Graphics upgrade from Radeon 4350

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SgtBlades

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With the information I can gather on the upcoming ATI Radeon HD 5670, I'm wondering if upgrading to that when it releases if I should upgrade to it.
Current setup:
standard Dell Studio XPS 435MT
psu @ 355watts
video- ati radeon hd 4350
processor- intel core i7 920
Nothing oced and I'm fine with playin games like Crysis at all medium with decent fps.
From what I have read on the 5670, I imagine the power needed on it would be definitely less than 100watts as it draws it's power from the mobo.
Good idea to upgrade when card available?
The 80 vs 400 SPs is the most enticing part.
 
Hi Sgt,
that would be a healthy upgrade, I would just advise that it will most likely draw close to the maximum (75) watts afforded by the PCIE slot, as opposed to the 45w that the 4350 uses. The reason I say that is your 355w psu is rather small, and if its a oem PSU in a Dell its probably a bestech, delta, or the like, and not very good quality.
hope that helps :)
 
Hi Sgt,
that would be a healthy upgrade, I would just advise that it will most likely draw close to the maximum (75) watts afforded by the PCIE slot, as opposed to the 45w that the 4350 uses. The reason I say that is your 355w psu is rather small, and if its a oem PSU in a Dell its probably a bestech, delta, or the like, and not very good quality.
hope that helps :)

I concur that it should work. But you are going to be close and you are definitly going to put more strain on your PSU. A friend of mine did something similar decently ( don't remember the exact specs), and he ended up buring out his PSU and having to get a replacement. Not the end of the world by any means but just be aware.
 
the wattage isn't as important as the amperage, and some cards that use the same operating wattage don't use the same amperage. you just need to find the requirements of the 5670 and then what your PSU can suppor - amps on the +12v rail(s). i can't see the 5670 requiring any more than 20 something amps, but idk for sure.
 
Awsum yall. Thanks. A psu upgrade has already been on my list of of things to do. Just haven't gotten around to researchin a good one under $100. From experience, I know how crappy Dell psus are. My last comp was a hand-me-down dell dimension 8300. Already saw 2 years constant use by the time I got it.
Anyways, thanks yall. Just waitin now for the 5670 to arrive
 
Let me know if you are happy with the performance as i am a "medium" setting gamer most of the time as well. I am curious how your real life impressions are as most of the benchmarks i find are all compared at high graphical settings.
 
Dude, same here. One thing I really don't like about most benchmarks: everyone always has vsync off. I ALWAYS, ALWAYS have that on or I just can't play. It looks too choppy. ANd turning vsync on always drops my fps by like 20 or 30 on my 4350. I can go without AA, just not vsync. Also, even so with medium settings, I mostly play older or less "need insanely expensive hardware to play this game" games like Call of Duty 2 or CodMW2 (I absolutely love the engine in MW2; so much brilliance with such little hardware) or any Source game (with source games I just crank it to the max and runs fine).
Anyways, patience, you must have. hehe
 
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