Graphics card upgrade

[Mike1]

I'd look at the corsair range as they come with a 5 year warranty.

If it ever goes wrong you send it to them and they send you a brand new one sealed.

The only catch is that the sending address is in the netherlands and takes around a week to complete and costs around £18 to send.

Having said that it's 5 years warranty so you could get as many new replacements you like within that period so overall it's a good deal.

Well regarded power supplies I'd be looking at http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-014-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084 it has 41a on the 12v rail and will be good enough for a long while yet.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-006-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084 this would be good enough too but isn't in stock.

There's also the corsair 400 cx model which is good enough.

Whatever you end up doing just get a well known good brand of power supply and research the 12v rail rating google the model number you are looking at and find out the 12v rail >> +3.3V ( 36A ), +5V ( 36A ), +12V ( 20A ), -5V ( 1A ), -12V ( 1A ), +5Vsb ( 2A ).

don't buy anything that is lower than 35a.

All the ones that are on ocuk are good brand names to get and I'd use those names for your shortlist, but I'd avoid Hiper.

Hi,
Thanks for the information it has pointed me in the right direction. Didn't know power supplies were so different. Learning some thing new all the time.

Regards
Mike

 

[MoRT489]

Think of the PSU as the heart of ur system, if it is a dodgey one and it fails it can take everything else with it (worst case scenario).

 

[carlazai]

Cant possibly emphasise the importance of investing in a new quality PSU. You can pick up a quality Corsair PSU for £70 which will last you for the next 5 years and will give serious peace of mind I recommend the 520W modular version

 

[Mike1]

Cant possibly emphasise the importance of investing in a new quality PSU. You can pick up a quality Corsair PSU for £70 which will last you for the next 5 years and will give serious peace of mind I recommend the 520W modular version

Hi,

I appreciate the help you are all giving me, many thanks for that.
Getting the right card and power supply is a start, so many to chose from.
As I have said, I currently have the Asus GeForce 8800gts.
If I were to go for the ATI 4850 what program ,if any, would I need to be sure I remove all traces of the GeForce driver having read about the possible re-installation of the Operating System if it all goes wrong.

Mike

 

[Sash]

Think of the PSU as the heart of ur system, if it is a dodgey one and it fails it can take everything else with it (worst case scenario).

Could this be a reason as to why the atikmdag or whatever it is keeps failing to respond while gaming?

 

[MoRT489]

If I were to go for the ATI 4850 what program ,if any, would I need to be sure I remove all traces of the GeForce driver having read about the possible re-installation of the Operating System if it all goes wrong.

Go to Add/remove programs and unistall all nvidia drivers etc. Reboot as instructed. Then run DriverCleaner pro or DriverSweeper, selecting all nvidia components and Clean. Next, delete all temp files (perhaps do a disk cleanup) and, if u want to be pedantic about it, reboot and defrag.

Switch off, insert the new gfx card and reboot. Windows will popup up with new hardware wizard. Cancel this and install the ATI drivers and catalyst control centre from the file u saved on ur desktop.

A far more detailed version can be found here http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_3.html

 

[kylew]

Hi,

Looking at the box in which it came, the +3.3V ( 36A ), +5V ( 36A ), +12V ( 20A ), -5V ( 1A ), -12V ( 1A ), +5Vsb ( 2A ).
Can you tell me what power supply I should have to power the 4870 or possibly the 9800GTX.
I am at a loss here now, back to square one, so any help would be appreciated from the community.

Regards
Mike

Forget that 9800GTX the 4870 eats it for breakfast, and the 4850 is also faster than the 9800GTX.

For the res you play at, a 4850 and a nice PSU is what I would recommend.

 

[Mike1]

Forget that 9800GTX the 4870 eats it for breakfast, and the 4850 is also faster than the 9800GTX.

For the res you play at, a 4850 and a nice PSU is what I would recommend.

Hi

Thanks for your help. It looks as if the ATI is the way to go.
I will use a Corsair 620 modular Power supply unit hopefully it will give me some future benefits.

Regards
Mike

 

[Mike1]

Forget that 9800GTX the 4870 eats it for breakfast, and the 4850 is also faster than the 9800GTX.

For the res you play at, a 4850 and a nice PSU is what I would recommend.

I think I will be getting the 4850 along with a Corsair 620 modular PSU.

Mike

 

[Duke]

I think I will be getting the 4850 along with a Corsair 620 modular PSU.

Mike

Nice one - let us know how you get on

 

[datawrite]

Is the 4850 1gb better than the GTS 250 1gb

 

[reflux]

Is the 4850 1gb better than the GTS 250 1gb

The GTS 250 is the same as the 9800GTX+ except with a different name, and the GTX+ performs very closely to the 4850, so it's swings and roundabouts.

 

[datawrite]

But which one is the overall best to go for these days?