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Upgrade from 6200SE?

Talrinys

Talrinys

Talrinys

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Joined
14 Feb 2007
Posts
2,479
Location
Denmark
Hey, i'm considering upgrading my girlfriend's computer, it's really simple, she just needs to be able to play The Sims 2 more smoothly, so no biggie on the graphics front. I usually just build complete new rigs, don't upgrade older ones much, so i need some help. Her computer is a HP m7370.dk, with the following specs:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...84&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1838749&lang=en

Now the joy is of course that it's got Pci-Express x16 and not a completely terrible processor. So i was thinking of getting a card like the 8800GS if i can get a hold of one, should do the job quite perfectly?

I'm however wondering about a couple of things:
1: Does anyone have a rough estimate to the amount of power that old bad card (6200SE) uses, because that could quickly turn out to be a problem?
2: Would the processor bottleneck it so much that there wouldn't be much of an increase? I'm not really thinking so as it really seems GPU bound but i really doubt that any newer card would be fully justified in that kind of a rig.

Hopefully you can help me, thanks a lot :D
 
Alright, thanks a lot for that :) I was considering the 3850 but i'm still not sure if the PSU will manage. She wants to wait a bit before paying for it so i suppose the 9th generation of the 8600GT might also be power efficient, and much better than that one?
 
Well the 3850 is quite power efficient as well....at stock it will draw a max of 100watts in the worst case scenario, and it idles using only a couple dozen watts, if that.
 
yup it's basically a downclocked 2900xt on a 55nm process and 256bit memory interface. So you still have the 320 stream processors :)
 
I'd make sure that PSU can handle. Most places I've seen recommend a 450W PSU for HD3850 & also has to have a PCI-E power connector.

Also, how big is that HP's case?

I'd look at the 8500GTs. Can vouch for them to handle less demanding gaming & excellent at playing back HD material ;)

EDIT: & how big is the monitor? Anything above 8600 would be wasted on low res.
 
Last edited:
19" 1280x1024 :)
And you're probably right in regards to that game, even though i just moved from a 19" on my own rig and even that was having problems with some games with an 8800GTS.

The 8500 or the newer version of that when it comes definitely sounds like a great possibility too, i'm assuming that they won't really raise the watt needed on low-end cards much, shrinks will just make them slightly more powerful.

The HP case isn't big, but i'm pretty sure that any normal size card would fit in there, my dad has a 8600GTS and that definitely would fit in there :)

Any way to find out which PSU it is?
 
if the 3850 is a 10 the 8500gt is between a 2 or 3....

he's right though it's best to check out your PSU first. Usually the +12v amperage is stamped on the side of the PSU itself.
 
Talrinys said:
The HP case isn't big, but i'm pretty sure that any normal size card would fit in there, my dad has a 8600GTS and that definitely would fit in there
Click to expand...
HD 3850 is not normal size especially compared to 8600GTS...

1966_l.jpg
1634_l.jpg
 
8500GT is capable with older titles - and can manage most newer titles in high quality settings aslong as you keep the FSAA to 0x or 2x and resolution to around 800x600... as the 8600GT can be had for only a couple of quid more and has twice the streaming shaders tho it would be the better buy... neither use much power...

I currently (at the time of posting this) hold the futuremark (valid drivers/WHQL) record for an 8500GT setup hah!
 
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