Need help buying new card? PCIExpress x16? PCI 2.0?

sfafxy · 13 Dec 2012

So I know i could prolly google that but I want to ask you guys.

Myy current card says that the Bus Interface is a PCI Express x16?
But can I buy a card that is PCI 2.0? And put it in this computer?
I will also buy new ram,and I know that my PSU is okay. I mean I have them watts.

Current setup.
Its from 2007. And I dont have the money to buy a new cpu.
Probably just some expensive like **** RAM and a nVidia GeForce GT 630 if I can put it in the my PCI slot.

Chalky Emultion · 13 Dec 2012

Hi,

A GeForce GTS 450 1GB GDDR5 should be the best choice for your rig :) It will work perfectly! And it is a lot better than a GT 630. His price is near to the GT 630 one. I owned it and it was really a good mid-end GPU.

I suggest you to put in your system only PCI Express 1.0/1.1/2.0 cards. Some motherboards with PCI Express 1.0/1.1 (like yours) have issues with new cards which have PCI Express 2.1/3.0.

If you can, you should add 1GB of system RAM to get your pc perform better. 3GB are good for a 32-bit system.

sfafxy · 13 Dec 2012

Which would be the best choice.
And the GDDR5 are like 2 times this price so i cant afford it.
I think also that this computer will be used for gaming.
Soo..?

bobafetthotmail · 13 Dec 2012

Just to clarify, the slot you will use is the PCIe not the PCI, it is a x16 one (it is full length), and it is a PCIe 1.0 (first generation). It is relatively slow, but the CPU is going to limit game choice much before you actually saturate it.

A much more important question is what is your PSU (the box powering the computer)? How much power does it generate?
More modern cards need more power than what you have now.

THis page has a list of graphic cards (and it's a trusted place, that reviews such cards since a long time ago). The more powerful at the top, the weaker at the bottom. Use this as a compass to find the more powerful card you can buy with your budget.

For your rig, any card with more than 1 GB is overkill, GDDR5 is faster graphic memory than GDDR3 (better 1 GB of GDDR5 than 10 of GDDR3), but again you can live with GDDR3.
That said, you can aim for the more powerful you can find without wasting money.

Chalky Emultion · 14 Dec 2012

The Gigabyte GT 630 2GB is the best choice.

sfafxy · 14 Dec 2012

Like i said my PSU in 450w.
Im good with that.

Chalky Emultion · 14 Dec 2012

sfafxy said:

Like i said my PSU in 450w.
Im good with that.

Yes.

If you can't go higher than a GT 630 2GB, then go for it :)

bobafetthotmail · 14 Dec 2012

Depends from the PSU brand and if it has the 80 plus certification.
Cheap PSU aren't guaranteed by anyone to be able to reach the stated watts, and quite a few state the "peak output", that is "watts that they can provide for a few seconds at most".
Dying PSU tend to take HDDs and DVD players with them, sometimes they whole rig goes down.

Not saying that it will surely happen, but I warned you of a risk.

sfafxy · 14 Dec 2012

This is serious.
Is there any way to check the PSU voltage?

bobafetthotmail · 15 Dec 2012

It's not just the voltage (you would just need a multimeter), it's the voltage at near max load. As at the moment your PSU is working fine, but with a bigger card you could ask too much. You need to connect something that forces the PSU to provide its stated max output at the right voltage on all the different outputs (and each output has a different max load, the 12 volt outputs are far higher than the 5 volt as the latter only powers hard drives and similar that require less).

It is a bit complex to do and requires expensive tools and decent expertise. The PSUs that have the 80 plus certification have been tested to provide 100% of their rated output with more than 80% of efficiency. They cost twice the price of cheap ones, but they won't die if asked to work hard.

Can you post the model and brand and the specs printed on your PSU? If there is something fishy or if it has been reviewed we can help.