New video card for old system
#928480
12/06/13 09:26 PM
12/06/13 09:26 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,243 Delaware, USA
SharonB
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It's going to be some time for me to get a new system. Life happens... Anyway, I was looking at the game Cognition and it demands 1GB of video memory. A few other games wanted more graphic ram than I have as well (256). I was wondering if I could replace my nvidia 7900GS with a cheap card with more memory and not lose performance value. Specifically, I was looking at this card -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125427 and hoping I could play some of these other games. http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Mini-...graphics+card-- Or this one What do you think?
Last edited by SharonB; 12/06/13 09:47 PM.
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928497
12/06/13 11:10 PM
12/06/13 11:10 PM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,194 Near St. Louis, MO
Draclvr
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I understand... sometimes life just doesn't let you go out and plop down money for an awesome gaming computer.
A couple of questions first... does your motherboard support these video card interfaces? And do you have enough wattage in your power supply?
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: Draclvr]
#928503
12/07/13 01:30 AM
12/07/13 01:30 AM
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,588 Oklahoma, USA
Homer6
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Sharon the first card you linked to requires 300W of power, while the second one requires a minimum of 300W. You have to also take into account all the other things your power supply runs, so unless you have a power supply larger than 300W you might find running either of these two a bit difficult. Also, both require a PCI slot.
If something gets your goat, it just proves you have a goat to get.
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928506
12/07/13 02:31 AM
12/07/13 02:31 AM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,194 Near St. Louis, MO
Draclvr
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And specifically a PCI-E 2.0 slot...
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928543
12/07/13 10:22 AM
12/07/13 10:22 AM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,194 Near St. Louis, MO
Draclvr
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In that case either card is fine. It would be good to know your PCI-E version though. Do you have info on the model of your motherboard?
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928580
12/07/13 01:23 PM
12/07/13 01:23 PM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,263 Arizona
InlandAZ
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While ether card will supply the required ram specs, neither will perform as well as your current card, they have a very narrow 64 bit memory bus. If you can afford something slightly more expensive, and have room in the case for it, I'd look at something like this - GeForce GTS 450 It's not the fastest card out there, but is an improvement compared to your current card. Newegg has one available for $60.00 after a mail in rebate.
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928582
12/07/13 01:26 PM
12/07/13 01:26 PM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,194 Near St. Louis, MO
Draclvr
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I love it when Inland is here - I always learn something new! While certainly nothing to write home about, I would have thought these newer cards would perform at least a little better than the 7900GS.
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928617
12/07/13 04:03 PM
12/07/13 04:03 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644 southeast USA
Jenny100
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Thanks, Inland. Too many people think new cards outperform old ones just because they're new, when it isn't true at all. Only thing I wonder about is whether the GTS 450 will work with only a 400 Watt power supply. I didn't see a minimum power supply listed at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134119
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928627
12/07/13 04:43 PM
12/07/13 04:43 PM
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Draclvr
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I don't know if it's still happening, but I remember something about them simply rebranding the older cards with new numbers with virtually no improvements at one time.
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: Jenny100]
#928637
12/07/13 05:02 PM
12/07/13 05:02 PM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,263 Arizona
InlandAZ
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Thanks, Inland. Too many people think new cards outperform old ones just because they're new, when it isn't true at all. Only thing I wonder about is whether the GTS 450 will work with only a 400 Watt power supply. I didn't see a minimum power supply listed at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134119 It's in the link I posted (near the bottom) - Thermal and Power Specs Maximum GPU Temperature (in C) 100 C Maximum Graphics Card Power (W) 106 W Minimum System Power Requirement (W) 400 W Supplementary Power Connectors 6-pin
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928643
12/07/13 05:24 PM
12/07/13 05:24 PM
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Draclvr
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I wish Newegg and other retailers would publish that info along with the product. I've had to go to the manufacturer more than once to find it.
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: Jenny100]
#928682
12/08/13 02:21 AM
12/08/13 02:21 AM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,263 Arizona
InlandAZ
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Thanks, Inland. And I completely agree, Draclvr. What makes it worse is when one manufacturer says one thing and another manufacturer says another about cards with the same chipset. It can be a pain, can't it. And.. BTW - GB Reviewer Glitches Moderator I've enjoyed the reviews, you've got the knack.
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928719
12/08/13 11:27 AM
12/08/13 11:27 AM
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Draclvr
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Who knew Jenny could not only fix our computer glitches, but could also turn quite a phrase! I've been enjoying them too.
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928740
12/08/13 01:32 PM
12/08/13 01:32 PM
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Draclvr
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This is what the specs say for this motherboard...
The boards provide the following PCI Express connectors: •One PCI Express x16 connector supporting simultaneous transfer speeds up to 8 GBytes/sec •Two PCI Express x1 connectors. The x1 interfaces support simultaneous transfer speeds up to 500 MBytes/sec
So, it doesn't have PCI-E 2.0, but I believe they are backwards compatible. I don't know what, if anything, you would sacrifice by not having 2.0.
We'll have to wait for Inland to drop by!
Once again, weeds are my life!
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928746
12/08/13 02:07 PM
12/08/13 02:07 PM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,263 Arizona
InlandAZ
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Yep, the card is backward compatible, just make sure the case will accommodate the additional side of the card for the fan. Here's a link that shows the card - NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB DDR5 PCI Express (PCIe) Edit - If the case wont accommodate the fan, you could always consider one of the Radeon cards - AMD Radeon HD 6670 AMD Radeon HD 7750 Newegg has a 6670 for $54.99 after rebate - either will run on a 400 watt power supply.
Last edited by InlandAZ; 12/08/13 03:18 PM.
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#928986
12/10/13 03:14 AM
12/10/13 03:14 AM
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,754 Rockland, Ontario, Canada
Starcom
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Hi Sharon, You probably already checked this but I have to mention it anyway:
Some Computers have a safety Power Button in the back and when one sometimes moves the computer or cleans it, one might hit the switch by mistake.
Last edited by Starcom; 12/10/13 03:15 AM.
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Re: New video card for old system
[Re: SharonB]
#929110
12/10/13 08:26 PM
12/10/13 08:26 PM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 20,194 Near St. Louis, MO
Draclvr
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I'll bet something got knocked loose somewhere too...
Meanwhile, you could put one together for about $560 at eCollegePC with an Nvidia GTX 650 video card and Windows 7. I looked for that Back to School special and it is now $669 and I think the video card is pretty low-end... it's AMD R7 240 2GB Graphics. But I don't know much about AMD graphics.
Once again, weeds are my life!
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