Installing a new graphics card

[saroy94]

Alright then thanks for telling me all that and yes some of it did confuse me, but I get what you mean.

I'll just get the 5570 then and i must upgrade my power supply, seeing as mine is 300watts. I need more RAM too, 1GB isn't enough hopefully will get it up to 4GB soon

 

[Faladu]

Running 7, yeah 2 bare minimum, 4 much better, I run 6 with 64-bit version.
PSU wise, I'd go 500-600W so you can salvage it to next PC you buy possibly.
Thermaltake and Antec are good names that probably have something in your price range at those Watts.

If you are upgrading that PSU then I might try a better video card, 5570 is pretty bland, that 2nd 5 is the indicator that it sucks to be blunt.

Plus the new PSU has the 6 pin connector you need for a higher card.... it's just now the thickness of the case that may come into play, I have an expensive Mid Tower, even so my 5850 was really a tight squeeze.

Here's a video card example:

Newegg.com - VisionTek 900287 Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

That would make mincemeat of a 5570 is all tests, 256 interface! and 8 for 2nd digit rule in effect.
Price is higher, but you really get what you pay for and worth it if you wanna game juicy.

I'd try a local store that lets you return stuff, since size matters here, possibly.
It's worth the extra insurance policy payment and helping local economy.


See this review on the 5570 says the 3650 is a better card in the conclusion.
ATI Radeon HD 5570 Review - TechSpot

 

[saroy94]

Running 7, yeah 2 bare minimum, 4 much better, I run 6 with 64-bit version.
PSU wise, I'd go 500-600W so you can salvage it to next PC you buy possibly.
Thermaltake and Antec are good names that probably have something in your price range at those Watts.

If you are upgrading that PSU then I might try a better video card, 5570 is pretty bland, that 2nd 5 is the indicator that it sucks to be blunt.

Plus the new PSU has the 6 pin connector you need for a higher card.... it's just now the thickness of the case that may come into play, I have an expensive Mid Tower, even so my 5850 was really a tight squeeze.

Here's a video card example:

Newegg.com - VisionTek 900287 Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

That would make mincemeat of a 5570 is all tests, 256 interface! and 8 for 2nd digit rule in effect.
Price is higher, but you really get what you pay for and worth it if you wanna game juicy.

I'd try a local store that lets you return stuff, since size matters here, possibly.
It's worth the extra insurance policy payment and helping local economy.


See this review on the 5570 says the 3650 is a better card in the conclusion.
ATI Radeon HD 5570 Review - TechSpot

Ok so the latest power supplies required a video card with a 6 pin connector? I'll probably buy that then, as it is faster, but I don't get why, i mean wouldn't a 5000 series be better than one from a 4000 series?

 

[Faladu]

Basically get a rig that will play Diablo 3 at release, FTW!

Which is rumored to be not too needy, of course being in development for 4 years I am guessing is a factor.

So many bottlenecks, GPU chipset on your motherboard is another... it's one of mine, but I'm still OK here.

A very good PC for gaming, if I built it from scratch would go $1200+ easily, these $600 McPCs you see in stores have subpar motherboards, every single one of them, they have to...

 

[Lordbob75]

Saroy, perhaps this will help once you get your card
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/80392-graphics-card-install-new-card.html

~Lordbob

 

[saroy94]

Saroy, perhaps this will help once you get your card
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/80392-graphics-card-install-new-card.html

~Lordbob

Thanks

 

[saroy94]

Got another question. I was looking through power supplies and I noticed it saying this on the product: Motherboards 20Pin + 4Pin

what does this mean?

 

[Fumz]

Got another question. I was looking through power supplies and I noticed it saying this on the product: Motherboards 20Pin + 4Pin

what does this mean?

They're talking about the ATX Power. Some boards (older) only use 20 pins; most boards now use 24. They're just saying that they can accommodate both.

Motherboard Specifications, P5LP-LE (Leonite) HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7755.uk Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

Again referring to your board. The ATX power (listed as ATXPWR in your manual) is the white connector just to the right of your dimm slots (memory slots)... just to the left of the black and blue IDE connectors.

 

[saroy94]

Got another question. I was looking through power supplies and I noticed it saying this on the product: Motherboards 20Pin + 4Pin

what does this mean?

They're talking about the ATX Power. Some boards (older) only use 20 pins; most boards now use 24. They're just saying that they can accommodate both.

Motherboard Specifications, P5LP-LE (Leonite) HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7755.uk Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

Again referring to your board. The ATX power (listed as ATXPWR in your manual) is the white connector just to the right of your dimm slots (memory slots)... just to the left of the black and blue IDE connectors.

So is mine 20 pins? Sorry for asking this but where are my dimm slots, like what colour and shape?

 

[saroy94]

Oh i've found it now, but what is that for?

 

[Fumz]

It's to power your computer.

ATX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[saroy94]

Oh okay, so with a graphics card, you need to look at whether it is PCI-Express, the dimensions will fit and whether the power supply has the right amount of watts for it. With a power supply, you look for the dimensions, the positions of the screws and what else?

 

[Fumz]

Well, to be geeky and specific, it's not the watts that count; it's amperage on the +12 volt rail. This information will be listed under the power supply's specs. If it's not, move on, you're not interested in a psu that won't tell you what its ratings are. You should try and find a psu that has ~ 30 amps on the +12 volt rail. If you can afford one that has more amperage, get it.

Yes, make sure the graphics card is pci-e (pci express). What you'll want to do is measure from the rear of the case, along the pci-e slot (showed earlier in the pic), to see how much room you have before you run into the drive bay(s). Again, under the specs of the card, they'll list the physical dimensions. If you can't find the dimensions at your online store, you can always find them at the card makers site.

That's about it. Good luck.

 

[saroy94]

Thank you, really helpful

Just another question is the amps written down on the power supply?

 

[Fumz]

Take a look at this psu: Newegg.com - CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Click the specifications tab, scroll down to "output". Notice "+12V@70A". This means this psu has 70 amps on the +12 volt rail.

Next, click on the picture of the psu itself. Click on the pic in the second column, second row. Look for DC output. To the right you'll see +12V. Go down a row and you'll see 70A.

This isn't the format you'll always see, but you now have an idea of what to look for.

 

[saroy94]

Oh great thanks, but why should I find one with 30A or above?

 

[Fumz]

Ok, the first 5 1/2 pages were free. This next question is going to cost you a cookie, preferably Macadamia Nut. ... with chocolate chips, can't forget the chocolate chips man!

On modern computers the +12 volt rail powers just about everything... including your graphics card, which can place a high demand on the +12. The stronger the card, the greater the draw on the +12. If you do not have enough amperage on the +12 many things can happen, none of them considered good. Nothing will explode, but things won't work as they should.

If your cpu doesn't have enough, it will shut down. If your graphics card doesn't have enough, which usually happens while gaming, it will give you an error saying that it's scaling back, in short, making it useless for the task you're asking it to do.

 

[saroy94]

haha, give you half okay then, so yeah ill buy a power supply with amount of amps like that.

Just one more question, promise I noticed these cables on the pictures of the power supply. Where do they connect to & and do all the latest power supplies come with those same cables?

 

[Fumz]

The only possible difference between the psu you currently have and the one in the picture is that you may not have pci-e 6 pin connectors (for graphics cards), or sata power connectors (for sata hdd's). Other than those two things, everything else is the same.

Not another word until I get my other half of the cookie.

 

[saroy94]

haha just ate it sorry :devil:

Just opened up my computer and by looking at where the PCI-E x16 port is, there is only a gap of 0.8cm between the port and the intel thing. what am i going to do now