What budget graphic card would you recommend?

[Herr-Berbunch]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

Velero, your specs are fine, since you are upgrading your GPU.
Run your machine through this:

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/

IIRC - you have to visit with IE and not Firefox.

Crosswire

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

IIRC - you have to visit with IE and not Firefox.

Crosswire

Pardon

EDIT: Firefox is fine, it's what i use.

[Gerald]

Herr-Berbunch say, in the side so you need to use IE, instead of Fox, as Intel has "requirements"

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Vendor

Herr-Berbunch say, in the side so you need to use IE, instead of Fox, as Intel has "requirements"

I don't see it, sorry:

• Get your complete report in seconds including upgrade suggestions for your computer.
• Only your system's hardware and system software are evaluated.
• No personally identifiable information is collected.
• Works on Windows XP, 2000, 2003, Vista and 7.
• Works with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome browsers.
• You will need to give your permission to download a secure ActiveX/Java browser component.
• You can easily uninstall the ActiveX/Java browser component when the analysis is complete.

[Velero]

"600-watt power requirement", is the minimum I would recommend 750 watts is a minimum if you are going to run dual cards." - Vendor

I wrote 600 watt on top of my head just as an illustration of how far comps have advanced since the last time I bought a computer. Power was not that much of an issue back then. Good point though, on top of my head I can´t remember the power supply I have, when I get back home i will try to find receipt, if not I´ll open her up (Is the watt information displayed on the actual unit?).

Velero, your specs are fine, since you are upgrading your GPU.
Run your machine through this: http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/

A 1 click web tool to scan your system for hardware and setup configurations, select Silent Hunter 5 from the dropdown and hit canyourunit, let it do its thing and it'll give you a result.
And what power supply are you running?
What Vendor said is a good measuring tool. - Feuer Frei!

Thanks for the link F Frei, tried both on IE and Firefox, (both worked) website says that my system meets all the recommended requirements. Don´t get me wrong I can play this game no problem. It´s just my system slows down to a crawl when in range of a large task force or in heavy traffic. I run the game with all apps closed, with no shadows, no particles and no AA, as for mods I have MO installed but not dynamic environment, the need for a new graphic card derives from the desire to play Open Horizons II and Dynamic Environment and variants at full pelt. here´s hoping...

For a 460 minimum power supply needed 700 watts and a x2 PCE power leads as I recall - SeaWolf U-57

I´ll bear that in mind, thank you, (Don´t the x2 pce power leads come with the card?) I´ll double check.

[SeaWolf U-57]

No as far as I remember only one x2 4 pin power pickups into one PCE
they think you should have one 4/6 pin PCE power cord from
your power supply.
safest way is to buy a power supply that has x2 4/6 pin PCE power cords
Best to check it out

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Velero

if not I´ll open her up (Is the watt information displayed on the actual unit?).

Correct.

Thanks for the link F Frei, tried both on IE and Firefox, (both worked) here´s hoping..

Np, keep us posted.

I´ll bear that in mind, thank you, (Don´t the x2 pce power leads come with the card?) I´ll double check.

The contents of the box are generally considered to be this:
GeForce GTX 460 SE Video Card, 2 x PCIe 6-Pin Power Connectors, DVI to VGA Adapter, mini-HDMI Cable, Installation Manual, Drivers Disc.
As i stated before the minimum PSU you need is 450W.
You will be more than adequately covered with 600W.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

I don't see it, sorry:
[/LIST]

Sorry, I last used it about six months ago, and it would only allow IE. Obviously they've changed that requirement for the better.

[SeaWolf U-57]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

Correct.
Np, keep us posted.

2 x PCIe 6-Pin Power Connectors
As i stated before the minimum PSU you need is 450W.
You will be more than adequately covered with 600W.

x2 PCIe 6 pin power conectors that are supplied by 4 x4pin power conectors so you will need x4 4pin conectors free from your power
supply unit running flat out when running a game as well as the extra
power it pulls from the board itself. so that dont leave many for the extra cooling fans you will need
and all this running on a 600w psu ....

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by SeaWolf U-57

x2 PCIe 6 pin power conectors that are supplied by 4 x4pin power conectors so you will need x4 4pin conectors free from your power
supply unit running flat out when running a game as well as the extra
power it pulls from the board itself. so that dont leave many for the extra cooling fans you will need
and all this running on a 600w psu ....

The 460 is only a 160W card, for the 1024mb model.
the 768mb is a 150W card.
System wattage under full stress, tested with a i7 o'd to 3.75 ghz, energy saving functions disabled for mobo, and to boot the test system has water cooling, additional cold cathode lights: 307W.
600w is ample. If you are running a sli config, then 750-800 is adequate.

SOURCE

nVidia's take is:

Thermal and Power Specs:
Maximum GPU Temperature (in C)104 C Maximum Graphics Card Power (W)160 W Minimum Recommended System Power (W)450 W Supplementary Power Connectors6-pin & 6-pin

Cooling, or rather how much you need is entirely dependent upon person's case, for one.

[SeaWolf U-57]

as I said you will need extra cooling fans look at the temp's
your example sheet is running at.
they are quoting bare min system and not long term running
but still your mind is made up

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by SeaWolf U-57

as I said you will need extra cooling fans look at the temp's
your example sheet is running at.
they are quoting bare min system and not long term running
but still your mind is made up

What about the temps? Temps are perfectly acceptable,
Graphics Card TEMP IDLE C TEMP FULL C
eVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB 32 56
MSI GTX 460 Cyclone OC 35 58
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 768MB 33 60
eVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB SC edition 34 64
Zotac GTX 460 1024MB 34 72
Palit GTX 460 1GB Sonic Platinum 36 79

Temps actually seem to be on par with my 2nd rig's 570.
And very good temps too in testing (460).
A gtx 480 runs at 50C idle and up to 91C full load.
That card is also designed to run a bit hotter.
Bare min. system requirements? You're talking about nVidia's psu requirements? Or the the guru3d guys test setup?
As with all min requirements when it comes to computing, whether it is gaming or hardware, i never recommend "go for minimum, you'll be ok".
Never have, never will.
I don't understand your "they are quoting bare minimum system".
Long term running? Stress tests are designed to do just that, test hardware to it's fullest, in a shorter amount of time than would a 1 week Crysis gaming binge.
Stress tests are designed to give a realistic and unbiased test result for consumers who are looking at purchasing said product.
A stress test shouldn't need to take longer than 30 minutes of testing for heat, cpu stress/overload, any tearing, stuttering, visual abnormalities, frame rate drops etc etc etc.
Made my mind up?
Well, i have. But it's not about me here though, so i'm just giving advice.

[Velero]

Thanks guys, I finally opened her up, and sadly it seems the PSU is a 500 Watt model, as can be seen from the picture below.

[/IMG]


From your comments a 460 card will be pushing my system to the very limits of it´s capacity. So the question is now, do I go ahead purchase the card, and try to see if it works, or alternatively should I bow to the inevitable and buy a 700/750 watt PSU? Would a low spec one endanger my system? i.e burn the whole thing.

Thank you once again guys, I see that replacing the card is not as easy as at first it would have seemed.

[Gerald]

You must keep in mind that it is NOT, only graphic card that needs watts, with a good amp values,you have the HDD, fans, and possibly another that requires power...

[TheDarkWraith]

You must also ensure that the 'rails' of the power supply can supply the required amperage to the video card. It can be a 700W PS but if the +12V rail can only supply 15A and the video card requires 20A then it will do you no good. Watch out for this pit fall.

In the photo above the 500W PS's +12V rail can supply 16A. I don't know what the spec is for the 460 card. Plugging in multiple connectors doubles the amperage. i.e.: for my 590 card it requires 50+ amps of current and my +12V rails can supply 35A (1.2kW PS) thus it has two 6 pin connectors plugged into the card to meet this requirement.