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Graphics Card
I am looking to upgrade my graphics card and I was trying to get a bit of information if anyone could give me a quick run down of the basics stats to look for on a card it would be much appreciated. I know that the higher the cost doesn't always mean the better the product. I have a amd radeon hd 6450.
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wai for hd7970 +4k monitor
/end
What's your budget?
Also, what case and power supply do you have?
460 watts and its a midsize tower.
also my budget is pretty flexible I just want to get a pretty good graphics card without paying an arm and a leg. I am trying to not have to buy one for a while.
Once again, what case do you have, and what power supply? They may limit your options on a video card.
"460 W" isn't a power supply any more than 1 GB is a video card. Arguably even less, since 1 GB refers to something physically present on the card, rather than just a number that the marketing department invented. You need to give the exact brand name and model in order for it to be useful information. If you don't know, then open up the case and read the label.
For a case, the exact brand name and model would be nice if you have it. If not, then what I'm mainly interested in is airflow and physical space. A mid-tower case should be fine for a mid-range card on space. But there's still the question of airflow. How many case fans do you have, how large are they (120 mm and 80 mm are the most common sizes), how are they positioned (front, top, back, side), and how are they oriented (blowing air into or out of the case)?
Best bang for buck I'd say a gtx 560.
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That's actually a rather poor value for the money. But it might not even be an option, which is why we need to know about the power supply and case first. Well, unless the original poster wants to replace both.
Though the power supply will probably need to be replaced, as the only 460 W power supply on New Egg that is any good is a very expensive Seasonic fanless one, and it is extremely unlikely that the original poster has that.
There are probably some Radeon cards that are better band for buck but I don't buy radeon typically. But if you're going to go with Nvidia anything less than a 560 is a waste of money for gaming.
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Sorry quizz for not being specific I am kinda new to the whole upgrading department for computers.
Im using a dell xps 8300 the model number is AC460AD-00.
So basically, you're telling the original poster not to consider value for the money, but instead, just get some random Nvidia card?
No. I'm just making sure you guys know that there might be some cheaper radeon cards that are better bang for buck. But being that my builds are all EVGA brand my knowlege is limited to Nvidia.
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The power supply is probably less bad than I was expecting, but you should still replace it if you're going to add a much stronger video card. I don't see any great deals on power supplies at the moment, but this would work:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094
I can't find a good look at the back or inside of the case on Dell's web site, but it sure looks like it doesn't have much airflow. You can compensate for that by getting an external exhaust video card, but that does greatly restrict your selection.
You could grab this, which is basically a steal at that price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103197
That should get you somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 times the graphical performance of what you have now. Note the promo code: that's $90 before a $20 rebate.
If you want something faster than that, then I'd worry about fitting the card into the case.
Also, for future reference, don't get a Dell for gaming purposes.
I have to say, that's a very impressive price for that card.
I don't know, it almost seems like the OP might be able to squeeze by on that PSU if there isn't a lot of money to spend (of course, replace it if the money is there). I mean, I can't see the CPU and that GPU pulling more than 200W together, and even that much would require stressing both extremely hard, which I don't see a game doing with that CPU, given that its 8 threads would never be used.
So really, I have a hard time seeing the whole system draw getting too much above 200W.
Perhaps. If it were a good 460 W power supply, then it would be fine with a Radeon HD 6770. It's partially a question of how much real headroom you trust Dell to offer, considering that it costs them money to do so and they like to cut back everywhere else. You'd also need to check for appropriate connectors, notably a 6-pin PCI-E power connector. If that's there, it might be all right.
Thanks for all the help I am going to go with the power supply and card you recommended and see where that gets me looks like a pretty decent price.