Graphic Cards Looking to buy a gfx card. Please help

P

par15th

Beginner
Hi guys, I'm a new member here. Looking to buy a gfx card to quench my gaming desires.

I'm not very good at computers, so please bear with me.

My computer has the following specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo
E4500@2.20GHz
2GB ram
2*80GB hard drives
Sony DVD writer
Hipro 440/450 watt smps

A little bit of history of me and my system. I bought this setup about 4 years back(don't really remember). Core 2 duo was kinda hi-fi stuff back then (for most pc users). I used to have a quantum 220w smps and a nvidia 7200gt gfx card. Ended up burning through the gfx card due to the crappy smps.

My friend upgraded to a cooler master smps, so he donated his old hipro440/450 to me which I'm using right now.

I talked to that friend who gave me his smps about my gfx card query and he said that I need to upgrade my smps too.

My main motive is to be able to play some modern games. Gaming has been a passion for me which got subdued in the last couple of years when biking took over. I finished nfs carbon in like 2-3days, used to be able to play sims 2 for hours at end. Now looking to revive that old flame.

I want to ask you guys the following questions:

1. Do I need to upgrade the smps? I'm not looking to put in a LOT of money, but don't want to risk burning through another gfx card.

2. If I need to upgrade the smps, what should I buy? My friend mention before bought a cooler master. Should I go with that?

3. What gfx card to buy? I want to play newer games. Don't need high resolutions, but they should work without a hitch at lower resolutions.

4. What should be the amount I should be looking at spending on this? 4-5k?
PS: I know that I could've and probably should've posted this in the existing sticky thread of gfx buying advice but I didn't do so as I need advice on the combo of gfx card and smps and not just the gfx only. I hpe the moderators will be lenient.
 
Psu upgrade is necessary in your case,i would suggest you to get sapphire 5670 1gb-4.7k+Fsp sagaii 400w-1.9k or corsair cx430v2-2.2k,it would be better if you add 2gb ram in your rig for better performance.
 
thegatekeeper said:
Psu upgrade is necessary in your case,i would suggest you to get sapphire 5670 1gb-4.7k+Fsp sagaii 400w-1.9k or corsair cx430v2-2.2k,it would be better if you add 2gb ram in your rig for better performance.
Click to expand...
As far as I recall I have only 2 ports ( is this what they're called?) to hold ram in. and I already have 2*1gb ram in there. So In order to increase RAM, what do I do? Is there a way to increase the no. of ram holding ports?

As for the sapphire card, is this brand "sapphire" in collaboration with radeon? I'm sorry if this is noobish, but I've heard of only 2 brands of gfx card manufacturers, nvidia and radeon. Now radeon merged with AMD and the cards were being named AMD Radeon. What is the sapphire? Did I miss a corporate takeover?

Now about the psu, I already have a hipro 440/450 watt spms, why do you recommend the fsp sagaii/corasir spms of the same wattage?
 
thegatekeeper said:
Psu upgrade is necessary in your case,i would suggest you to get sapphire 5670 1gb-4.7k+Fsp sagaii 400w-1.9k or corsair cx430v2-2.2k,it would be better if you add 2gb ram in your rig for better performance.
Click to expand...
The mother board has only 2 ports to hold ram, and I'm using 2*1GB ram so increasing ram isn't possible. Unless there's a way to increase the number of ports, is there?

I'm using a 440/450watt smps already, why do you recommend the fsp/corsair smps of the same wattage? Is HIPRO a bad brand?

joel.monty said:
5670 would work on the psu of yours,but your system running properly on that psu ,if yes then i dont think you will need psu upgrade.
Click to expand...

My system is running absolutely fine.

My main concern is that I shouldn't be facing a burnt up card. I don't mind spending another 2 grand on a psu if there is a risk of damage to components due to an inadequate psu. But if I can run the gfx card on the exiting psu then I'd be happy to save the cash.
 
Go with thegatekeepers suggestion. Don't risk your system on a crappy PSU because sometimes a bad PSU may take your card with it. And don't buy a Coolermaster PSU either. You can buy from the ones suggested above.
 
You can also try the Gigabyte Superb 460. Have been using it for the past 2 yrs with an overclocked C2D and a Sapphire 4870.

Sent from a Galaxy in the S2 system
 
Welcome to TE mate,

Don't use that PSU .

for medium/low settings

HD 5670 =3900+100(for shipping)

FSP saga II 400w-1900+150(shipping).

total=6050

or If you only want to play in low /medium settings ,then

HD 6450 =2550 shipped

FSP sagaII 400w=1900+150shipping

total=4600

TheITWares - One Stop for all Gizmos!FSP Saga II 400W Power Supply - TheITWares

TheITWares - One Stop for all Gizmos!HIS Radeon H645F1G HD 6450 1 GB (64bit) DDR3 DVI (HDCP) HDMI VGA PCIe X16 2.1 Graphic Card

TheITWares - One Stop for all Gizmos!SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
 
Alright first off, the moderation on new member's posts kinda sucks. I replied and it wasn't visible till after 12 hours. :no:

baccilus said:
Go with thegatekeepers suggestion. Don't risk your system on a crappy PSU because sometimes a bad PSU may take your card with it. And don't buy a Coolermaster PSU either. You can buy from the ones suggested above.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your suggestion sir. Might I ask why do you swear off the coolermaster psu? My friend has been very satisfied with one for about an year now. Hence the confusion.
rdst_1 said:
You can also try the Gigabyte Superb 460. Have been using it for the past 2 yrs with an overclocked C2D and a Sapphire 4870.
Click to expand...
Will look into it. Do you mind sharing the price of the superb 460?

neojjjk said:
Welcome to TE mate,
Don't use that PSU .

for medium/low settings
HD 5670 =3900+100(for shipping)
FSP saga II 400w-1900+150(shipping).
total=6050
or If you only want to play in low /medium settings ,then
HD 6450 =2550 shipped
FSP sagaII 400w=1900+150shipping
total=4600
TheITWares - One Stop for all Gizmos!FSP Saga II 400W Power Supply - TheITWares
TheITWares - One Stop for all Gizmos!HIS Radeon H645F1G HD 6450 1 GB (64bit) DDR3 DVI (HDCP) HDMI VGA PCIe X16 2.1 Graphic Card
TheITWares - One Stop for all Gizmos!SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Click to expand...
I think since it is a difference of just 1400rs between the 2 configurations, I'd go with the 5670.
I still have questions about the psu.

1. Is hipro a bad brand?

2. Shouldn't I be upgrading to a 500watt psu, since you guys seem to suggest that an upgrade is necessary and I already have a 440watt psu?

3. WHy not coolermaster? I've seen one in action at my friend's place and it runs great. Is it too costly for the performance it gives? Or is there some other problem with it that I'm unaware of?

Now to wait till a moderator approves this post. DUH!:S
 
Have a look here:

http://www.techenclave.com/pc-peripherals/cooler-master-extreme-power-plus-600-a-169269.html

and here:

http://www.techenclave.com/pc-peripherals/corsair-vx-450w-vs-coolermaster-extreme-128757.html

Regarding the GPU, the best sugegstion has already been provided. HD5670 fits your budget and is the baseline when it comes to gaming solutions. Anything lesser would be an unwise compromise.

U do not need a 500w PSU for your current config, a 400-450w reliable PSU will be enough and leave ample headroom for future upgrades.
 
Alright just had a conversation with my friend about what his views are on this psu confusion of mine. He has views similar to yours about the efficiency of cooler master psu. But he still said that the service support of cooler master is best in delhi and service centers of corsair and fsp aren't in delhi. So in case of any failure in the psu, I'd be stuck if I go for fsp/corsair.

What to do guys? Is after sales services of corsair/fsp that bad in delhi region?
 
Corsairs A.S.S is very good,there is no need to worry about that,go ahead and get corsair cx430v2-2.2k or seasonic s12ii 420w-2.6k,if your friends needs to stick with cooler master then get cm gx450w-3.3k or more.
 
thegatekeeper said:
Corsairs A.S.S is very good,there is no need to worry about that,go ahead and get corsair cx430v2-2.2k or seasonic s12ii 420w-2.6k,if your friends needs to stick with cooler master then get cm gx450w-3.3k or more.
Click to expand...

corsair for 2.2 and cooler master for 3.3, hmm that's a whole 50% rise in price. Not feeling too sure about cooler master.

You say that corsair's after sale support is good. I looked onto corsair's website and there are quite a few dealers in delhi. I suppose that corsair's service support will be as good as you say it is.

ANd just for my information, what is the warranty that corsair provides? 3 years?
 
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