Looking to get a new graphics card

You right, but you can always manually change the fan speed on your graphics card; it'll be louder, but you can make do with minimal cooling if you have a high fan speed.
Well uh, take your time to decide when you want to buy, and give us a shout whenever.

that would be okay bc i don't mind fan speed noise, i have my desktop inside the part of my desk where you can close a small door and fan noise would be minimal. I have never actual known how to adjust the fan speed on one tho but i assume it would be easy. Maybe my hp fans aren't that bad, my current card stays impressively cool, around 40, maybe its not overclocked or anything. Also i have 2 slots it looks like for a graphics card to go in, but more like 3-4 slots a various sizes but i say this bc i saw this cooler fan that looks like it can be pushed into one of those slots right above my card and it would keep it cool. Similiar to this, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119097
Maybe I wouldn't have to change my stock fans and just add one of these in?
 
Hey everyone, so my birthday is the 18th of this month and I am planning on getting a new video card as planned. Do you guys know any video cards that can run without having to upgrade my power that cost less then $300, or perhaps one that graphics card + power supply = around $300 hopefully less? Im hoping to be able to run Bad company 2 on max, Shogun 2 on max with smooth fps, and hopefully Crysis 2 on very high.
 
As others have said, to get any worthy GPU your going to need to change your PSU.

If you want Crysis2 on very high a budget GPU just isn't going to cut it. My budget HD4670 struggles with anything over low/medium settings in Crysis, I doubt it would even want to work in Crysis2 without major reductions in gaming performance and playability.

Ideally you want to be looking at a HD6850 a minimum. Others will play those games for less money, but its a false economy as I don't get the impression your the sort of person to swap out a GPU every year to keep updated.

I also wouldn't do much below the Corsair 550w PSU HK recommended, because less wattage and your going to be pushing on the end of the PSU's maximum power which is never a good thing. You should always aim to have reserve with a PSU, and never run it at 100% load. At best that sort of scenario would seriously increase your electric bill, and at worst cause it to fail (possibly taking your computer with it!) after prolonged usage that way.

There is no easy way of saying this, but if you want decent gaming performance you need to spend decent money - you can't cut corners.
 
Thanks for the advice Leeky, in that case I won't skimp. I love to play PC games and although I can't afford to update every year I like to stay up to date somewhat. Ill see about getting a new PSU then, I have never updated my power but i heard its easy. I just hope it fits because i hate to have to return something. If im going to get a new PSU then hopefully i can get a pretty awesome and up to date graphics card that should hold me over for awhile. *I checked newegg for a new PSU and iim alittle confused about something, i assume the more wats the better and therefore more expensive but i see 700W ones costing less then 550W, is it just an amazing deal or perhaps there is more than what Im seeing? Im going to assume all PSU's are the same size.

Also here are a couple of graphics cards I found within my price range (below $200)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500163
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125343
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150516
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127519
Some state they have "Stream Processing Units" and others "Processor Cores" is there any difference?
 
No there is no real difference, however, make sure that you are not using them as a direct indication of speed. Look at benchmarks instead.
I'm on a phone right now, but if I will look asap.
Imo, for two hundred, I'd look at a 6850.
 
I found this recommended by Klepto12, it's slight over my budget but maybe ill put a few bucks if i can have it, the only thing would be is that id have to see if it fits(which i doubt) also 2 power connectors? Im assuming putting this thing in isn't complicated...I have installed video cards before, I just imagine another of those red, white combined wires with the plastic tips with the spikes in it x2, but id have to make sure that the power supply is rite to. Would it make a big different in the long run?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4161349&cm_re=AMD_6870-_-14-161-349-_-Product
 
I found this recommended by Klepto12, it's slight over my budget but maybe ill put a few bucks if i can have it, the only thing would be is that id have to see if it fits(which i doubt) also 2 power connectors? Im assuming putting this thing in isn't complicated...I have installed video cards before, I just imagine another of those red, white combined wires with the plastic tips with the spikes in it x2, but id have to make sure that the power supply is rite to. Would it make a big different in the long run?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4161349&cm_re=AMD_6870-_-14-161-349-_-Product
That's a good card.
Now about the powersupply, actually, if it's not right, your computer will not turn on...
I missed your earlier inquiry about the wattage, but no that's not what you look for. You look for a reputable manufacture, high quality parts, and 12v rail amperage.
The corsair 550w should be good, but it's at the lower limits.
 
you might try this as a power supply Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power
and also that HIS 6870 is a very good card but they are 10.5" long so u might measure to make sure it will fit also there are some great deals on 5850s right now if you look hard you could always pick one of those up there amazing cards.
 
I found this recommended by Klepto12, it's slight over my budget but maybe ill put a few bucks if i can have it, the only thing would be is that id have to see if it fits(which i doubt) also 2 power connectors? Im assuming putting this thing in isn't complicated...I have installed video cards before, I just imagine another of those red, white combined wires with the plastic tips with the spikes in it x2, but id have to make sure that the power supply is rite to. Would it make a big different in the long run?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4161349&cm_re=AMD_6870-_-14-161-349-_-Product
If you're looking at a HD 6870 -and it is a very good card- I'd maybe go for the XFX version- at $215 after MIR + $3 shipping it works out $7.50 cheaper than the HIS - Has a much better warranty, better cooling and far superior support. HIS is somewhat well known for outsourcing it's RMA/Support (Lexy Pacific Corp.) with dubious results.
 
as of late i haven't seen good reviews on xfx products is it just me or are they starting to go down hill i have used HIS cards and there great cards really just up to the OP both are great cards and will perform the same. How is that card cheaper when the HIS is $199 after MIR ?
 
I stand corrected, I didn't notice the HIS MIR.
XFX or HIS generally makes little difference in the long run if you're looking at the reference design. XFX have in general been slipping since they moved to AMD's camp -partially because of the Powerplay issue in the HD5xxx series, and partly a less stringent binning process (seemingly) for their Black Edition and XXX cards (I use two Black Ed. 5850's).
Having said that, I update cards fairly regularly to recoup a higher percentage of the purchase price, and find that the double lifetime warranty becomes a significant factor in the reselling market. If the OP has no inclination to upgrade in the foreseeable future then the AIB of choice becomes a non issue.

If all cards are more or less created equal then the Sapphire at $199 with free shipping and a more complete bundle (HDMI 1.4a cable and adapter) makes better sense.
 
So i measured the inside and it would seem that the gpu would fit, i would just have to move 1 wire which goes around the back of my current gpu to going over it, which shouldn't be a problem. I actually have an extra 100 to spend towards it thanks to amazon, so im going to have to get it there. Doing a quick search I found, the sapphire card but not the XFX, http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-D...1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296795392&sr=8-1-fkmr1
*edit: I actually did find the XFX! (http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-68...1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1296795392&sr=8-3-fkmr1) Can't believe i missed it when i first looked, glad i doubled checked.
The XFX was actually the one i was leading towards but with $100 off i can't argue.
I got $100 amazon gift card to put towards it.

Also If I change my power supply, i wouldn't have to change all the wires connected to it right? They would just plug into the new one. Sorry for all these questions, its just a big purchase and I have been wrong in the past and this time want to get everything right the first time around.

Here is the pic of the inside of my HP desktop, the jumble of red and yellow wires are more towards the camera and shouldn't be in the way of the card, the bigger thicker white wire coming from below is the one i'd have to move alittle, it would seem i could move it around the card however more towards the camera.
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2568/imag0286z.jpg

*edit: All i need to do now is pick a good power supply and then place my order, i guess ill get the XFX unless someone suggests a better card.
 
Umm, no actually I think you would have to re-plug in everything that was connected to the powersupply.
The only exception is if you have a modular powersupply (doesn't look like it), and your new one is compatible with your previous cables.
What do you have currently anyway? The 6870 isn't too demanding, maybe you won't have to change.
 
for not much more you can get the gtx 560 and it overclocks like a champ will match the gtx 570 when its overclocked to around 1000MHZ
 
@H.K.
The OP quoted on the first page, they have a 460w PSU.

@OP
Like it has been said before, if you want a decent GPU you're going to have to replace the PSU unfortunately.

I wouldn't want to "test" the GTX560 on your current PSU, it could overload it and cause it to fail. You need a good quality branded 500w+ PSU to run that GPU ideally.
 
Nah I wouldn't test a GTX560 w/o upgrading my PSU, i was just wondering if the XFX one would work w/o an upgrade but hey it was worth a shot. I was checking on amazon to find a PSU so i could order everything at once. I saw this one (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CMPSU...1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1296882473&sr=8-3-fkmr0) (*the 650W is only $1 more) Would that work combined with the XFX card? Also it seems the GTX card is $20 more, but i'm not sure if it's worth it, it would seem heat wise the XFX card handles well but im not sure about the new GTX?
 
Nah I wouldn't test a GTX560 w/o upgrading my PSU, i was just wondering if the XFX one would work w/o an upgrade but hey it was worth a shot. I was checking on amazon to find a PSU so i could order everything at once. I saw this one (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CMPSU...1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1296882473&sr=8-3-fkmr0) (*the 650W is only $1 more) Would that work combined with the XFX card? Also it seems the GTX card is $20 more, but i'm not sure if it's worth it, it would seem heat wise the XFX card handles well but im not sure about the new GTX?
Yes. The Corsair TX650 will quite happily power any single card on the market.

The HD6870 should be good enough for most situations. The GTX 560 is generally a cool running card. Worst case scenario it's on par with the 6870 when using the reference design, and a few degrees better when non-reference models are compared (this is the Galaxy GC which seems the cheapest on Amazon).
As to which card is a better fit for you, note what games you have and what games you're likely to be playing and seek out reviews. Certain games favour nvidia cards (Call of Duty franchise for example), while others such as F1 2010 tend to like AMD cards more-and the majority of games offer comparable performance under either card manufacturer.
 
Well the two main games im looking forward to running (hopefully max) are BF3, and Shogun 2,I remember BF2 always had the Nvidia Video on intro, it's embedded into my brain, the total war series i'm not so sure, i think either or would be good with total war.

The GTX card looks better to me personally, although according to newegg it has a lower core clock, and the effective memory clock im not sure of says its different followed by 4.2 gbps which i assume would be around what the AMD card has. The only reason id think the nvidia card is better for me is bc its smaller and probably would have an easier time fitting into my case, the 2 fans look..very..cooling aswell.

Also I have a slot for 2 graphics cards to, so the GTX is prob the only one that would fit into that other spot, for future expansions perhaps bc the amd one is huge.

BTW to everyone thats been posting or has posted, you guys are honestly the greatest for taking the time to help me with all of this! TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY!
 
The GTX card looks better to me personally, although according to newegg it has a lower core clock, and the effective memory clock im not sure of says its different followed by 4.2 gbps which i assume would be around what the AMD card has. The only reason id think the nvidia card is better for me is bc its smaller and probably would have an easier time fitting into my case, the 2 fans look..very..cooling aswell.
Don't compare them like that, they are completely different cards.
 
Don't compare them like that, they are completely different cards.

Yup, the GPU architectures are completely different. Shader/cuda/ SPU's cannot be compared either for that reason. Core speed comparison is is only valid if you are comparing two different versions of the same card, otherwise core speed on two contemporary cards is amongst the last things that should be compared when trying to ascertain performance levels.
 
Ok i wont then, I was looking thru amazon and i came across this (http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-...HRAM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1296950002&sr=8-4) I know clocking it makes it faster and run better but also hotter, you think i could get this one, and what you guys think of it?
Also I found MSI(http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N560GTX-T...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1296953172&sr=1-2) **fixed**
and the galaxy one but the link to amazon, im not sure if i posted it before(http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Geforc...8FFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296950002&sr=8-1)
*edited in* I don't understand if maybe some brands are better than others since there all the same card just made by different companies.

There pretty much all the same price and even though it's my birthday i'd put alil more money to get a better card, if lets say..the over-clocked one is better. Im not counting out the Radeon card either, im just checking out nvidia bc I think i heard battlefield games run better (according to them) on it.

I wanted to order today but I have to wait for the amazon cards to get here in 1-2 days so until then im just browsing cards, im def getting the "Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply" and i already added it to my cart on amazon. *edited out
 
Back