Soup guys,

I need some advice, it's my first time buying/changing video card and a PSU so I just want to know whether it will all be functioning well along with my other components of the PC.

I've asked on NVIDIA forums but since the forums only got back up not so long ago, not many users use it.

NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti

and

PSU 600W

System Model - G5200uk-m
System type - x64-based PC
Processor - AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 220 Processor, 2800 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor
Current integrated video card - NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Installed Physical Memory - 3.00GB
Total Physical Memory - 2.75GB
Available RAM - 925MB
Total Virtual Memory - 5.50GB
Available Virtual Memory - 3.45GB

12 years ago*

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I think everything should work as long as there are enough cables and places where you can plug them in. You should maybe plan to upgrade the other componets too (you have almost the same shitty PC as me :( )

12 years ago
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I don't think it's that shitty, the only problem about it is the integrated video card, and we all know integrated cards are not that good

good thing that I got a PCI express slot for another video card

12 years ago
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No hard feelings or anything but your pc is not very good even with the upgrades it is pretty low end

I think you should get some more ram at least 6 gb overall ram and a better processor from intel like the i5

12 years ago
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I would not add RAM because DDR2 RAM is rather expensive compared to DDR3 (which your HP doesn't support)

12 years ago
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Yeah, integrated graphics are only usable for office PCs. I have the same processor and the same amount of RAM and I think your motherboard is also probably a cheap one (I also have the GeForce GTX 550 TI but I can't use it because I need a better power supply :( ) and I think often that my PC is slow. I'll upgrade my PC next year.

12 years ago
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Yeah when I was choosing the computer I had no idea about RAM, video cards and stuff like that, as long as I could run normal games atleast on lowest settings lol. Now that I started doing an IT course in college I'm starting to be more aware on how bad my computer is :D

click

12 years ago
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Ergh, itll work, but the amount of ram that you have is going to bottleneck your performance. I would invest in a few more gigs of ram and possibly a multi core, if you can. Building a new gaming pc altogether might be worth it in the long run. Happy gaming.

12 years ago
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Maybe in the future I would be able to, but since I'm not even 18 yet I can't get that much cash anytime soon. As long as I could run games such as GTA IV, MW3, Dead Space, etc I'm fine with that

12 years ago
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You can probably do it, just dont expect to see anything go as smoothly as you may have hoped. Dont say i didnt warn you

12 years ago
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But by "you can probably do it" which game settings at max should I be hoping to get?

12 years ago
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it honestly depends. I dont know how demanding MW3 or GTA IV is. You could probably run dead space at anywhere from medium to high, depending on what others settings you put in place.

12 years ago
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Found this gameplay of Battlefield 3 with same processor as mine and GTX 550 Ti

(He just has more RAM)

thoughts?

12 years ago
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Get this instead of GTX 550Ti

12 years ago
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Why, it's not as good.

12 years ago
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I don't know much about this, but take a look here.

And of course, 7770 is a little cheaper.

12 years ago
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Not where I live. Both are around the same price.

12 years ago
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bookmarked

12 years ago
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Too bad you don't live in the states. The 550 is $99 at amazon.

12 years ago
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If you want a graphics card that uses more than 300 watts I'd buy a new PC. If upgrading I would get a GT 630 so you don't need a new PSU since your HP's one is 300 Watts. Also a 600 watt PSU is overkill

12 years ago
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I know it's too much for that but I feel like it would help me in the long run if I'll be upgrading any time later too, just to be on the safe side.

12 years ago
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If you do upgrade a second time there will be no improvements in gameplay since your CPU will bottleneck your GPU. Also upgrading a CPU is the most involved and difficult installation process for PCs.

My brother's Gateway PC has a GT 430 (upgraded from a 7600 GS, 1 year ago) with a 300 watt PSU and can run all the games on my steam account fine even most games at 1280x1024 maxed settings at a playable framerate.

Also proof that GT 630 (or a rebranded GT430) will run on a 300 watt PSU

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-630/specifications

12 years ago
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This is a gaming forum, so you might find someone knowledgeable, but if you visit a hardware forum, like Tom's Hardware, you'll be likely to find better advice. I personally prefer the one I linked.

12 years ago
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Get a decent PSU from Bequiet, NZXT, Cougar, Seasonic or Enermax.

A good 350w one is enough for nearly everything except sli/crossfire configurations, i would recommend 450w silver plus or higher, from one of the brands i named.

For the graphics card it depends if youre planning to upgrade your CPU, i would buy a HD7850, if you can't afford that, then a 7770 over a 550ti.

If you want to upgrade your CPU aswell, i would choose at least a 7870.
AMD cards are the way to go at the moment, if you don't need PhysX or Cuda.

12 years ago
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Let's say I don't upgrade my CPU and upgrade to 7770 + ~500W PSU, would it deliver good perfomance with current CPU?

12 years ago
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Your CPU will bottleneck you in a lot of games.
Which kjnd of games you want/like to play?
I could tell you more then.

You won't use more then 200w with a 7770+Athlon X2, it is absolutely useless to go with 500w, it won't deliver any more performance.

Of course you can buy as much as you want, but it doesnt make any sence, current generations hardware uses less power then the older ones, and it will most likely be the same way in the future, and even then 450w would be more then enough.

No native english speaker, hope its understandable. :)

12 years ago
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I don't have specific games, but I'm looking to play games such as Dead Space, GTA IV, Dota 2, Fallout and probably even newer games or ones that will be coming out. Don't really care that much whether the graphics are high or low, as long as it's smooth and runs without any lag at all

Also could you explain what you mean by bottleneck? Will it be slow or something?

12 years ago
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Basicly a GPU needs a CPU.

Random numbers to explain:

[Any Game]
Cpu can get 24-40 frames per second @ max settings
Gpu can get 50-80 frames per second @ max settings

Your cpu can't deliver as much frames as your graphics card could handle, so it's full power isnt unleashed because the processor isnt strong enough for the card.

And this will affect you in many games.

My personal experiences are:

Dead Space 2: easy playable max out
Dota 2 should work too
Fallout series in general should work, but with some reduced visual settings
GTA 4 should work at middle settings

Because your CPU isnt that good, you could even buy a GTX690 and won't notice a difference to a 7850/70 that performs not half as good.

12 years ago
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Well atleast it should be playable without any lag until I'm able to get a new CPU?

P.S: GTA 4 is more used by the CPU rather than the GPU therefore I don't expect very good perfomance from it

12 years ago
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All games you mentioned will run without any lag with reduced visual settings, thats for sure.

12 years ago
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That should be find for me then since it's better than GTX 550 Ti.

12 years ago
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But do me and youself a favor, check the prices of the 6850 and 6870, these cards are much stronger than both mentioned, and the price should be okay/maybe on the same level.

12 years ago
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6850

6870

But as you mentioned, no matter what graphics card I buy my CPU will be in the way anyway. So might aswell get 7770 for now

12 years ago
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Get the 6870.
Try to buy the Saphhire OC with 2 fans, you can't hear it, it is extremely quiet.

Add me on steam if you got more questions, will leave here for now.

And btw there are cheaper shops then amazon out there...

12 years ago
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Closed 12 years ago by Suldok.