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Emergency transmission, Please Help!

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
I need a new Graphics card for my computer and the one I ordered I have to send back, it’s not compatible with my PC. I never thought to check to see what kind of Power supply I have in my PC. This Radeon 4870 needs a 450 watt power supply and the one in my computer looks like it tops out at about 300 watts.

So here is what I have in my computer right now:
I have a HP Pavilion a1530n
Intel Pentium D 820 (2.80 GHz)
RAM (I just upgraded this) 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400
The 300 watt power supply
Graphics (and here is the problem) Intel 82945G Express Chipset with 224Mbytes

The good news is I do have a PCI ExpressX16 expansion slot.
Someone please suggest a graphics card that I can use for STO that will work with this computer.

Thanks,
Terry
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    redheadguy wrote:
    I need a new Graphics card for my computer and the one I ordered I have to send back, it’s not compatible with my PC. I never thought to check to see what kind of Power supply I have in my PC. This Radeon 4870 needs a 450 watt power supply and the one in my computer looks like it tops out at about 300 watts.

    So here is what I have in my computer right now:
    I have a HP Pavilion a1530n
    Intel Pentium D 820 (2.80 GHz)
    RAM (I just upgraded this) 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400
    The 300 watt power supply
    Graphics (and here is the problem) Intel 82945G Express Chipset with 224Mbytes

    The good news is I do have a PCI ExpressX16 expansion slot.
    Someone please suggest a graphics card that I can use for STO that will work with this computer.

    Thanks,
    Terry

    I have been always a Nvidia person. For your system I would recommend a 9400/9600 gt. should only need a 300 watt power supply and gives you direct x 10. Should let you run STO with good graphics quality without need to upgrade your power supply.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Stormnut wrote: »
    I have been always a Nvidia person. For your system I would recommend a 9400/9600 gt. should only need a 300 watt power supply and gives you direct x 10. Should let you run STO with good graphics quality without need to upgrade your power supply.

    I have 9400. It's below sys reqs but the game plays fine. The borg cubes look pretty bad, but otherwise it's nice. I have no idea about the power supply stuff though.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Kirkfat wrote: »
    I have 9400. It's below sys reqs but the game plays fine. The borg cubes look pretty bad, but otherwise it's nice. I have no idea about the power supply stuff though.

    9400 is 2 generations above the min which is 7960
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Stormnut wrote: »
    9400 is 2 generations above the min which is 7960
    Strange, I thought they recommended the 9600.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    If it helps, this is a pretty good PSU for $30. It'd run that machine with a 4870 or equivalent without a sweat.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171028
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Kirkfat wrote: »
    Strange, I thought they recommended the 9600.

    Minimum System Specifications

    * OS: Windows XP SP2/ Windows Vista/Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
    * CPU: Intel dual-core 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 + 3800
    * Memory: 1GB RAM or Better
    * Video:ATI Radeon X1800 or NVIDIA GeForce 7950 or better
    * Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
    * DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
    * HDD: 5GB Free Disk Space
    * Network: Broadband Required
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Kirkfat wrote: »
    Strange, I thought they recommended the 9600.

    But a 7960 is a much higher family of card than the 9600. Just two revisions older.


    As for catd? Most decent cards will need one or two PCi power supply points.

    You could get a 9600 that should not need power but it's a low-mid-range card now. should have stuck with what you bought. You can pick up an 850 watt PSU with all the correct pci power plugs for around $40.

    I would not put less than a 500 watt in any machine these days.

    If you want a decent card, change the PSU.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125253

    this card is a good card. run on low watts, it has mainstream power. I even have it running in a back up machine, and it runs the game great at max screen res, and setting on med high.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Zodi-emish wrote:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125253

    this card is a good card. run on low watts, it has mainstream power. I even have it running in a back up machine, and it runs the game great at max screen res, and setting on med high.

    I think it'd be better to spend $30 on a new PSU and buy the high-end card, personally.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Ulfhedjinn wrote: »
    I think it'd be better to spend $30 on a new PSU and buy the high-end card, personally.

    I thought he already sent it back.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Zodi-emish wrote:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125253

    this card is a good card. run on low watts, it has mainstream power. I even have it running in a back up machine, and it runs the game great at max screen res, and setting on med high.


    As someone who makes bespoke PC's a nd buys a good $10k of gpus a year I have to say that the 4650 is an extremely poor card performance wise. It's not benchmarking at 9500GT levels and the 9500 is not even considered a 3d gaming card.
    False economy. Get something at the entry level of a 9800GT or GTS250 ( HD4850 and up )
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Zodi-emish wrote:
    I thought he already sent it back.

    He wouldn't have had to if someone told him to get a decent PSU for only $30. :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    As someone who makes bespoke PC's a nd buys a good $10k of gpus a year I have to say that the 4650 is an extremely poor card performance wise. It's not benchmarking at 9500GT levels and the 9500 is not even considered a 3d gaming card.
    False economy. Get something at the entry level of a 9800GT or GTS250 ( HD4850 and up )

    well its for main stream.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Ulfhedjinn wrote: »
    He wouldn't have had to if someone told him to get a decent PSU for only $30. :D

    the video card type normally needs two PCI-E plugs., and the PSU only has one. so unless it came with Molex to PCI-E adapter. like this

    if you want to run it like that. I've heard some people complain that it is not the best to use the adapter.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Zodi-emish wrote:
    well it for main stream.

    you had the right card in the first place. I'm using an HIS HD4890 in this rig. It's a good series.

    You just need to buy a new PSU that fits the power requirements. You should do that anyway. 300s is not enough for a mainstream PC and it's demands now.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Zodi-emish wrote:
    the video card type normally needs two PCI-E plugs., and the PSU only has one. so unless it came with Molex to PCI-E adapter. like this

    if you want to run it like that. I've heard some people complain that it is not the best to use the adapter.

    Molex to PCI-E is fine. But yes, I should've mentioned that it only has one direct PCI-E connector.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Zodi-emish wrote:
    the video card type normally needs two PCI-E plugs., and the PSU only has one. so unless it came with Molex to PCI-E adapter. like this

    if you want to run it like that. I've heard some people complain that it is not the best to use the adapter.


    It depends what the ampage of the rail is that you connect the adapter to. If you have 30 amps on the 12v rail then you are good with an adapter. Most cards come with one with the exception of some older XFX cards that required dedicated PSU rails to run ( like the two 8800GTS TRIBBLE OC editions I sold last month , HUGE power consumption in SLI but monster performance )
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Ulfhedjinn wrote: »
    Molex to PCI-E is fine. But yes, I should've mentioned that it only has one direct PCI-E connector.
    It depends what the ampage of the rail is that you connect the adapter to. If you have 30 amps on the 12v rail then you are good with an adapter. Most cards come with one with the exception of some older XFX cards that required dedicated PSU rails to run ( like the two 8800GTS TRIBBLE OC editions I sold last month , HUGE power consumption in SLI but monster performance )

    that's also a good point. I'm not sure if ATI uses it's own PSU rails?

    as for the molex adapter it depends on ampage as stated, and personal preference. my college A+ teacher said he would never use one, but the student teacher said it didn't matter.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Ulfhedjinn wrote: »
    He wouldn't have had to if someone told him to get a decent PSU for only $30. :D


    No, I still have the Radeon 4870. I meant that unless I can upgrade my PC's power supply, then I'll have to send it back. Problem is I don't know if I can upgrade the power supply or if the card will even FIT into the HP case that I have.

    However I do want to say thank you to all who have posted responses to my message.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    redheadguy wrote:
    No, I still have the Radeon 4870. I meant that unless I can upgrade my PC's power supply, then I'll have to send it back. Problem is I don't know if I can upgrade the power supply or if the card will even FIT into the HP case that I have.

    However I do want to say thank you to all who have posted responses to my message.

    I strongly urge you to buy a cheap $25 case and a $40 PSU. I'll even talk you through the rebuild via mail if you are unsure. Dell's proprietary cases are well built but a nightmare for upgrades. Ditch it would be my strong advice.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2010
    Ulfhedjinn wrote: »
    I think it'd be better to spend $30 on a new PSU and buy the high-end card, personally.

    Usually i'd agree. there is one exception really, and that's if your computer uses a non-standard psu shape. Some vendors do tend to do that.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Just an FYI, my pc is a HP not a Dell. Does that make a difference to your advice of rebuilding my PC?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    redheadguy wrote:
    Just an FYI, my pc is a HP not a Dell. Does that make a difference to your advice of rebuilding my PC?

    It depends upon your case. If you have a standard ATX midi case then there will be no problem. Sorry i must have had Dell on my mind. It's only they who use odd size stuff, it forces you to use them again when you upgrade.

    Standard PU with a pci express power supply of around 800W is right up your street. I'm in the UK so can't source one but I buy these for all my builds ( that's about 6 a month )

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-800w-SATA-PC-PSU-POWER-SUPPLY-with-DUAL-80mm-FAN_W0QQitemZ140332205298QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_PowerSupplies_EH?hash=item20ac7384f2
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