Need help upgrading graphics card!!!

[Musketman007]

Hi, I currently have a dell XPS 400 with an Nvidia 7900 GS card in it. The stock power supply is 375W. I want to upgrade to a card around 100 bucks. I saw the NVIDIA 9800 GTX+ on newegg for 100 bucks with a mail in rebate but I think it requires a better power supply. I am also looking at the Radeon GD 4770, but I'm not sure if it's compatible or not. If you need any more info about my system I'll be glad to reply. I believe I have 1 PCI-express slot on my motherboard that my card is currently in.

 

[95BlackGA]

I would suggest a 4850 over any of the others you mentioned.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

It would probably need a new power supply, depending on the amperage of the current PSU. I've had my 4870 on a 350W PSU and was fully stable with it, but it had a strong 12V rail.

 

[patonb]

The stock psu will not run a 9800gtx +

I'm with 95Black with the ati suggestion... best performance for the dollars

 

[Musketman007]

The Max combined output current on +12VA and +12VB output is 30A.
Max combined power on +5V and +3.3V output is 150W. (Not sure if this is the info you're looking for)

I'm not sure what that really implies/means, but I saw some comments saying that the card requires a 450W power supply. I'm not sure if that is accurate or not. I want to upgrade the card without updating the power supply if possible. Do you think I would have to upgrade it?

Thanks,
Alex

Also I found Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R485OC-1GH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Same product but with 1GB instead of 512 MB, and it's 15 bucks cheaper with the rebate.

 

[patonb]

Does the psu have a pci-e connector? That might be your limiter.

The psu does seem to have a decent output, so it might run a 4850.... key word is mght.

 

[Musketman007]

The power supply does connect to my 7900 GS with a small cord. Not sure if that's what you're talking about. And how will I figure out if it will run it? Will it cause harm to my system if it can't handle it?

My current PSU has a 6-Pin PCIe power cable

 

[Fat.Clown]

BFG Tech BFGE98512GTGE GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

a bit slower than the HD 4850, but still a big jump over 7900GS and $20 bucks cheaper!

no pci-e 6 pin power needed, so don't need to worry about power supply.

problem solved

 

[95BlackGA]

If you're worried you'll buy a card, and your PSU can't handle it, then look at a 5670. Basically the same as a 4770, but no external power connectors are required, and gives a benefit over all the other cards listed, DX11. While performance for DX11 won't be the greatest on the 5670 by any means, it'll keep you someone up-to-date compared to the other DX10 cards.

I do like Clown's suggestion though. I had a similar 9800GT (Newegg.com - PNY XLR8 VCG98GTEE1XEB GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card) and could max out a lot of games with it. I maxed out CoD4 (all highest settings) and could get 250FPS+ on 1440x900, something I have yet to be able to do with my 4870. I ran Crysis at high settings at 32FPS average.

 

[Musketman007]

I'm thinking about getting Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R485OC-1GH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card and i'll swap it out with the one Fat.Clown mentioned if it doesn't work. I'm not sure what the difference in the 1GB and 512MB versions are, but the 1GB is cheaper with the rebate. Does that sound good?

 

[95BlackGA]

I'm thinking about getting Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R485OC-1GH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card and i'll swap it out with the one Fat.Clown mentioned if it doesn't work. I'm not sure what the difference in the 1GB and 512MB versions are, but the 1GB is cheaper with the rebate. Does that sound good?

I would go with the 1GB version. That's completely up to you though.

YouGamers - Articles - Video RAM - how much do you really need?

That's a pretty good article telling you what video ram is used for, and how much you think you'll need/want.