Is this a good graphics card?

Solarstarshines said:

bobkn said:

Razor505 said:

I was thinking of upgrading my ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR3 card

The 5670 is a good mid-range card. You may have trouble finding a better one within your budget. I'd suggest a Geforce GTX 460 (1GB version) or a Radeon 6850, but those are each more like $150CDN (at www.newegg.ca).

Also, while online reviews have to be taken with a grain of salt, you may want to look at:

Newegg.ca - COOLMAX CTI-700B 700W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

Looks like QC at CoolMax may not be the best in the industry. Feeling lucky?

Ok I must jump in here and say Scratch the coolmax PSU I've used a 600watt Coolmax but quickly jumped to a better PSU
For one it isn't 80plus certified and could pop because of it being so cheap and it might not take stress to well Mind you I have ran a 6870 on one no issue

I would save some money I know you want to jump in and get some gaming going but Budget is everything and 200.00 dollars at least is needed for some decent performance if you want a boost

This is the direction you should look PSU Newegg.com - OCZ ZS Series 550W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom 64.99

Video card Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card ( 11202-00-20G) 99.99

you could work this for about 200.00 flat with tax and all you are half way there it wouldn't hurt to rethink the plan and get more money worked up because you want to play not studder while everyone else is smooth as butter

Is there anything on FutureShop I could get, so if anything is wrong I could return it. Also I am wondering how do I find out what PCI-E does my computer have, all I know is that it is a white slot with the hook thing at the end since this computer is pre-made.

Bobkn is right. I have learn't the hard way not to skimp on a PSU. If you buy a sub standard model/unknown brand you will end up let down. buy a well known brand. I have used Zalman and Antec. Both were fantastic.

Im sorry, i should have mentioned this in my previous post.

what motherboard have you got. and what specific hd5670 are you after. pci-e 2.1 cards can fit into pci-e 2.0 slots (not sure if it'll work in pci-e 1 however).

is this your setup?

Acer Aspire AM3400-E2212 AMD Athlon II X4 635 4GB 1TB DVDRW Windows 7 Home Premium Desktop - Acer - PT.SE002.001

Jonesie85 said:

what motherboard have you got. and what specific hd5670 are you after. pci-e 2.1 cards can fit into pci-e 2.0 slots (not sure if it'll work in pci-e 1 however).

is this your setup?

Acer Aspire AM3400-E2212 AMD Athlon II X4 635 4GB 1TB DVDRW Windows 7 Home Premium Desktop - Acer - PT.SE002.001

Yep, it's exactly the one I have, its not very good for gaming though.

Jonesie85 said:

Bobkn is right. I have learn't the hard way not to skimp on a PSU. If you buy a sub standard model/unknown brand you will end up let down. buy a well known brand. I have used Zalman and Antec. Both were fantastic.

Im sorry, i should have mentioned this in my previous post.

I have found Coolermaster, not sure if its well known.
Cooler Master Extreme 500 Watt Power Supply (RS500-PCARA3-US) : Power Supplies - Future Shop

Razor505 said:

Jonesie85 said:

what motherboard have you got. and what specific hd5670 are you after. pci-e 2.1 cards can fit into pci-e 2.0 slots (not sure if it'll work in pci-e 1 however).

is this your setup?

Acer Aspire AM3400-E2212 AMD Athlon II X4 635 4GB 1TB DVDRW Windows 7 Home Premium Desktop - Acer - PT.SE002.001

Yep, it's exactly the one I have, its not very good for gaming though.

That motherboard has:-

• PCI Express® 2.0 x16 slot - This is the socket you'll need.
• Two PCI Express® 2.0 x1 slots - not sure about this
• PCI™ v2.3 (5 V) slot - or this one

But the PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot is the one you'll use for a new graphics card.

PLEASE NOTE: if there is a chance that the link i posted above is wrong then ignore what i have s

It looks like most hd 5670 cards are either pci-e 2.0 or 2.1. 2.1 cards will fit and work in a 2.0 socket but it'll downgrade to a 2.0 card. Please could you post a link to your choice of 5670

Solarstarshines said:

Video card ASUS Radeon 7750 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card : Video Cards - Future Shop 122.00


Psu Cooler Master Extreme 550 Watt Power Supply (RS550-PCARE3-US) : Power Supplies - Future Shop not 80+ but hell of alot better then what you picked trusted brand here <----------59.99
Corsair 600W PC Power Supply (CMPSU-600G) : Power Supplies - Future Shop I would go with the Corsair though just me <----------Gamer Series 77.99

Thanks, I am going to go buy them.

Solarstarshines said:

Video card ASUS Radeon 7750 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card : Video Cards - Future Shop 122.00


Psu Cooler Master Extreme 550 Watt Power Supply (RS550-PCARE3-US) : Power Supplies - Future Shop not 80+ but hell of alot better then what you picked trusted brand here <----------59.99
Corsair 600W PC Power Supply (CMPSU-600G) : Power Supplies - Future Shop I would go with the Corsair though just me <----------Gamer Series 77.99

the graphics card you have chosen is pci-e 3.0. can that fit his motherboard?