put a 5770 in my rig?

[Sean W.]

hey guys,

i am turning my old computer into a HTPC, i found a 5770 for $60 shipped.


just wondering how it will do in my computer, or even if my computer can handle a 5770...

i have a NF61S Micro 754 motherboard
450W no name powersupply
AMD athlon mobile 64 processor
and i think 2 gigs of ram


what do you think?


i feel like such a noob, but i dont know ANYTHING about low end/old computer components...

 

[brinks]

Your computer should be able to handle a 5770, but will definitely be bottleneck by the slow cpu.

Can you check out the sticker on the psu and see how many amps are on the +12v rail(s).

If your psu doesn't have a 6-pin PCIe power connector then you need to get an adapter that converts 2 Molex plugs > PCIe power plug.

 

[Slaymate]

I would question your power supply's abilities to handle the card but other than that I say go for it.

 

[patonb]

The psu should be fine... I think 350W is amds suggestion, which is high.

 

[Roark]

450 Watt or greater power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)

But the general consensus is that they pad those numbers a little?

 

[Sean W.]

cool, thanks guys! i will get it and it will be glorious....!

 

[patonb]

But the general consensus is that they pad those numbers a little?

****... I was looking up a 67xx the other day... which is around 350-400W.. and i forgot the 57xx is bout a 68xx

And yha they do pad, knowing not all psus are the same output per watt rating

 

[Digerati]

Your computer should be able to handle a 5770, but will definitely be bottleneck by the slow cpu.

Normally I would agree, but not with an HTPC. It takes very little CPU or GPU horsepower to toss a TV signal, even an HD BluRay TV signal up on a TV monitor or out to a HT A/V receiver. This is why fully integrated ITX boards (with surface mounted CPUs, integrated graphics and sound) are frequently used in HTPCs, even in high-end home theater systems. Get a decent amount of RAM and a nice quiet 5400RPM hard drive and you will be good to go.

 

[Sean W.]

So the 5770 fell through, but I found a new 6750 for $60 shipped, what do you think about that price?

And do you think that card will do what i need it to? Stream HD video to my tv and light gaming, COD4, BF2, BF 1942/vietnam.

 

[Digerati]

You didn't mention gaming before. I call Spider solitaire "light gaming" - not Call of Duty 4.

The 6750 has the exact same power requirement as the 5770 Roark quoted about - that is 450W minimum. I personally would not trust a 450 "no name" supply.

Also, if me, I would bump up the RAM to 4Gb before buying a new graphics solution. And with the RAM, you probably don't need a new PSU.