Looking to upgrade my video card. Not sure what to get.

[TorturedChaos]

Ok so the machine I have I really want to upgrade. But I'm not sure what is going to be over kill, and if my machine will take the graphics card.

What I have is an Emachine T6532. Now that link is to the original manufactures specs on my machine. But the one I have has been through a house fire, so I had to transfer it to a different case (I just so happened to have another Emachine case laying around ). And of course the DVD burner drive had to be replaced, and I also added a new sound card (which im not very happy with, and will probably be getting something different soon.)

As far as the specs of the machine currently, I attached the System summery from Power PC 2008. I think that has most of the info in it.

The power supply in it Right now is a 288 watt Bestec. Model ATX-300-12e Rev: DR

I'm thinking i will probably have to get a new power supply.

I was looking at a couple cards, and lost the links to most of them but here are two I like the looks of.

higher end card: PNY VCG96512GXPB GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

This is the card that was recommend in the building a pc guide for the budget machine.

and a mid-grade card: XFX PVT84JYAJG GeForce 8600 GT 512MB

Now I would like to stay under the $100 mark, although the first card I listed is a bit over that.

Any help with be nice, and if you need any additional information please let me know.

Thanks,

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Ok assuming $100 is your total budget, if you're willing to go for rebates, I recommend this card and this PSU. If you can't\won't, then get this card and this PSU instead. It'll go over $100 by around $20, but you'll get good-quality products that will last for longer.

If $100 is your video card budget only, then the 9600GT is a fine choice, but you'll need a new PSU for it. I recommend the Antec EA430W I recommended above.

 

[TorturedChaos]

Ok assuming $100 is your total budget, if you're willing to go for rebates, I recommend this card and this PSU. If you can't\won't, then get this card and this PSU instead. It'll go over $100 by around $20, but you'll get good-quality products that will last for longer.

If $100 is your video card budget only, then the 9600GT is a fine choice, but you'll need a new PSU for it. I recommend the Antec EA430W I recommended above.

I do like the looks of the first combo. I noticed that it needs a "PCI Express 2.0 x16" Now i know my Mobo has a PCI Express x16 slot. Does the "2.0" make any differance, or will that go in any PCI Express x16 slot??

Also i might be adding a 2nd hdd and mabey another dvd burner to this machine. Will I have enough power for that??

Also, do you guys think it is worth it to add that graphics card and power supply, or is it over kill with this machine. basically, im wondering if i will see the full impact of the card with this mobo and processor.

Thanks for all the help

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Yeah, PCI-E 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCI-E 1.0 slots, so you won't have any problems. As for power, yes, the EA430W will provide enough power for all that and even allow you to upgrade to a more powerful card like the HD 4850 later.

As for if it is worth it or not, that basically depends on how much you game on the PC. If it's used mainly for gaming, then you'd be better off investing money in a new PC.

 

[TorturedChaos]

Well I plan to build a new pc also but i would like to upgrade this one too. So that way I have one to play on and my gf can use this one.

Because my PCI-Express slot is v1.0 am I going to see a reduced performance from that card, and would it be better to try to find one that is PCI-Express 1.0?

 

[nickc]

TorturedChaos, I do not think u will see reduced performance, as the v2.0 has not been utilized yet on any cards.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

No, you will not suffer any performance penalty. It will work just fine.

 

[TorturedChaos]

Well thats good to know. I think I will be ordering that card and power supply then. Thanks for the help guys