Suitable Graphics Card

[Canning_s]

I am wanting to purchase a "PowerColor Radeon HD7870 GHz Edition HDMI Dual-DisplayPort 2GB" and am wanting to know if my current system cab handle this card, and if not, what other card should I get.

Here is my computer information:

Computer
Model : OEM
Serial Number : To Be Fille***********
Chassis : Desktop
Mainboard : ASRock M3A785GMH/128M
BIOS : AMI (OEM) P1.20 08/04/2009
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor (4C 3.2GHz, 2GHz IMC, 4x 512kB L2, 6MB L3)
Socket/Slot : AM2r2/AM3

Chipset
Memory Controller : ASRock RS780/880 Host Bridge 2x 2GHz (4GHz)
Memory Controller : AMD F10 Athlon 64/Opteron/Sempron HT Hub 2x 2GHz (4GHz), 2x 2GB DIMM DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Corsair VS2GB1333D3 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-24 5-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Corsair VS2GB1333D3 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-24 5-34-10-5)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : ViewSonic VG2227WM
(1920x1080, 21.7")
Video Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series (10CU 800SP SM5.0 850MHz, 1GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series (800SP 10C 850MHz, 1GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit)
Compute Shader Processor : ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series (800SP 10C 850MHz, 1GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit)

 

[toyota]

power supply?

a 7870 would be fine and would also be the highest I would go with that cpu. a 7850 is also a good option if you are willing to overclock it. speaking of overclocking, bumping that cpu up a bit will help out quite a bit in many games. of course you will need a good cooler for that.

I would also grab another 4gb of ram.

 

[Canning_s]

My current PSU is a 480 Watt. What do you recommend? (I am looking for a new PSU at the moment). Is a 750 Watt PSU overkill?

 

[powruser]

I think 650w is the most you'll ever need for a single graphics card system.

 

[jcniest5]

My current PSU is a 480 Watt. What do you recommend? (I am looking for a new PSU at the moment). Is a 750 Watt PSU overkill?

Yeah, definitely get a better/more wattage PSU. 750W is sufficient, not overkill.

 

[3DVagabond]

Yeah, definitely get a better/more wattage PSU. 750W is sufficient, not overkill.

For 2x 7870's it wouldn't be over kill.

OP, if your current PSU is a good quality one, it'll be fine for a 7870. What's the amperage rating on the 12v rail?

 

[jcniest5]

For 2x 7870's it wouldn't be over kill.

OP, if your current PSU is a good quality one, it'll be fine for a 7870. What's the amperage rating on the 12v rail?

I think overkill is better than underkill, if there's such word.

 

[frozentundra123456]

What brand of OEM system is it? I doubt the psu will handle a 7870. But as someone said, check the amps on the 12 v rail.

I would also check to be sure the card will fit in the case.

 

[BigChickenJim]

You may see a little bottlenecking with a 7870 and that CPU. It wouldn't be horrible, but I'd maybe consider the 7850. The performance is slightly lower, but it would be more in line with your system as it stands now.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to properly upgrade your CPU without a motherboard swap. We all know how much that sucks. I say buy a cheaper card that works well with your current system and set the extra bones aside in a savings pot for a bigger upgrade later.

 

[jacktesterson]

A good quality 480w PSU would handle a 7870 system.

I've ran a 7850 Crossfire with a 2500k before off a 550w PSU without issue... (Months) - Mind you it has 45a on 12v rail (540w of the 550w can be used on 12v rail)

Still using the PSU today without issue.