Time for a graphics card.

[mmm240]

I've got an Acer am5640 u5403a. Specs:

http://reviews.cnet.com/deskto....html

Running Vista Home Premium 32bit so I only get about 3gigs of ram.

I don't know to much about CPUs, but I picked up Command and Conquer 3 and it runs like shiit.

I don't need a top of the line G Card; in fact my buddy told me I can't get one cause my power supply can't keep up with one.

Just looking for something sufficient that will run simpler games; C&C was never one for great graphics, but It would be nice to not have to worry about replacing the G Card again for whatever new installment of the game they will come out with years from now.

Whats your thoughts?

[nnorton44]

For starters, what is your budget? Also, I wouldnt count ATI out and go for a strickly GeForce card, ATI probably has what your looking for.

For $100 you can get a ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3, which features DX10.1, and will handle almost anything you throw at it, if you want a similar nVidia solution I can direct you that way. I just think at the time for price/performance ATI is the way to go

If you want nVidia the Geforce 9600GT is a great buy at about $100, if your budget is more then $100, there are some other great alternatives I can name for you

[mmm240]

Thanks! I have found this site:http://www.tomshardware.com/re....html

And newegg lists them for even cheaper, but I'm confused why there are such large differences even though they seem to have the same specs. I show you:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&y=30

I dunno.

Also, my power supply is only 300 watts. I'm having trouble figuring out the amperage
Modified by mmm240 at 11:10 PM 2/16/2009

[nnorton44]

Tomshardware is a great site! Very informative, but that article is old, May 2008.

The 9600GSO is a downgraded version of the 9600GT, and the ATI 3850 is destroyed by the 4830

Whats your budget?

You cannot just look at specs, it all boils down the architecture and transistors, along with pipelines and many more things. I just know from reading numerous reviews, Im kinda into the latest and greatest hardware and being on a budget I always do hours of review. Cheers

[mmm240]

I'd be happy to keep it under a 100.

Just took it apart to look at the p supply. 'Combined power +12v2 and +12v1 not exceed 20 amp' Does that make sense? Anything else I should look for?

[nnorton44]

Honestly your power supply may be trouble. But the real question is if its ATX standard proportions....if it is then it can easily be upgraded, if not its gonna be a bit of a roadbump.

[mmm240]

Found something else'+12v1 = 10 amp max''+12v2 = 13 amp max'

It lies! it can exceed 20. lol

I don't see where the g card tells me the amps?

[Crazyirish]

A 4830 probably wont tax your power supply too badly. Your current posted specs list an integrated nvidia 7100, which for gaming purposes, is crap. The ATI 4830 is probably your best bet. It's a strong card for the money and should play most anything on low to medium settings. If you are looking for more reviews I would check out hexus.net and anadtech.com. They both seem to be fairly reliable.

As far as future upgrades go, Your power supply will pretty much always limit you to whatever is relatively lowend at the time. I personally have a pc power and cooling 610 and I love it. It will power anything but the most extreme rigs, is pretty quiet, and has a good warranty. Of course this power supply came out before OCZ bought the company, so I'm not sure how the newer power supplies are faring.

[nnorton44]

It really won't tell you, it mostly will either work or it wont, what what need to find out is whether, if needed, your PSU can be upgraded.....have you ever seen a standard ATX power supply? Ill try and find the dimensions for you.

I agree with the post above, Hexus and Anandtech are great sources, and I still stand by my decision the 4830 is a sound decision.

[mmm240]

3 - 3/8th tall. 5 - 15/16ths wide. 5 - 9/16th deep

[nnorton44]

Mine is 3.4" (H) x 5.9" (W) x 7.1" (D) and is standard ATX.

So judging by H x W you should be good!

[mmm240]

Cool. I don't want to upgrade it if I don't have to. Although I found a link that states the 4830 requires 450watts. It was real general though; didn't tell me how many amps it requires.

And honestly I wasn't expecting to even get a g card that good.

[nnorton44]

Well if you have to upgrade then you have to upgrade, order the card first and go from there

[Crazyirish]

Most manufacturer's link mention the need for a 6pin power supply link. If you don't have one, Most video cards come with an adapter to take 2 4pin plugs (the same that power most drives in your pc, except for some newer sata drive) and convert them to a 4/6 pin plug.

[mmm240]

That 4830 and a new PSU will for sure put me above a hundred. What do you think of the 4350?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&y=26

I know that it's not in the same ball park, but the price sure is right. I don't know if it's gonna totally suck though. I'm pretty sure my PSU can handle it.

[nnorton44]

If the video card requires another connector it will be the same as the one that goes to a hard drive (ATA) or a DVD/CD drive standard molex

[nnorton44]

The 4350 isn't that great, I probably wouldn't recommend it as far as something that is future-proof.

[mmm240]

Here we go, something in the middle. What do you think about this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&y=32

[Crazyirish]

The 4350 isn't that great, I probably wouldn't recommend it as far as something that is future-proof.

Fortunately we aren't talking about a 4350. The 4830 is a far superior card to the 4350 and, quite frankly, can give some of the big dog video cards a serious run for their money.

In fact, IIRC, several of the major reviewing sites said 2 4830s in crossfire mode could compete with any high end card currently available. (except for the uber cool dual video cards on one board solutions, but who can afford them anyways?)

[nnorton44]

If you don't want to spend much I suggest the Radeon HD 4650, $40....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...61262

But honestly you should spend more

[nnorton44]

Fortunately we aren't talking about a 4350. The 4830 is a far superior card to the 4350 and, quite frankly, can give some of the big dog video cards a serious run for their money.

In fact, IIRC, several of the major reviewing sites said 2 4830s in crossfire mode could compete with any high end card currently available. (except for the uber cool dual video cards on one board solutions, but who can afford them anyways?)

Yes I agree the 4830 is much better I am trying to convince him not to get the 4350

[nnorton44]

Here we go, something in the middle. What do you think about this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&y=32

It is cripped by being 128-bit, you really want 256-bit....

[mmm240]

Do you think my PSU can handle it?

[nnorton44]

I don't know, if not can you accept an extra $50-70 for a good PSU? Probably 400W-600W.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...89005

[Crazyirish]

To know for certain, give us the exact specs and a pic of all the connectors. Otherwise its mostly conjecture.

[mmm240]

It's 300watts

'Combined power +12v2 and +12v1 not exceed 20 amp'

I gotta look a little closer at the connectors. Lotsa crap in my way

[mmm240]

It's this one.

[nnorton44]

It may say one thing on the PSU but the actual rails are probably much more different, for example a no name 500W PSU can be the same rating as a 350W well known trustable PSU.....

[mmm240]

So 'Combined power +12v2 and +12v1 not exceed 20 amp' Which is what it says on the PSU could be BS?

[nnorton44]

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/410