31 replies to this topic

[MrStanler]

Hey guys need a bit of help here.
Basically need a new graphics card, got my eye on the 4gb nvidia GT 630 but what could you recommend? Only have a 450W PSU so nothing too high end.

Computer Is an Intel i3 3220 @ 3.4ghz with a Gigabyte B75M-D3V Mobo and 8gb RAM, currently only running a GT520. I need something better that my computer can happily handle.

Thanks

[typographie]

What's your budget? Monitor resolution?

[MrStanler]

I knew i'd forget to include something! Budget would be around £80 max i think, resolution is currently 1920x1080 but can be lowered if need be.

Was also told to not get anything better than a HD 6670 or GT 640 because of the PSU, Are there any better ones that i could get than those two on my PSU? just after personal recommendations to be honest as i'm not brilliant with computers

Edited by MrStanler, 10 December 2012 - 09:39 PM.

[Mr.Kotte]

80£ isnt really a lot of money for a good graphics card. Going up to 120 would certainly get your more preformance/buck. For 120 you could get a ATI Radeon HD 6870 which is a pretty all around low/mid-range card.

[MrStanler]

Would the psu handle it? I'm not after something amazing as the computer itself isn't top notch, just the best it can handle really
Just checked the 6870 out and it recommends a 550w.

Sorry for all the questions guys, just really confused as to which would be the best bet for me.

Scrap both of those, decided on the 7750 GDDR5

Provided that its compatible with my computer?

http://www.cclonline...ds-1GB/VGA0658/



I'm actually annoying myself with all this editing now, but Is my Motherboard compatible with the GDDR5 7750? I've got the B75M-D3V

Edited by MrStanler, 11 December 2012 - 12:25 AM.

[Zerk2012]

MrStanler, on 10 December 2012 - 10:45 PM, said:

Would the psu handle it? I'm not after something amazing as the computer itself isn't top notch, just the best it can handle really
Just checked the 6870 out and it recommends a 550w.

Is this a better option than the ones I posted before?

http://www.aria.co.u...productId=52105

Or would this 6670 with 1gb GDDR5 be better?

http://www.cclonline...s-Card/VGA0224/

Sorry for all the questions guys, just really confused as to which would be the best bet for me.

http://www.cclonline...s-Card/VGA0544/ This is a safe bet. The 7750 you picked has gddr3  not gddr5 memory.
Or this one if you have a 6pin power connector for the video card comming out of the power supply. But if it's a cheap power supply I would get the 7750 jsut to be safe.
http://www.hwcompare...radeon-hd-7750/
http://www.cclonline...s-Card/VGA0887/

Edited by Zerk2012, 11 December 2012 - 12:10 AM.

[MrStanler]

Thankyou for the reply I think I'll go with the 7750, is there a reason to pay the extra 6 pound for the sapphire 7750 over the most recent one I linked?

This is the computer I have btw, hopefully the 7750 would be fine in it? Psu wise.

http://www.aria.co.u...productId=52325

Edited by MrStanler, 11 December 2012 - 12:58 AM.

[typographie]

MrStanler, on 10 December 2012 - 10:45 PM, said:

I'm actually annoying myself with all this editing now, but Is my Motherboard compatible with the GDDR5 7750? I've got the B75M-D3V

Modern video cards and modern motherboards really have no "incompatibilities" per se, they all use a PCI-e slot.

I am a bit concerned about running an HD 7750 with a 1080p monitor.. yes, you can drop the game resolution, but the quality sacrifice is usually enormous since you'll be scaling up a small image to a large screen. Its up to you, your budget is what it is, but even an HD 7770 would stand a much better chance of handling native 1080p with still very low power draw.

[MrStanler]

I was told the 7770 would need I higher psu than what mine has though?

I think the 7750 is the limit to be honest, the people at aria said the 6670 was the highest it could handle and the 7750 is supposed to be more efficient power wise so I should be okay, not quite sure how the 7770 is on power but I'd of thought the 450w is a bit too low for it.

Edited by MrStanler, 11 December 2012 - 01:07 AM.

[Rashy]

7770 will come nowhere close to using all 450W. You can run it with as little as 350W. Source: http://www.tomshardw...rk,3135-14.html Peak power for Metro 2033 (pretty graphically demanding game) is about 220W.

[MrStanler]

Rashy, on 11 December 2012 - 01:14 AM, said:

7770 will come nowhere close to using all 450W. You can run it with as little as 350W. Source: http://www.tomshardw...rk,3135-14.html Peak power for Metro 2033 (pretty graphically demanding game) is about 220W.

Oh wow thanks, definitely need to put some more thought into this then

[SuperNova]

This if you can stretch to £87 - http://www.scan.co.u...p-dl-dvi-i-hdmi

Keep an eye on this Asus one, might be in stock soon for £80 - http://www.scan.co.u...l-dvi-i-hdmi-dp

[MrStanler]

just wanted to come thank everyone for there help, I've decided to stick to the 7750 for now for a couple of reasons. The 7770 would be ideal but on the AMD website they even recommend a 500w minimum psu and I'm pretty sure mines just a nonename brand 450, knowing nothing about computers I'd rather play it safe. I'm not after playing guild wars 2 on amazing graphical settings so if I get a good fps on low I'd be happy. I know its cpu heavy but hopefully with the 7750 my system will manage low graphics happily.

What do you think?

Edited by MrStanler, 11 December 2012 - 09:28 AM.

[typographie]

Its likely that even a no-name 450 W is enough for a 7770. Under load, its likely your system with that card wouldn't actually be drawing more than about 250-300 W at the very most (the card itself only draws about 80 W). That 500 W number you're finding is an inflated recommendation that has to be made because AMD has no way to be sure what kind of mismanaged trainwreck of a PC the customer might try to put their card in.

I don't want you to push you to the 7770 if you're concerned and/or don't really want to spend the extra money. But just be aware that playing with low details at your native resolution is a whole different world of visual fidelity than having to scale up a low-res image. But if you're doing that already with your GT 520, you may be fine with it, and the 7750 would still do it a hell of a lot better.

[MrStanler]

Haven't got the game yet as I'm waiting for the new gpu to even attempt it, the reason for my budget is because I'll be buying two of them, ones a present for someone with an identical computer. I could stretch to the 7770 money wise, just don't want it to cause problems with the psu. I think I need to read up a bit more on the whole thing. Just so confusing reading conflicting statements when I'm not technically inclined lol. Thankyou for the help, it is much appreciated.

Okay I think I'll take he plunge and get the 7770, do I need to make sure the computer has a 6 pin plug from the psu first?

Was thinking of this one, yes or no?

http://www.cclonline...s-Card/VGA0887/

Edited by MrStanler, 11 December 2012 - 04:49 PM.

[Quaker]

An HD7770 should work fine with a 450watt power supply, provided that the power supply is not complete crap. The recommended power supply always has a lot of built in headroom.

Also, although the description of the card you linked doesn't say so, it's possible that it comes with a MOLEX-to-PCIe power adapter. If not:
http://www.aria.co.u...productId=50834

It might be better to spend the extra on this (Gigabyte):
http://www.aria.co.u...productId=53307
but most of all, I linked it just to show that it does specify a 450watt power supply (which would apply to the ARIAnet one as well.)

(ARIAnet would seem to be a "house-brand". It looks like a re-branded model based on the AMD reference design. It might not be as well made as the Gigabyte model.)

Edited by Quaker, 11 December 2012 - 05:08 PM.

[MrStanler]

yeah was a bit skeptical about the own brand ones. Curries are doing the sapphire 7770 for 89.99 which really is the top end of my budget, would that one be a wiser choice than the own brand?

Also on the power supply, it doesn't state what make or anything mine is. Should I be concerned about it being a rubbish one? Or should it be fine?

Forgot to mention, the one from curries I can pick up so no postage cost and because the aria ones are on offer its only 1 per order and I'd need two. Comes down to gigabyte or sapphire?

Thanks for the help btw

Edited by MrStanler, 11 December 2012 - 05:35 PM.

[Malganis]

I just bought a couple of Diamond HD7770's, for my and my wife's computers, and I had to upgrade our power supplies as well.   450w is running just fine, including 2 hard drives and a DVD drive.    The cards are incredible as well, bumping up my FPS from 15 to 50+ in Lion's Arch.   Yes you do need a power supply with the 6-pin PCI-E connector, but the cards should come with an adapter for the 4-pin power connector.

[typographie]

MrStanler, on 11 December 2012 - 02:33 PM, said:

Okay I think I'll take he plunge and get the 7770, do I need to make sure the computer has a 6 pin plug from the psu first?

Take a look and see if you can find one (looks like this) coming out of the PSU. If not, you'll need to use one of the 4-pin Molex to 6-pin PCIE adapters that Quaker mentioned. As he said, video cards often come with them.
Gigabyte and Sapphire both have excellent reputations.

If it sets your mind at ease at all, check out this review of the HD 7770's power performance. In particular, note the "Load power consumption - Metro 2033" showing an entire system with an HD 7770 requiring only 250 W (~80 W for the card itself). The discrepancy is simply that AMD is giving you a very safe 500 W ballpark recommendation since they have no idea what your system configuration is. The tech review in that link is measuring actual power draw for their test system.

[MrStanler]

Yeah just been inside the computer, I'll need the adaptor which is no big deal. I think I'll go pick up the sapphire one tomorrow yeah I saw the power consumption page. Thankyou so much for all the help, sorry for being such a pain!

[Zerk2012]

Look inside your PC again and list what it says on your power supply Brand name, Model# and 12v rail amps. You could have a very cheap over rated PSU strange for a 450 watt not to have a PCI-E cord.

[MrStanler]

Zerk2012, on 11 December 2012 - 11:38 PM, said:

Look inside your PC again and list what it says on your power supply Brand name, Model# and 12v rail amps. You could have a very cheap over rated PSU strange for a 450 watt not to have a PCI-E cord.

I'll try include a picture but it isn't amazing as its off my phone, its a pentium p4 500u.

Wow picture is worse than i thought, if you cant read it i'll write it all out can someone let me know asap? I cant go buy it now until i know haha

Can anyone please confirm if my psu will or will not handle a 7770? Before I commit to ordering the card

Attached Files

•  4-97039355-423766-480.jpg   20.56K   32 downloads

Edited by MrStanler, 13 December 2012 - 12:04 PM.

[MrStanler]

Can anybody help from that picture?

If I've read it correctly, which I may not have, it has 18A and the minimum for the 7770 is 20A. Anyone clarify? Even the 7750 needs 20A

Edited by MrStanler, 13 December 2012 - 02:44 PM.

[Quaker]

I don't know where you got that 20amp figure. 20A times 12volts would be 240watts. An HD7770 does not use 240watts even when flat out - it's more like 80watts flat out.

I think that power supply will work just fine. It looks like - it's hard to read - that it has two 12volt "rails". If possible, when you connect the power to the HD7770, try to use both rails. This isn't always possible, depending upon the adapter you use and the layout of the cables. Some adapters have two Molex connectors for this reason. If it does, connect the Molex connectors to two different strings of connectors.

(Usually, you'll have cables (strings) coming from the power supply (PSU) that have 2 or 3 molex connectors on them, and often there will be more than one of these cables. Don't plug both molex connectors on the adapter into the same PSU cable - rather, spread them between two cables if possible. If you don't have 2 separate molex connectors on the adapter, or only one string from the PSU, don't worry about it. Or conversely, if the adapter has only one molex connector, connect it to a PSU string with nothing else on it - connect all the drives (hard drive, DVD) to a different string. All this is in an effort to balance the load between the two "rails".)

Edited by Quaker, 13 December 2012 - 03:54 PM.

[MrStanler]

I think the 20A figure was recommended for the entire system including the card? There were two Molex connectors from the psu. One coming straight out and one coming out, connecting to something else as well as having a Molex. Would I be better getting a double Molex to 6 pin and using them both? And do you think that psu looks fine for the 7770? Sorry for all the questions but thankyou

I'll have another look tonight but as I remember it, one lot of wires had nothing but the Molex another was connected to the hdd -I think- and also had a Molex, so if that's the case I'd be better off using just the one separate Molex?

Edited by MrStanler, 13 December 2012 - 04:04 PM.

[Quaker]

Quaker, on 13 December 2012 - 03:46 PM, said:

I think that power supply will work just fine.

If your PCIe adapter has only one Molex connector, connect it to the cable that comes "straight out" of the PSU. If the adapter has two Molex, connect one to each cable.

In this case, with a relatively low-power HD7770, I wouldn't be concerned about whether your PCIe adapter has one or two molex connectors.

Edited by Quaker, 13 December 2012 - 04:05 PM.

[MrStanler]

So just one is fine thankyou for clearing it up for me finally. Nice to get a definitive answer after all the mixed responses.

Okay so it appears i was monumentally wrong on my PSU.
It isn't 18A and you are correct with the 2 +12V rails. it has +12V1 and +12V2 which are 14A and 13A respectively.

how would this work with the 7770? or would it even work with it? Would i need to connect both rails to make sure the 7770 was getting enough power along with everything else in there?

Or would i have to downgrade to the 7750? This is never ending lol..

Edited by MrStanler, 13 December 2012 - 09:42 PM.

[Quaker]

At 80watts maximum TDP, your max current draw on the +12volts would be 6.67 amps, which is well below the 13 or 14 amps listed for your 12volt rails. However, there are other devices, such as the hard & optical drives, which also use some of the available current (about 2 amps). That is why I suggested you connect the video card to the molex that come "straight out" of the power supply without connecting to anything else. (Although that line may supply the motherboard, which could be up to 3 or 4 amps.)
So, as I said, if your PCIe adapter has two molex connectors, connect one to each line from the power supply. If it has just one molex, connect it to either one. Either rail should have 6.67 amps available.

Edited by Quaker, 14 December 2012 - 05:12 PM.

[Elder III]

Unless the PSU is faulty there is no reason why it can't handle an HD 7770 - with ease in fact.

[Perm Shadow Form]

Kinda dumb question, but I have no idea since in using a laptop.
Which is the cheapest GPU that would run GW2 on high @ ~60FPS @ 1600x900?
Thinking of building a new PC.