Vid card, need suggestions

[nickisonfire]

hey i'm now in the market for a video card

i'm on hp elite m9077c intel core 2 quad q6600 @ 2.4 ghz
i currently have 8500 gt in it.. i have a 380 watt antec earthwatts 380 80+ psu.. what vid card can i just swap out of it now at a decent deal that is fine with the amount of power i have now?
Slot type Quantity
PCI One
PCI Express x16 One
PCI Express x1 Two

 

[roid450]

i was gonna say a 9600gt but according to evga, a minimum of 400 watts is required for one. id imagine its the same for a 8800GT

upgrade your PSU. theres a corsair on newegg 750watt for 129$

 

[jyjjy777]

I've got a similar PSU and have been looking into this stuff myself. It depends more on the amperage of your 12 volt rail(s) than the total PSU power output. The specs you'll find for power requirements from manufacturers on video cards are actually for the total system so your PC set-up plays a role. Check the side of your PSU and tell us what it says under +12v.
Antec is a decent brand and if I had to guess and you don't have a ton of hard/dvd drives/pci cards I'd think it can handle at least a 9600gt. It's a nice card at a good price and worlds better than your 8500gt.

Here's a list of video cards and their actual power usage for your reference;
http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=9354
or in easier on the eyes graphical format;
http://mark.zoomcities.com/ima.../GFXpowerchartby3d.png

 

[jyjjy777]

I just looked up your PSU and it supposedly has 2 17 amp +12v rails with a max power of 324 watts. It should be able to easily handle a 9600gt or probably even an 8800gt unless the rest of your system is crazy.

 

[MarcVenice]

I bet you can run a HD4850 in that system. Powerdraw shouldn't exceed 250-275w. Which is perfectly fine for that PSU.

 

[palladium]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
I bet you can run a HD4850 in that system. Powerdraw shouldn't exceed 250-275w. Which is perfectly fine for that PSU.

Make sure you have the necessary PCIe power connectors, though.

 

[scheibler1]

Get an 8800gt. I ran an overclocked e2180 @ 3ghz and an overclocked 8800gt on that same power supply for a while.

 

[nickisonfire]

does it matter which model of 8800 gt i get? sorry to be newb i just type that in and get 10+ responses

 

[MarcVenice]

Doesn't really matter much. Some manufacturers, like EVGA and XFX offer extended warranty's and step-up programs. BFG is also pretty good I think, but that all comes with a price premium. Personaly, out of all the 8800gt's and 9800gt's ( which are pretty much the same videocards ) I would buy this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127381

It's overclocked and comes with a nice cooler. Then again, for just a little more money you could buy this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102770 also with a nice cooler, and it's a fair bit faster then the 8800gt/9800gt.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Doesn't really matter much. Some manufacturers, like EVGA and XFX offer extended warranty's and step-up programs. BFG is also pretty good I think, but that all comes with a price premium. Personaly, out of all the 8800gt's and 9800gt's ( which are pretty much the same videocards ) I would buy this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127381

It's overclocked and comes with a nice cooler. Then again, for just a little more money you could buy this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102770 also with a nice cooler, and it's a fair bit faster then the 8800gt/9800gt.

Here is another option:

9800GT with 128 stream processors. 144.99 after rebate. @ 22% faster than standard 112 sp 9800GT.

740MHz core 2000mem. Puts this 145 dollar card in the performance neighborhood of 9800GTX+. 3 year warranty from ASUS. And free "Alone in the Dark" game.