Nvidia or ATI (+ psu questions)

[Robsie]

I am thinking of upgrading my pc by adding a graphics card and will need a new psu as my 250W will not be able to take it.

I was looking at spending around £70 on a GPU, and have looked at the Gainward GeForce 9800 GT Green Edition 512MB GDDR3 and the
VTX ATI Radeon HD 4770 512MB GDDR5

I was wondering which one was better, or if there are any other better alternatives, My mother board is a (http://support.packardbell.com/uk/item/index.php?i=spec_denver10&ppn=PB80135401)

I also was wondering what a PSU would need for me to be able to run this, such as wattage and appropriate connectors and any other factors i may have missed out of ignorance.

Thanks in advance.
Robsie

 

[magicroundabout]

for £70 you can get a brand new ATI 4870 1gb version which will be perfect.

as for PSU what is the rest of your system?
and remember the PSU is one of the most important components within your build so don't skimp on this. Buy quality.

 

[Robsie]

I have 3gb of RAM, a Q6600 2.4ghz quad core processor. (+500HDD and a dvd-rw)

 

[Robsie]

Also does the ATI 4770 (or the 4870) need one or two 6 pin pcie connectors?

 

[Owenb]

Also does the ATI 4770 (or the 4870) need one or two 6 pin pcie connectors?

The 4770 requires one, the 4870 requires two.

You might get away with your 250watt PSU with the 4770- but only if it's a really good quality 250watt- and I don't know anyone that makes good 250watt PSU's!
Any 400watt PSU that you find on OcuK will be more than enough for a 4870, let alone a 4770. If want to future proof then you can go for a bigger PSU(edit: The OCZ 600watt is on special offer for £57 this week)

Note: Even though a 400watt PSU would be enough for a 4870, it might not have 2 PCi-e 6pin connectors(I believe the corsair 400w has only 1). However you can get around this by using a 4pin->6pin connector, or by buying a higher spec PSU

 

[jms198]

I would avoid getting a 9800GT like everyone says. A 4770 or 4850 would be a better choice in my opinion.

Wrt the PSU read individual reviews based on the model number as a lot of brands use PSUs from more than one company with varying performance. The brand seems to be less important but rather who actually made them.

 

[Robsie]

Oh deary me, i just took my psu out, and it turns out it hooks to the top of the case instead of sitting on a little ledge... i'm guessing this is a really bad thing...?