StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Okay, I'm way out of the loop when it comes to PC Hardware. My present system is a Dell Inspiron 530, granted it's not top notch, but a Quad Core Q6600, and a decent sized HDD and it having had no problems means it has served me well.

The only downside has been the integrated Radeon HD2400 HD. Surprisingly it ran MW2 fairly well albeit at low resolutions.

However, there's no doubt about it, its really getting beyond it. First off, what would you recommend as a card for gaming, but not one that is too over the top pricewise.

I was recommended this....

Sue me, PC world are easy to use for links

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/asus-ati- ... xtor=AL-11

Another thing, bar opening the case, is there a way of finding out what PSU would my PC have, I'm assuming a 350w which would mean a new PSU could be needed, though it could be a 300w.

It'll mainly be used for gaming, though I'm also using word processing etc, the graphics card I've got is obviously fine for that. I'm looking at a mid range price, to about £100-£110.

I'm not particularly concerned on playing at the very highest resolutions.

Game examples I have are STALKER, World in Conflict (This works fine but the characters look like burn victims in the cutscenes), Metro 2033, Red Faction Guerilla, MW2, those sort of games.

The Present system is a Dell Inspiron 530, it was all I could afford at the time but is okay. I'm not looking to replace the entire system, so that is out, especially as I had to lay out money on a new monitor a couple of weeks ago.

As I say, I'm way out of the loop on the numbering conventions that each of the main chipset makers use.

If your computer is a Dell, you should be able to find out what all of your components are by going to their support sight and entering your Service Tag number. It's usually a string of 7-9 letters and numbers. It might take some digging, but if you don't want to open up your case (ironic, considering you're trying to get an expansion card), that'll be the best way to find out.

As for video card recommendations, the Radeon 5670 will suit you just fine, assuming your power supply is *not* 350 watts and you have an open PCI-E slot. I'm using a 5770, which is right around the same price point. The biggest hurdle you're likely to find is space, because Dell likes to over-engineer their cases, which can, on a lot of models, make expansions/replacements a bitch.

EDIT: And keep an eye out for a video card's extra requirements. FOr a few generations now, many PCI-E cards have required an extra power source from the PSU, so you'll need to check to see if you have the right cables for that, too, or else buy a cheap adapter.

If it helps its one of these types of cases.



I made sure not to bother with the slimline option

Joviwan wrote:the Radeon 5670 will suit you just fine, assuming your power supply is *not* 350 watts

Yeah it totally needs a 305w.

According to Dell, it's only a 300W PSU. You will probably need a new one, I'd say a 400W would do you just fine. At Overclockers.co.uk, you could get an XFX-branded Radeon HD5670 with 512MB of VRAM and a 400W Corsair PSU for £114.87, including VAT and DPD Next Day Parcel shipping.

Let me rephrase that: I'm running it on a 305w.

What resolution do you want to run at? 1920 x 1080? Personally I would not bother with a 56xx series card, for 85 pounds you can get the much superior 5750 (95 pounds if you want the 1 gigabyte version, which is recommended if you're planning to keep it a long time). Incidentally the AMD 67xx series cards are supposed to be out in October or November, so that'll be the next significant price drop for all the existing AMD cards.

The 57xx series however are dual slot cards or single slot cards with enormous coolers technically making them dual slot. This would possibly be a problem when upgrading a Dell.

Starglider wrote:What resolution do you want to run at? 1920 x 1080? Personally I would not bother with a 56xx series card, for 85 pounds you can get the much superior 5750 (95 pounds if you want the 1 gigabyte version, which is recommended if you're planning to keep it a long time). Incidentally the AMD 67xx series cards are supposed to be out in October or November, so that'll be the next significant price drop for all the existing AMD cards.

I don't particularly bother about playing at the highest resolution, though I don't see a 5750 for 85 pounds, not on Overclocked unless you see the price before VAT.

Jade Falcon wrote:I don't particularly bother about playing at the highest resolution, though I don't see a 5750 for 85 pounds, not on Overclocked unless you see the price before VAT.

Overclockers are good for specialist parts like this and this, but they're significantly overpriced for standard mass market parts. I just use Scan, Dabs or Froogle for those (depending on how much I want to save the last few pounds), e.g. Radeon 5750 for 87 pounds.