Video Card Reccomendation for amd system

[86waterpumper]

I am running a amd x4 610e (o/c to 2.8 ghz) htpc system as my main rig for probably another year or so, until I can afford a complete new build. It has 4gb ram, a ssd drive etc. The motherboard has crappy onboard graphics, and I want to stick in a video card that will have fairly low power draw, (psu is a antec basiq 350). If I could find something decent that was fanless that would be cool too. My monitor I am using is a 4:3 (1280 x 1024 res) and i want to be able to play a few older games such as bioshock 1 and 2 etc. What card would be good for this system that won't break the bank?

 

[Techhog]

I'd go for a 7750 I guess, though knowing what your exact budget is would be helpful.

 

[EliteRetard]

Low profile or not?

I'd say the minimum acceptable value would be the 77xx cards. You can get a new 7790 for $70 if you look around. You can get 7750 cards in low profile/fanless if necessary. If you want even cheaper then that find a used 57xx or 67xx card for $40-50.

 

[nwo]

Any 77 series card will do. They have low power draw and won't break the bank, but might be difficult to find since 7 series are no longer being manufactured.

You may want to look into buying a used 7770 as well for around 50 bucks which will be plenty for playing older games.

 

[Techhog]

Low profile or not?

I'd say the minimum acceptable value would be the 77xx cards. You can get a new 7790 for $70 if you look around. You can get 7750 cards in low profile/fanless if necessary. If you want even cheaper then that find a used 57xx or 67xx card for $40-50.

Nothing higher than a 7750 should be used on that PSU I think. Hell, even that's pushing it.

Thinking about it again, you might be better off saving the money for a full system upgrade. That PSU really holds you back.

 

[86waterpumper]

No it doesn't have to be low profile. I do understand the psu sucks... But...I have the cpu at stock voltages, so I hoped that would help me. I guess my budget is like 50 to 75 bucks, I don't really want to spend even 100 but I don't mind putting a decent card in it, because before long I will pass it down to my son. I have read the 7750s can work on smaller power supplies so maybe I can get away with it. Thanks for the help.

 

[JDG1980]

No it doesn't have to be low profile. I do understand the psu sucks... But...I have the cpu at stock voltages, so I hoped that would help me. I guess my budget is like 50 to 75 bucks, I don't really want to spend even 100 but I don't mind putting a decent card in it, because before long I will pass it down to my son. I have read the 7750s can work on smaller power supplies so maybe I can get away with it. Thanks for the help.

You should probably be able to find a used HD 7750 on eBay in your price range ($50-$75). Fortunately for buyers, they don't have a high enough hash rate for the cryptocurrency crowd to be snapping them up.

I wouldn't worry about power consumption with this card. Antec is a decent brand and you should be able to trust the PSU to actually provide the advertised wattage. My previous configuration included an Antec EA-380D (380W) PSU, an Athlon X2 245 (overclocked to about 3.4 GHz), and a Radeon HD 5670. It was fine, no stability problems at all. Your CPU only has a 45W TDP (against 65W for mine) and the 7750 has a lower TDP than the 5670 (55W vs 64W). Even at full stress load, you almost certainly won't be breaking past 175W at most.

 

[EliteRetard]

Problem is cards under ~75$ perform HALF as well or worse so they provide a terrible value.

Since AMD just renamed the 77xx cards they are all being cleared out under $100. You can basically get a 7790 for the same price as a 7750. I do see that your PSU does NOT have the PCIE plugs needed...but I still think it could run a 7790 with an adapter. A 7750 is like 70w (no plug needed) while a 7790 is like 110w (needs 1 plug).

Currently cheapest GDDR5 7750 card on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131461
$70 after $30 rebate, but that cooler is a bit scary.

Here's the same brand 7770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131488
For the same $70 after $30 rebate with a bigger cooler

Another brand 7770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202011
$80 after $15 rebate

This is a 7790 that was on sale, but sold out:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131490
Was $70, then $80 after $20 rebate.

A 7790 is about 30% faster than a 7770 and 60% faster than a 7750.

Your CPU wont use more than 50w, add 5w for the SSD and another 5w each for the MOBO/DVD drive ect and for the RAM. Your system right now is not going to use more than 100w MAX. Even if you added a 150w card you're still not going to be crushing your PSU. Antec is respectable enough to give fairly honest ratings even on their budget line...perhaps it can only give you 300w continuous, still enough to drive a 7790 (with 2xMolex to 6 pin PCIE adapter).

Normally I wouldn't suggest going as high as a 7790, but since they can be found for so cheap now there's no reason not to grab one. Just keep your eyes peeled for a sale.

 

[blastingcap]

If you aren't gaming and want fanless then a 6450 fanless would be great. However you really want more like 7750 even if you are playing older games at 1280x1024.

Btw the best place for info like this is Silent PC Review which has a thread about fanless 7750s: www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=64599