Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice

enorox · 11-06-2008, 03:36 PM

Hi, I'm currently looking to upgrade my graphics card but I'm totally lost

These are my current specs :

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+
1 GIG [Upgrading to 4gig]

And graphics card is an 8400 GS.

Now I'm totally lost when it comes to graphics cards so here it is.

I'm looking for an affordable upgrade for $100 or less.

Any suggestions? I'm looking for a site that compares GFX cards by showing how much FPS per game, but finding no luck.

Thanks in advance

**grimx133** · 11-06-2008, 04:41 PM

Try this chart, it's from Q1 of this year, but should be a help. Click on a game and it'll show relative framerates by card. Will aid in getting the most fps for the price.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/g...hmarks,21.html

Edit: Don't forget power supply, too much of a card and you'll need to upgrade that as well. The 8400GS isn't a power hungry beast, unfortunately the better the card the more power it requires.

enorox · 11-06-2008, 04:45 PM

Oh sorry, I have a 500W Power Supply. And thanks for the chart.

**grimx133** · 11-06-2008, 05:34 PM

You're welcome. A 500 watt psu will run anything up to an 8600GT or so. Anything more than that would most likely require a new power supply. It's all about the 12 volt amps and stability, which is why if you ever upgrade the power you should go with a recommended brand. The cheap generic brands don't provide as much as they say they do, often they use peak watts instead of continuous watts. And then there efficiency and stability. You need to make sure you don't demand too much from your psu, if it blows it can take other components with it.

enorox · 11-06-2008, 05:38 PM

I read the side of my PSU and I saw some 12V1s and such.

Also, I'm just hoping to play Wrath of the Lich King (WoW Xpac) on high settings without lagging like a mofo. Currently, I skip around in shatt on pretty low settings, I was hoping it could be all smooth and a decent amount of FPS.

**grimx133** · 11-06-2008, 07:47 PM

Those are your 12 volt rail(s) need a minium of 26 amps for a pci-e card, much more for a high end card. What was the output on yours? If the combined amps on 2 rails is at least in the mid to high 30's you should be ok with something like this evga 9600GSO, but it's awfully close, I'd want at least 550 watts personally. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130364

enorox · 11-08-2008, 09:29 AM

Okay, thank you for the replies. I think I may have found the one I want.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130334

Now I have some questions about this.

1) will it fit my current Mobo? EDIT : Sorry, my motherboard is a Giga-Byte GA-m57SLI-S4

2) Will I have enough power to run it?

3) Is it a good card? I'm reading the reviews and everyone is real happy with it. The only con I see a lot is that it's long so I'm hoping I can fit it in my computer.

***For my PSU.. these are the numbers I'm reading on the side of it.

AC -115V -10A 60Hz 230V 5A 50Hz
DC +3.3V +5v +12v1 +12v2 -12V +5VSB
MAX 34A 40A 16A 17A 0.8A 2.5A

11-06-2008, 03:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
enorox Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 6 OS: WinXP Pro SP2	Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice Hi, I'm currently looking to upgrade my graphics card but I'm totally lost These are my current specs : AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ 1 GIG [Upgrading to 4gig] And graphics card is an 8400 GS. Now I'm totally lost when it comes to graphics cards so here it is. I'm looking for an affordable upgrade for $100 or less. Any suggestions? I'm looking for a site that compares GFX cards by showing how much FPS per game, but finding no luck. Thanks in advance

11-06-2008, 04:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,153 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice Try this chart, it's from Q1 of this year, but should be a help. Click on a game and it'll show relative framerates by card. Will aid in getting the most fps for the price. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/g...hmarks,21.html Edit: Don't forget power supply, too much of a card and you'll need to upgrade that as well. The 8400GS isn't a power hungry beast, unfortunately the better the card the more power it requires. Last edited by grimx133; 11-06-2008 at 04:43 PM.

11-06-2008, 04:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
enorox Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 6 OS: WinXP Pro SP2	Re: Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice Oh sorry, I have a 500W Power Supply. And thanks for the chart.

11-06-2008, 05:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,153 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice You're welcome. A 500 watt psu will run anything up to an 8600GT or so. Anything more than that would most likely require a new power supply. It's all about the 12 volt amps and stability, which is why if you ever upgrade the power you should go with a recommended brand. The cheap generic brands don't provide as much as they say they do, often they use peak watts instead of continuous watts. And then there efficiency and stability. You need to make sure you don't demand too much from your psu, if it blows it can take other components with it.

11-06-2008, 05:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
enorox Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 6 OS: WinXP Pro SP2	Re: Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice I read the side of my PSU and I saw some 12V1s and such. Also, I'm just hoping to play Wrath of the Lich King (WoW Xpac) on high settings without lagging like a mofo. Currently, I skip around in shatt on pretty low settings, I was hoping it could be all smooth and a decent amount of FPS.

11-06-2008, 07:47 PM	#6 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,153 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice Those are your 12 volt rail(s) need a minium of 26 amps for a pci-e card, much more for a high end card. What was the output on yours? If the combined amps on 2 rails is at least in the mid to high 30's you should be ok with something like this evga 9600GSO, but it's awfully close, I'd want at least 550 watts personally. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130364

11-08-2008, 09:29 AM	#7 (permalink)
enorox Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 6 OS: WinXP Pro SP2	Re: Upgrading GFX card. Need some advice Okay, thank you for the replies. I think I may have found the one I want. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130334 Now I have some questions about this. 1) will it fit my current Mobo? EDIT : Sorry, my motherboard is a Giga-Byte GA-m57SLI-S4 2) Will I have enough power to run it? 3) Is it a good card? I'm reading the reviews and everyone is real happy with it. The only con I see a lot is that it's long so I'm hoping I can fit it in my computer. ***For my PSU.. these are the numbers I'm reading on the side of it. AC -115V -10A 60Hz 230V 5A 50Hz DC +3.3V +5v +12v1 +12v2 -12V +5VSB MAX 34A 40A 16A 17A 0.8A 2.5A