smiles from there.

- Eric

[CrazyLo719]

Well then i am one happy camper if it can out perferm any console. and akedm, thank you for your 2-cents. i will try the power supply first :)