yea its around 3 years.

Hopefully we are on the right track now
 

Ok Capt MattJ, I did some research on this as I must admit that I built my own machine around a similar time to you purchasing this computer but I went down the Intel Core 2 Duo route (E6600 2.4Ghz oc'd now to 3.2Ghz). So I am not overly familiar with AMD from this time scale of 2008.

You have a Gateway desktop machine with a AMD Phemom X4 9150e CPU clocked at 1.8Ghz. Firstly the e in the spec denotes that it is an energy efficient CPU. It is a quad core but has a slow (laptop style) clock speed of only 1.8Ghz. Your motherboard is a Gateway RS780 which is based on the AMD 780G chipset.

I searched for your motherboard spec online and I think that I have found it here. The important spec to take from this is:
So we know that you have a PCI Express x 16 slot for a graphics card. Hence you are good to go to install a graphics card in that x 16 slot. Now the questions that you need to ask is what type of graphics card do I need in terms of performance? For a start looking at your weak CPU clock speed and the fact you use a 19" monitor you don't need any super dooper new fast graphics card. That would just be a waste of money. As others have mentioned you will need to also check your power supply to make sure it has the specs to cover the install of a graphics card in terms of wattage, 12v rail, and also 6 pin graphics card power connectors. Also you will need to make sure the graphics card length is not too long and that it will fit in your case. What is your budget to spend on a graphics card?

If my post doesn't make sense then excuse me as I am somewhat bleary eyed and tired. :oops:

well i posted all the info on wattages in my CPU and posted em, take a look. AS for the Card, i just want a good one. not extreme, just good enoough to run SH5 and other new games. and uhhh, may i ask what Clock speed is and what its relation to my performance is? i searched some cards, and a decent one looks to be about 100 - 150. thats what im willing to spend.

No, those wattages that you posted are actually info settings on parts of your motherboard relating to voltage of things like northbridge, southbridge and CPU voltages. These have nothing really to do with your power supply (PSU). You will have to physically look at the PSU in your machine to find it's specs and check out the cabling on it. Otherwise you may have a gateway manual that also provide these specs or you could try searching the gateway website with the model number of your machine and that may also tell you. Personally I would simply examine the PSU and write that stuff down and also check the cabling if you can such as what type of spare plugs there are.

You want to spend 100-150 what? Pounds, US dollars. What currency/country are we talking about?

Can anyone chime in as to what is a decent GPU card for SHV as I must admit that I still haven't purchased SHV. I'm still waiting for it to go in the bargain bin price category. :smug:

dollars of course. and how am i ever going to manually look at it. i think ill try the website.


Edit: i have a GX 4200-09 Series. It says info on models may vary, and it gave 3 numbers.

300 W/400 W/500 W

Ok so USD $. Take a look at Toms Hardware linked here: Best Graphics Cards For The Money: August 2010. Three types of cards to go for. In the USD $100 pricepoint you can choose between the Radeon HD4850 1GB or the Nvidia GTS250 1GB. Only negative with either of these is that they do not offer DX11. For a bit more (USD $135) you could get a Radeon HD5750 1GB card which is a bit faster than the other two cards and also has DX11 support for newer games.

Simply open up your computer case side panel and look on the side of the power supply. It should have a label with all the specs. System integrators like Gateway Computers use generic power supplies and they tend not to be fantastic.

I think you might mean a Gateway DX 4200-09 such as is this link and not GX. This info on the website is all generic by the sounds of it from Gateway. You really need to do what I suggested above and open up your case. My gut feeling is that you may need to upgrade your PSU. But check inside your case first.

Tell us how you go with the power supply info. :)

oops, i meant DX. yea im going to look into it tommrow or later tonight. im going to the beach today :).

yeah, so you might be in luck after all. Those ATI cards are pretty decent cards for there money... Maybe you should also look at the gtx 260. It was a great card for its money during its hayday and i cant imagine it getting any more expensive since then. Your biggest problem is your CPU clock speeds...

Make sure to note the brand of PSU, and if you can get the Amperages of the diagram that should be on it.

Even if it's a 500W, low Amps would still make it unsuitable.


I'd say a GTX260 and a new PSU, or go all the way and get a decent quad, new PSU and GTX460. Should hold you over for 3-5 years.

Yeah a GTX 460 is another good option on the GPU front. At the end of the day if he only has USD $150 to spend then he can forget about new cpu and mb, graphics card and memory. Obviously the GPU is the weak link currently in his system but if he then goes out and buys a new graphics card then the crummy clockspeed CPU he has will become the bottleneck. Let's see what he comes back with regarding the PSU.

I had a set-up similar to his.I in stalled a gtx9800 my cpu would not accept a 260.I kept getting messages-not enough resource-but the 9800 was acceptable.I think he is going to need a better rig all the way around.

here it is.

DC output: 300 W (+3.3v & +5 = 130W max)
AC input: 100 - 127 - 2400 V 7/3.5A, 60/50 Hz

+ 3.3V (one solid line and a dashed line go here) 20.0A (Org) + 5V (sold line and a dashed line) 26.0A (Red) + 12V1 (Sold line and dashed) 8.0A (Yel) + 12V2 (solid and dashed line) 14.0A (Yel/Black) + 5Vsb (solid and dashed line) 2.0A (Purp) -12V (solid line and dashed line) 0.8A (Blue)

Let's see that's:
3.3*20= 66W max on +3.3V line
5*26= 130W max on +5V line
12*8= 96W max on first 12V rail
12*14= 168W max on second 12V rail

For what it's worth: it seems like a decent unit. Delivers 264W of rated 300W on the 12V rails. But it is too light for any kind of gaming rig.

I'd look for something that delivers 35A-40A on the 12V rails, if you're considering something like a GTX260 or GTS250.

Alright, well what CAN i get. as in what graphics card can i get thats enough to run SH5 with most if not all graphics on that DOESNT fry the motherboard. anything except ATI Radeon preferably.


And to clear some things up: Please you guys, understand i am not willing to do a full blown upgrade on my computer. Im not even really looking to buy any more new games. kinda older games, sure but not much else. Ill get what i need to play SH5 without the terribad 9 FPS, but not much else. If i could spare any money itd be spent on something else. im still living with my parents and im 23. i have a job, but every cent i make goes towards my car payment, gas , and my share of the bills. theres no room to save up a 1000 bucks to Do a Full workup on my computer, as much as i want to. and trust me, if i had the cash id defneitely Upgrade this junker. i cant believe i call it that too, its only 3 years old FFS. Its already considered a P.O.S. If you REALLY want a P.O.S ill give you my old computer. there was like 16 MB RAM and about 400 MB Hard Drive. it was FUBAR to the max, it was running windows 95, and its now sitting to the right of me, about 10 feet away collecting dust. its about 16 years old. it cos my dad 1000 dollars When it was bought. A THOUSAND DOLLARS, and 16 years ago. holy S**T thats like 2k back then. i got this machine for 600 bucks, and that includes the printer, speakers, and a few software programs. this machine outperforms that old one 100 fold and it cost 5 times less. just goes to show how fast technology becomes readily available annd cheap and a helluva lot more powerful.

Maybe something like a 210: http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/produ...ce_210_uk.html

But you don't want that. Honestly doubt it would run SH5 any better anyway. :doh:

Even something like a 9500GT, which is pretty low spec and not quite up to SH5, requires 350W (or rather, 18A on that 12V2 rail).

You just can't hook up a decent card to that PSU, and even if you could I doubt that CPU would be willing to cooperate.

I'd suggest a 500-550watt psu, If you have a pci-e slot a 9800 gt or 9800 gtx-that would get you a little more beef for about 200 dollars and probably better than 4fps and it shouldn't jam your cpu

Running it maxed on 8800GTS512 (AA halfway). 9800GTX/GTS250 should do nicely, me thinks. :yep:

edit: Again, given that the CPU is up to the task.

And that he looks at a new PSU.

And that too, of course. :doh:

So theres NOTHING i can get WITHOUT buying a new PSU?? Nothing at all?