PDQ5002 - GFX recommendations?

[zovat]

Hi,

I recently purchased the following system (against all my instincts, but I needed a system) - Advent PDQ5002 :

Processor Type AMD Phenom 9550
Processor speed 2200
RAM 4 Gb
Hard Disk Capacity 500 GB
Drive Speed (DVD/CD) DVD 16x DVD RW 16x
Drive Speed (CDRW, CDROM, DVD) 52
Graphics Memory 256 MB }
Graphics Description ATI Radeon X1200 } onboard
No of USB connections 4

I want to put a decenty PCI-express card in , and have a budget of around £200, I was thinking of the HD4870, but have 2 concerns....

1) this thing only has a 300W power supply - current internals are 2xSATA HDs (one from old PC) and SATA DVD/RW - will that cope, or will I need to upgrade that (in which case I'll need to look at a lower spec card, as I cannot afford to do both right now)

2) if it will, is it worth the extra few quid for the 1GB version? (again given the above spec).

Any advice/pointers gratefully accepted.

 

[jak731]

firstly remove the competitor (read FAQ)

2ndly what are you doing with the system? gaming, office work, distributed computing etc

 

[zovat]

sorry - removed competitor info.

Looking to use for general web+gaming (intending to get call of Duty 5 sometime soon)
Last system had an Nvidia card that died, and was not worth replacing (was AGP and at the CPU limit for that Motherboard) so I got this system as a quick replacement, but it is not up to COD type games...

 

[Xplo]

What make/model is the PSU and what amperage does it supply on the 12v line?

What size monitor are you using and at what resolution?

 

[TheCenturion]

what monitor?
1680x1050 and below, 4850,
1920x1200 and above, 4870

 

[jak731]

you will need a new PSU if you get a 4870

512Mb or 1GB depends on

your monitor max resolution
1920x1200+ get 1GB, lower get 512Mb
how long you want to keep the card for

less then 1 year, get 512MB, more then 1 year get 1GB

low powered suggestion = 4670

 

[zovat]

PSU is: ISO 400pp =- 15A on 12V rail

Monitor is Samsung 730BF (17") @1280x1024

 

[zovat]

you will need a new PSU if you get a 4870

512Mb or 1GB depends on

your monitor max resolution
1920x1200+ get 1GB, lower get 512Mb
how long you want to keep the card for

less then 1 year, get 512MB, more then 1 year get 1GB

low powered suggestion = 4670

4670 was my initial choice, but I looked at the cost difference and figured if I got a better one, I'd be able to keep it for longer..

I dont intend to change the card again far at least 2 years.

 

[Kennysevenfold]

Hmm how about this mate..
Product Name Qty Price Line Total

HIS ATI Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 Turbo 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £123.99
(£142.59) £123.99
(£142.59)

Corsair VX 450W ATX PSU (CMPSU-450VXUK) £51.99
(£59.79) £51.99
(£59.79) Sub Total : £175.98 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DHL @ Home Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.99 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £26.40 Total : £202.38

 

[thepeganator]

Need a new PSU for sure.

512mb 4850 is your best bet.

 

[zovat]

Hmm how about this mate..
Product Name Qty Price Line Total

HIS ATI Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 Turbo 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £123.99
(£142.59) £123.99
(£142.59)

Corsair VX 450W ATX PSU (CMPSU-450VXUK) £51.99
(£59.79) £51.99
(£59.79) Sub Total : £175.98 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DHL @ Home Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.99 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £26.40 Total : £202.38

Good combi - The 4850 is no slouch and I only hear good trhings about the IceQ cards..

Looks like I may have to do both GPU and PSU, but that's still one less thing to worry about later...

 

[reflux]

Make sure the case will fit the new parts first. A lot of PCs sold on the high-street have custom case configurations.