Epeens - UNITE! - A graphics card upgrade query

veggiesmooth · 2 Apr 2015 at 22:59

Hi all.

A good 3 years ago I got my PC and it's stood the test of time up until this point. Allowing me to play most titles on mediocre/high graphics. HOWEVER, that's no longer the case.

I'm looking to replace my old and dusty graphics card with something that can run titles such as DayZ without any distance fog and rendering problems. Would be ideal to play Dota2 on the higher end of the graphics spectrum as I currently play it on low. I even went down memory lane and purchased the original dawn of wars and I couldn't even max those! Oh the HUMANITY!! I purchased The Forest recently and it flat out crashed. You get the idea.

So my budget would be around the £60/£70 range, I could push £80 if there is a significant jump in improvement.

My processor is an AMD FX -4100 Quad-Core Processor.

Just a warning, I am a complete noob when it comes to hardware. I'll do my best to answer any additional questions but I may need some instructions on how to check certain things. I'm ready to learn so have patience.

Cheers all!

kissenger · 2 Apr 2015 at 23:26

What GPU are you currently using?

I would go for a 7950, hands down. Can get them for £70 on the MM (although you won't have access for a while). That would be enough to play DayZ/DOTA/BF at very respectable settings. Depends on the rest of your build though, e.g., how much ram you have.

FredFlint · 2 Apr 2015 at 23:46

What PSU do you have?

stulid · 2 Apr 2015 at 23:51

What length cards does your case support?

PieEater · 3 Apr 2015 at 00:59

stulid said:
What length cards does your case support?

have you got the balls to go to £85?

spike2011 · 3 Apr 2015 at 03:34

PieEater said:
have you got the balls to go to £85?

Yeah even £100 is nothing.

veggiesmooth · 3 Apr 2015 at 13:43

FredFlint said:
What PSU do you have?

atx-500, 230V

veggiesmooth · 3 Apr 2015 at 13:44

kissenger said:
What GPU are you currently using?

I would go for a 7950, hands down. Can get them for £70 on the MM (although you won't have access for a while). That would be enough to play DayZ/DOTA/BF at very respectable settings. Depends on the rest of your build though, e.g., how much ram you have.

AMD Radeon HD 6450 is my current GPU

I have 16gig of ram so I think I'm good for that?

stulid · 3 Apr 2015 at 13:46

veggiesmooth said:
atx-500, 230V

Make and model is very important.

There is a large difference between a £20 500W PSU and a £50 500W PSU.

veggiesmooth · 3 Apr 2015 at 13:47

stulid said:
What length cards does your case support?

Not sure how to tell but directly under the card port it says "PCle 2.0 X16", don't know if this answers your question?

stulid · 3 Apr 2015 at 13:54

veggiesmooth said:
Not sure how to tell but directly under the card port it says "PCle 2.0 X16", don't know if this answers your question?

Do you know what case it is that you have?

Or can you measure how much room you have from the PCI bracket at the rear of the case to the drive cages/or whatever is at the front of the case.

Basically this distance - http://www.zalman.com/images/productinfo/Z9plus_03.jpg

veggiesmooth · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:03

spike2011 said:
Yeah even £100 is nothing.

Depends if you're from swilly, or derriford, aye mate? ;D

(noticed you're from plymouth, where to?)

veggiesmooth · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:18

stulid said:
Do you know what case it is that you have?

Or can you measure how much room you have from the PCI bracket at the rear of the case to the drive cages/or whatever is at the front of the case.

Basically this distance - http://www.zalman.com/images/productinfo/Z9plus_03.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nqLJ7nf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/VsLajT8.jpg

Image of all the info on the PSU and the measurements (its 27.5cm, sorry about the ****** quality).

stulid · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:24

You are going to need a better quality PSU, unless you get a card that is very low power consumption (such as a GTX750/750ti).

Never ever skimp on the PSU.

veggiesmooth · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:30

stulid said:
You are going to need a better quality PSU, unless you get a card that is very low power consumption (such as a GTX750/750ti).

Never ever skimp on the PSU.

I'm really just looking for a quick fix for now. How much would the necessary PSU set me back?

I mean, if I was to go for a new PSU I would make sure it would last etleast another 3/4 years, any recommendations? Keeping in mind what kind of GPU I'm after.

bradUK · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:37

veggiesmooth said:
Depends if you're from swilly, or derriford, aye mate? ;D

(noticed you're from plymouth, where to?)

Wow, three of us in one thread lol

St Judes

stulid · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:38

£40-50 for a decent PSU.

veggiesmooth · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:45

stulid said:
£40-50 for a decent PSU.

Right, so I buy a new PSU (any brands/specific models you'd recommend?).

What graphics card would match it?

stulid · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:48

If you take one of these,

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £54.95
1 x Antec VPF550 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £48.95
1 x Silverstone Strider Essential Bronze - 500W (SST-ST50F-ESB) £45.95
Total : £149.84 (includes shipping : ).

With the Superflower being the best.

You can fit a R9 270/270X, 280/280X, 7950/7970, GTX960/970.

Pretty much anything you can afford to buy and that fits in your case.

stulid · 3 Apr 2015 at 14:58

I have looked through the stock and found these two bgrade cards that match your budget,

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** MSI GeForce GTX 650 Black Knight OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-187-MS) £59.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showd (GX-100-GI) £49.99
Total : £109.98 (includes shipping : ).

But i would want more power and so see what you can find 2nd hand.