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LeftBack
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Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:43 pm

Hey Not sure if this goes here or graphics card section.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you volunteer.

I will try and keep this short.

My home PC setup quite a while ago Spec as follows.
Motherboard: Asus a8n-e .
Ram: 2x256MB and 2x1GB All run at 400Mhz? (The 1GB ram cards where upgrades.)
CPU: Opteron 180 (This was a upgrade I got of Ebay for $75 to replace my old single core CPU I forgot the old model number.)
Grahpics card: X550 EZ 256MB AMD graphics card
PSU: A Yum Cha PSU 450Watt

I live in a very dusty area so under the instruction of the one who put this together for me (he is longer around) every 3 months I religiously take everything out of the computer and clean it with pressurised air and a Vacuum cleaner. Now while I was doing this my dog came running in wanting to play and jumped on my graphics card cracked, I do not want to plug this back into my computer...

Could anyone suggest a replacement Graphics card that would work in my computer?

Or if my computer is to old could I have suggestions on parts to make a new one I feel confident I could put them all together from scratch after finding a guide on this site. If possible could you look at using these 2 websites as they deliver fast to where i live in Australia.

http://pccasegear.com/
http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/

Thanks again for anyone able to help.

*Edit didn't read rules before posting.

Budget $100 AUD
Used for Skype, Office, Steam popcap games (son plays them),
Last edited by LeftBack on Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
just brew it!
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:01 pm

Yes, that's a pretty old system. But at least the motherboard has a PCIe graphics card slot, so most any recent PCIe graphics card should be compatible. If the rest of the hardware is still in good working order, and the system is still fast enough for you, pretty much any current budget PCIe graphics card should perform as well or better than your old Radeon X550 EZ.

If you're on a budget, something like this should fit the bill, and won't stress your generic PSU.

Unless stuff is getting really caked with dust you shouldn't need to disassemble everything to clean it. Just take it outside and use the compressed air on it...
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
LeftBack
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:19 pm

Thanks for the quick response i may be able to sort this before going home.

So PCIe 1,2,3 are interchangeable but the bandwidth is limited. So that card would work just not at 100%?

When i was referring to dust easiest way to explain would be pictures this happens once a week or so where i live.

http://www.google.com.au/search?um=1&hl ... 80&bih=937

Above is just a Google search "dust storm Sydney".

*Edit
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2558/3949 ... f0d6_z.jpg
A good example.
 
just brew it!
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:31 pm

LeftBack wrote:
Thanks for the quick response i may be able to sort this before going home.

So PCIe 1,2,3 are interchangeable but the bandwidth is limited. So that card would work just not at 100%?

In general yes they are supposed to be interchangeable, with the interface running at the lowest common denominator speed. There have been occasional exceptions in terms of compatibility, but there's really no way to tell beforehand unless you find an online review somewhere that specifically says there's a problem with such-and-such card on your particular motherboard.

Budget graphics cards don't really *need* the faster PCIe speeds anyway, since performance is likely to be bottlenecked by the GPU itself (not its interface to the rest of the system).

(I'm assuming you're not trying to play recent FPS games on this thing, given the vintage of the rest of your hardware...)
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
LeftBack
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:44 pm

Thanks for all the help just brew it!

Guess there is only one way to find out if it will work or not, buying the suggested AMD 6450.

I will let you know how it goes in a week or so when the part arrives.

If it doesn't work i got a new graphics card to use in a new computer.

Wish i could shake your hand and buy you a beer for all your help. Thanks again.
 
vargis14
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:56 pm

Hey if can make a 4670 card work for a old agp slot,i do not see why a 6670 would not work well.79$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125403
2600k@4848mhz @1.4v CM Nepton40XL 16gb Ram 2x EVGA GTX770 4gb Classified cards in SLI@1280mhz Stock boost on a GAP67-UD4-B3, SBlaster Z powered by TX-850 PSU pushing a 34" LG 21/9 3440-1440 IPS panel. Pieced together 2.1 sound system
 
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:12 pm

vargis14 wrote:
Hey if can make a 4670 card work for a old agp slot,i do not see why a 6670 would not work well.79$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125403

Umm... what? Nobody said anything about AGP slots, what does that have to do with anything?
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
vargis14
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:36 pm

wWell i was thinking about getting a his hd4650 hdcp vid card for my old 940 pin fx53 setup as a htpc...i thought if a old 8x agp slot can take that why wouldnt a pcie slot be able to handle more. thats all
2600k@4848mhz @1.4v CM Nepton40XL 16gb Ram 2x EVGA GTX770 4gb Classified cards in SLI@1280mhz Stock boost on a GAP67-UD4-B3, SBlaster Z powered by TX-850 PSU pushing a 34" LG 21/9 3440-1440 IPS panel. Pieced together 2.1 sound system
 
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Tue Feb 28, 2012 2:07 pm

vargis14 wrote:
wWell i was thinking about getting a his hd4650 hdcp vid card for my old 940 pin fx53 setup as a htpc...i thought if a old 8x agp slot can take that why wouldnt a pcie slot be able to handle more. thats all

Ahh, OK.

Well here's the thing... the AGP slot is probably holding that GPU back. Just because someone made a card with a (somewhat) modern GPU that will work in an AGP slot doesn't mean the system will be able to keep the GPU fully fed. For applications which really stress the bandwidth between the video card and the rest of the system, the AGP slot is potentially a bottleneck.

OTOH a 4650 isn't exactly a screamer, so maybe AGP 8x isn't even that bad...
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vargis14
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:27 am

After looking at his rig a little better.Knowing he ordered the 6450.He could have went with a 6670 from His posted sites for 69$
That opteron 180 is a pretty good cpu and if he dropped his HT link to 3x, pulled out the 2 256 meg ram chips he could get a decent overclock out of it:) a extra 300mhz at least.
I think his board would made love to that 6670:)its just going to have sex with the 6450 but that what hookers are for.
2600k@4848mhz @1.4v CM Nepton40XL 16gb Ram 2x EVGA GTX770 4gb Classified cards in SLI@1280mhz Stock boost on a GAP67-UD4-B3, SBlaster Z powered by TX-850 PSU pushing a 34" LG 21/9 3440-1440 IPS panel. Pieced together 2.1 sound system
 
Krogoth
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:37 am

If you simply want to upgrade GPU. Just snatch something like a 8800GT, HD 4850, 5500, GT 450, 5770 and don't go any further as you will end-up being CPU-bound.

Otherwise, just save up for a complete overhaul.

JBI, the interface hasn't been a bottleneck for GPUs since AGP days. Bottlenecking was only a problem back when GPUs were riding on PCI classic. ;)

It is because GPUs are designed to use their on-board VRAM and memory subsystem as much as possible.
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LeftBack
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:56 am

Letting you all know how it went.

The 6450 came in. plugged it in works like a charm.

Though it would be a little harder than plugging in the card turning on computer and installing CD.

Thanks all.
 
vargis14
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Thu Mar 01, 2012 6:43 am

Thats good to hear.Now you have a hdmi connection.Perhaps you will hook it up to a large hdtv and enjoy some HTPC action here and there.Plus its nice to sit on a couch/recliner with the family or alone and surf/play games,netflix,hulu,ripped videos or do what you do with the pc.
Plus if you tv and monitor/pc setup are close enough to each other you could setup dual display to clone/same content on both monitor and tv,or dual display where you could watch a full screen video on one of the screens and still use the monitor some something else.

If you need a long HDMI cable buy it online.They cost less the 1/4 of what you would pay in a store.That goes for any hdmi cable not just long sorry.
2600k@4848mhz @1.4v CM Nepton40XL 16gb Ram 2x EVGA GTX770 4gb Classified cards in SLI@1280mhz Stock boost on a GAP67-UD4-B3, SBlaster Z powered by TX-850 PSU pushing a 34" LG 21/9 3440-1440 IPS panel. Pieced together 2.1 sound system
 
Welch
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Re: Assistance required choosing new graphics card.

Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:18 am

You can go pretty decent up the graphics card ladder for even current generation cards and most of them wont come near even saturating the bandwidth available on PCI-E 2. There are supposed to be other subtle features with the advancement of the PCI-E versions, but they are generally minor and not important unless your into multiple graphics card setups, overclocking or other much more serious tasks.

If your case has a decent enough airflow then I'd highly recommend you finding a slightly lower end, current generation graphics card. The lower end cards generally will also increase their performance to near mid range from a few generations prior. Also if your in an area with that much dirt/dust, also look for a very effect fan-less card (again, assuming you have the airflow in your case. Most of the low end cards with fans are going to put really small 30-50mm fans which are loud and very prone to failure from debris. A passive design if getting lots of airflow is pretty much not effected by dirt/dust because the fins "hang" upside down and aren't being packed with junk by a fan. I've hooked up lots of systems in EXTREMELY dirty places like gravel pit weigh stations and greenhouses.

Something like this will probably do just fine... but look around to find something similar if not slightly better for the price. I only picked this one to show you the heat sink on it, its quite tall and thing fins = better heat dissipation. You don't want a short little block of metal. If you have the choice of copper vs aluminum, copper is better for heat transfer hands down (assuming the entire heat sink is solid copper). A card like this wont even bother your PSU, and will destroy those little "Bottle-cap" steam games your referring to.
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