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upgrade graphics card?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by hero8675, Nov 30, 2013.

  1. hero8675

    hero8675 Member

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    I built a new computer in early 2010 and it is still going strong. I am late on the scene of games and I'm cheap, so i'm still playing games that are at least a year old most several years old. Recently I found a few that will not play correctly because of my graphics card. I'm thinking about upgrading my graphics card so I can keep this computer going for another couple of years. After that if the computer is still good, I will use it in a MAME arcade machine.

    My current specs are:
    GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard, I have a AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 3.1 ghz processor 8gb of ram and a GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16, 8GB ram Windows 7.

    So I know I need PCI express 2.0 card, 3.0 will not make a difference to me correct?

    Im looking for a card in the $100 range is this one ok? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102993

    Any recommendations?
    My PSU is 400watts, will a new card be ok?

    Is there something about my computer that will not let me take advantage of a better graphics card?

    I assume the jump from a 4670 card to a 7770 crd will be siginifant even though they are both 1gb 128 bit cards?
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2013
  2. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    that card
    System Requirements Minimum of a 450 Watt power supply.
    so you also need a new bigger psu. what video ports are on your monitor?
     
  3. hero8675

    hero8675 Member

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    Just dvi and vga. A bigger PSU may be a deal breaker for me, unless I can catch a $30 Cyber Monday deal.
     
  4. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    do you also have a dvi cable?
     
  5. hero8675

    hero8675 Member

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    yes, my monitor is currently hooked up DVI.
     
  6. hero8675

    hero8675 Member

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    I have found a couple of cards that will fit in my 400W window. the new cards are PCI E 3.0, but my mother board is PCI-E 2.0.

    Can I assume that any card I get will not perform up to the benchmark tests because I'll be running the card at 2.0, not 3.0?
     
  7. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    depends on what the difference is between PCI-E 2.0 & PCI-E 3.0.
     

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