Will card work?

[CJW]

I have the MSI 785GM-E51 mobo, using it's onboard video (Radeon HD4200); 4Gigs of memory & a 500w PSU. Does anyone know if the Asus HD 6670 video card would be compatible w/what I have?

 

[Maguscreed]

The board has the proper slot (pci-e 16x gen2)
and the power supply should be adequate.

specs for the motherboard can be found here.
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/785GM-E51.html#/?div=Basic

 

[CJW]

Do you happen to know how well the Asus HD 6670 handles Duke Nukem & RAGE? Or should I go for another card (I can't go over $110 though).

 

[Maguscreed]

For the money you aren't going to do a hell of a lot better.
The next tier of cards is in the 300 dollar US neighborhood.
You could always try and get lucky on ebay I had a friend just picked up a 5850 for about 90 bucks on ebay. ...and while it's an earlier model it's a much much better card.

Rage doesn't play well on pc for anyone, you can check my specs don't think I'm saying that having a weak system myself. The megatexture streaming is a little problematic on pc.
As far as duke nukem, I don't think it would be a problem. I would honestly suggest trying to hook up with a mid range card from the 5 series on ebay like my buddy did. 100 dollars just isn't quite enough for a gaming level card.
The card you have chosen will work, don't get me wrong, but it's going to be stressing itself even on the lower settings in some games.

Anyhow as you can see here, the 66xx card just doesn't stack up very well.
PassMark - Radeon HD 6670 - Price performance comparison

It'll work mind you I just can't say how well my older card was a 5850 and it would do pretty much anything at 1080p with the majority of settings on high. So I kind of use it as a yardstick for the moment, even though I've moved up to a gtx580 now.

 

[CJW]

I have the Envision H190L 19-inch LCD monitor & is maxed at 1280x1024 75Hertz, 32Bit.

I may be able to get either the 6770 (Diamond/XFX?)/550TI (Galaxy/EVGA?). So which would run Duke Nukem Forever & RAGE the smoothest?

I don't normally play w/AA & all those settings as I'm not very knowledgable w/those settings & rather not mess w/them too much.

 

[Maguscreed]

ah if that is your max resolution things look better.

I don't have any real brand loyalty to nvidia or ati. I would however purchase xfx over diamond and EVGA over Galaxy.

 

[champ2010]

Better go GTX 550 Ti because it should be available within the budget. After checking the ATI cards at same price and comparing with the benchmark result GTX 550 Ti will be the best option.. I believe

 

[CJW]

Going to go w/the 550 Ti, Which brand has the better reliability & Customer Service: Fry's

What is the difference between these 2:
EVGA GTX 550 Ti 1GB
EVGA GTX 550 Ti SC 1GB

 

[Maguscreed]

The SC appears to have a tiny bit more core clock. I wouldn't think it enough to make any difference though.

 

[CJW]

The box of the 550Ti states:
400W/greater power supply w/a minimum of 24 Amps on the +12Volt rail.

Checked, but not sure if my PSU is sufficient to handle the 550Ti since the +12Volt rail shows 18A (even though the PSU is rated 500W). Just want to make sure I get the right card.

 

[bobkn]

The 550ti uses a single 6 pin PCI-E power connector, which is rated at 75W. The card could draw another 75W through the PCI-E X16 slot. According to this:

The Truth About Graphics Power Requirements V2 - Atomic 3.0

a 550ti actually consumes over 150W at full load. If all of that comes from the +12V supply, that'd be 12.5A. That leaves only 5.5A for the rest of the system, given your (rather poor) "500 W" PSU.

It looks like your power supply is not adequate for the 550ti.

If you can consider a replacement, you may wish to look at:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

(Corsair Builder CX430 V2) or:

Newegg.com - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

(Antec Neo Eco 400C). They both list for $45, but there's a rebate on the Corsair at the moment that takes it down to $25. (I dislike rebates, but I use them.)

 

[CJW]

Thanks for the heads-up, what about these:

1. CORSAIR Builder Series 500W - $59.99
2. COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus 500W - $48.99
Here are some others I was considering.

Do the modular PSU's actually work good & not 'leak' power?

 

[Maguscreed]

I've never had any complaints... using one right now.

 

[bobkn]

Thanks for the heads-up, what about these:

1. CORSAIR Builder Series 500W - $59.99
2. COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus 500W - $48.99
Here are some others I was considering.

Do the modular PSU's actually work good & not 'leak' power?

Those both look OK. Corsair has a better reputation than Cooler Master, but I don't know who actually makes either of those.

I've read comments about fearing "contact resistance" with modular power supplies. I'm not an electronic engineer, but I think as long as the additional contacts aren't corroded, modular PSUs should be fine. They offer the practical advantage of not having disused cabling. (My current PSU isn't modular, but I didn't choose it for that reason.)

 

[CJW]

Thanks for all the help so far everyone. I've decided to update my PSU 1st & still trying to narrow it down between these: Fry's, Newegg.

The main sticking point for me is reliabilty of these & if each have the correct connections for my mobo (MSI 785GM-E51). I believe they all do, but my mobo's manual doesn't tell me much. Any suggestions?

 

[bobkn]

Thanks for all the help so far everyone. I've decided to update my PSU 1st & still trying to narrow it down between these: Fry's, Newegg.

The main sticking point for me is reliabilty of these & if each have the correct connections for my mobo (MSI 785GM-E51). I believe they all do, but my mobo's manual doesn't tell me much. Any suggestions?

Your motherboard needs a 24 pin ATX power connector, plus a 4 pin +12V CPU power connector. (Many supplies use 20+4, which can be used with either 20 or 24 pin ATX motherboards without an adapter. There are similar arrangements for the 8/4 pin +12V connector.)

You'd have to buy a power supply that was a really old design to get one with just a 20 pin ATX connector.

Make sure that the PSU you buy has at least one 6 pin PCI-E power connector (or a 6+2 one) for your future graphics card.

 

[CJW]

All PSU's I'm looking into have the 20+4Pin Main Connector.
Also, 1 4+4-Pin ATX12V/EPS12V or 1 12V(P4) connector; are these 2 the same connectors just stated differently?

I'm leaning towards the Antec Earthwatts EA-650, or either Rosewill's -one has more wattage but other is modular.

 

[bobkn]

All PSU's I'm looking into have the 20+4Pin Main Connector.
Also, 1 4+4-Pin ATX12V/EPS12V or 1 12V(P4) connector; are these 2 the same connectors just stated differently?

I'm leaning towards the Antec Earthwatts EA-650, or either Rosewill's -one has more wattage but other is modular.

Some PSUs have an 8 pin +12V connector and a separate 4 pin. Some have a 4+4 that can be used with either.

I'd take an Antec over a Rosewill.

Just to confuse things, consider:

Newegg.com - PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III PPCMK3S600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

There's a rebate on it (expires 1/31/2012!).

 

[M1GU31]

duke nukem forever is easy to run, i run it maxed on my low end hd 5450 on 1280X1024you'll run it without problems but rage idk never played it. So ye duke nukem isn't very demanding imo

 

[CJW]

Thank you for all the help everyone. I have decided on going w/the 550Ti & Antec Earthwatts EA-650 but unfortunantly, other things have come up & I am going to put my upgrades on hold for now.