elusivd

Hi

I have an Advent T9610 specs here (http://support.thetechguys.com/Layout.aspx?ID={a14f265a-6680-4777-8763-871a178eabae}&CatID={ebd2b6ac-fa80-43ea-bee7-4f2622ca6e94}) running with 4gb RAM.

And am looking for best graphics card to upgrade to with £150 in my pocket. Currently looking at: (http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/351959...d/Product.html) but the PCIe 2.0 threw me and no idea if my pc supports this and if it doesn't will the card just not work at the max?

Any advice seriously welcome for a not too techy guy who lost track of what graphics cars are any good since Radeon, Nvidia etc renamed their products.

Thanks

e

jonathan68

First off Welcome to TSF.

yes the video card you have listed will step back to PCIE x 16 ( 1.0 ), it is backwards compatible.

what CPU are you running and most important what is the Power Supply that is in the computer.

Phædrus2401

Please open the side of the case and read off the brand and wattage rating of your power supply, it's the boxy component where the power cord runs in.


It isn't guaranteed that the card will work in the PCIe 1.0 slot, some OEM manufacturers don't provide the necessary BIOS updates to make this possible. How old is the computer?

http://ebuyer.com is a better source for parts in the UK, from what I've found.

elusivd

Hi

Thanks for the quick responses.

The PSU is a Channel Well Technology 405w Max (under voltage and current columns - although it does say 505w on the label toounder the frequency column)

PC age is less than 2 years old.

Dxdiag info:

BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOSv6.00PG
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @2.4GHz (4 CPUs)
Memory 3326MB
DirectX 10
Graphics Card: GeForce 8400 GS
Running 2 x 19" TFTs both at 1280 x 1024

Need any more info let me know.

Thanks again

e

emosun

A corsair 550w and a 9600 or 4770 should fit into that for under 150.

Phædrus2401

The 4770 is the more powerful card than the 9600GT (being comparable to a 9800GT), so I'd go with that. But first do you know what chipset motherboard you have? If it's an Intel chipset board then go with the 4770, if it's an Nvidia nForce or SLI board then go with the 9600GT to avoid instability issues.

emosun

From the research I've done it should have a Foxconn G33M05 which should have an intel chipset. Wouldn't hurt to check with cpu-z though.

elusivd

Hi - thanks again for responses (your email notification got caught as spam so I didn't see them til today).

I checked and it's an intel chipset.

Also, checked out the 4770 and came up with this one for £90 http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/101707...d/Product.html

Is this really better than the 8800gt which is priced around £120? I don't mind getting an older card if it will get more out of my system for playing games. I didn't want to upgrade the psu if I could help it. But if I have to I will get that on top of the £150 graphics card allowance I've given myself.

Thanks again guys - really appreciate it.

e

Phædrus2401

The 8800GT is identical to the 9800GT, which the 4770 and 4830 compete with, so I'd say the 4770 is the better deal.

These cards may "run" on your current 400W PSU, but the system lifetime will be greatly shortened. You may start seeing graphical artifacts due to graphics card VRAM killed by bad voltage within six to eighteen months, system RAM issues within twelve months, and motherboard issues within two years. We recommend a 550W PSU for cards in the range you're looking at, and the Corsair VX550W is one of the best for the money. The power supply is the last place you want to cheap out in your computer.