Recommend me a graphics card

[Tony]

Hi, i have the EMachines E4064 listed here.
http://uk.emachines.com/support/product_support.html?cat=Desktops&subcat=4000%20Series&model=E4064

It only has a 300 watt power supply.
Bestec model ATX 300 - RE REV - F1R.

I have had a look inside the machine today, and i do not really fancy the job of upgrading the PSU, and as i am not a gamer, i do not need a high powered card, i only really want one to get rid of the on board card and free up the memory that it uses.

I dont want to go ahead myself and pick one in case it will put too much of a strain on the PSU, and as there are many knowledgeable people on this forum i am hoping that some of you can help point me in the right direction.

I will look forward to any recommendations and advice.

Thank you.

[FastGame]

-{ Quote: "as i am not a gamer, i do not need a high powered card" }-

In that case your onboard video is all you need.

IMO you would be much better off spending the $ on more memory, not on another video card.

Do you want better video card because you're using Vista ?

[clansman77]

you can go for any nvidia 8400gs based ddr3 256 mb memory card imho.or if you have more cash then go for 8500gt based card..

[dNor]

If you're not gaming and low on power, something like an 8400GS will be fine. Around $50 US, DirectX 10 for future Vista use (if ever), draws little power, solid performance for the price.

The memory is only 64-bit, so if you want to step it up you could go to an 8500GT or higher, although the power consumption starts to increase visibly (although not dramatically).

Not incredibly familiar with ATI's latest batch of cards.

Here's an example of an 8400GS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814145148

Edit: and clansman77 beats me to it!

[ErikAlbert]

This is my graphics card :
Sapphire (PCI-E) X550 Advantage 256M DDR PCI-E VGA/TVO/DVI-I Heatsink 128bit 200Mhz

Is that a good one or just for average usage ? Don't even understand what it means. LOL.

[dNor]

-{ Quote: "This is my graphics card :
Sapphire (PCI-E) X550 Advantage 256M DDR PCI-E VGA/TVO/DVI-I Heatsink 128bit 200Mhz

Is that a good one or just for average usage ? Don't even understand what it means. LOL." }-

For average use it should be fine. It doesn't feature DX10 if that matters at all to you, and it could be a lot better. If you're not gaming you won't see much, if any, of a difference using a different card though, so you're fine, especially on XP.

[Tony]

Thanks for taking the time to reply :)

The 8400GS looks like it will be suitable, maybe pushing it a little with the 8500GT.
Thanks clansman77 and dNor for the suggestions.


Thanks also FastGame, my plans were, graphics card for my birthday and memory upgrade for Christmas :D
I also had Linux in mind with regards to the graphics card, and the X200 is a bit of a pain in the butt to get working with Beryl.
I should have mentioned this.

Thanks again, and i would welcome any other suggestions or advice.

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "For average use it should be fine. It doesn't feature DX10 if that matters at all to you, and it could be a lot better. If you're not gaming you won't see much, if any, of a difference using a different card though, so you're fine, especially on XP." }-
Thanks, then I'm OK. I don't do any graphical stuff. Some video-editing, but I don't watch video on my computer.

[Tony]

I`ve had the 8400GS installed for 3 days now.
System is performing perfectly and stable, much better so than with the onboard graphics.

One question, speedfan shows the card as running at between 51 and 54 degrees C.
Is this temperature ok??

Thanks again :)

[dNor]

-{ Quote: "I`ve had the 8400GS installed for 3 days now.
System is performing perfectly and stable, much better so than with the onboard graphics.

One question, speedfan shows the card as running at between 51 and 54 degrees C.
Is this temperature ok??

Thanks again :)" }-

Glad it's workin for you. :)

~55C is fine.

[Firecat]

Well, to be honest an 8400GS should be pretty OK for a 300W PSU......I even once ran a GeForce FX 5900 on a 300W PSU without significant problems :D

[dNor]

-{ Quote: "Well, to be honest an 8400GS should be pretty OK for a 300W PSU......I even once ran a GeForce FX 5900 on a 300W PSU without significant problems :D" }-

Yep that's why it was recommended. :thumb:

[innerpeace]

Hi, how would that card do with gaming. I also have a similar setup with an e-machines w3410, 300W power supply and on board graphics. I'm not looking to watch dvd's, just maybe play slightly older releases of games. I'm also looking for a good deal with this weeks sales ;).

I'm ordering a cd/dvd burner and an external HDD this week, but if I can find a good deal on a decent graphics card, I will grab it. I'm in the US and have used Newegg before and like them. If you see anything, please let me know.

Thanks,
innerpeace

[farmerlee]

If you want something recent and cheap you could try the Radeon HD 2400.

[innerpeace]

Thanks farmerlee, This may sound like a silly question, but is a DirectX 10 card backwards compatible? I only have DirectX 9.0c and Windows XP home. I did have a look and can find some for around $50.

[farmerlee]

-{ Quote: "Thanks farmerlee, This may sound like a silly question, but is a DirectX 10 card backwards compatible? I only have DirectX 9.0c and Windows XP home. I did have a look and can find some for around $50." }-
I found out it is fully compatible with directx 9 and windows xp/mce. Its a good option if plan to upgrade to vista in the future.

[innerpeace]

-{ Quote: "I found out it is fully compatible with directx 9 and windows xp/mce. Its a good option if plan to upgrade to vista in the future." }-
Thanks. I will have a good look at it then. I'll also assume that the 'off-brands' will be DX9 compatible too.

[Tony]

-{ Quote: "Glad it's workin for you. :)

~55C is fine." }-

Thanks dNor :thumb:

[markymoo]

Don't spend more than £30 or it waste of money for your needs. Your pc takes DDR memory so for the same money you could buy 1gb Low Latency CAS 3

DX10 PCI-Express

Nvidia
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=617626
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=661337
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=644798
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=656168
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=626988

ATI
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=632068
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=673525
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=667142
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=632512
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=707458

DDR Memory
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.asp?CatID=22&Category=Memory&ThumbNails=Yes&FilterKeywords=&FilterMinPrice=&FilterMaxPrice=&FilterCategories=82&OrderBy=1

[Durad]

I would suggest you to replace that power supply first because these are known as system destroyers.

Check google about eMachine and power supply problems.

[innerpeace]

-{ Quote: "I would suggest you to replace that power supply first because these are known as system destroyers.

Check google about eMachine and power supply problems." }-
Thanks Durad, I did google as suggested and you are right. I guess I will hold off on buying a graphics card until I upgrade my power supply. I don't want to press my luck.

@ markymoo

Thank you for the links. It looks like it is a smart idea to upgrade my PS first. I will bookmark your links for later use.

[markymoo]

hmmm just use this psu calculator and see how many watts you use.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

[innerpeace]

Hi markymoo, I'm not sure what to enter for cpu. I'm confused about which one to pick under the 'socket' types. It's and AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.19 gigahertz, 128 kilobyte primary memory cache, 512 kilobyte secondary memory cache.

I also added another 512MB of RAM this year for a total of 1024MB, but with my built in graphics (ATI express 200) I end up with 896MB. One of the best investments I have made :).

I opened my box tonight and found out my PSU is a Bestec ATX-300-12E Rev: D. I'm not sure if this is one of the more reliable one's that emachines used or not. I have had this machine for 2 1/3 years and shut it down when not using it. I just don't want to push my luck by installing a graphics card that may end up killing my computer. Of course I will consider getting a PSU and one of the suggested graphics cards if I can afford it.

[WSFuser]

You can use CPU-Z to find your processor name/model (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download425.html) and for memory you would select 1024mb because thats how much you have total.

[innerpeace]

Thanks WSFuser, it's a Newcastle S745. Now, if I can just figure out what all the PCI stuff means on the calculator, I'll be set.

I also have Everest Home Edition installed for now.

[markymoo]

The psu calculator is quite accurate. Just choose 1 socket for your cpu. It set at 85% utilization. As long as you won't be pushing the pc to its limit like a heavy game thats a good mark. To be honest psu's in emachines and budget systems are of low quality. A cheap psu can make your pc crash. Bestec are mass produced by a cheap taiwanese company. They do ok but not so efficient. A PSU is never 100% efficient, some of it lost as heat. A good one is upto 85% efficient. So that cheap 300W might be only 70% efficient and is only producing a real 210W and is made up of cheap parts. Also they can lie about the true power it can produce in the first place. If money is tight, save up for one quality part 1 month at a time. Then you have a great pc. :) Chip prices will come down again soon. People who went out and bought a quad core will find they wasted there money as 2 new intel chips come out next year that make quad core look slow. Intel chips dont consume as much power more energy efficient than AMD and you get faster speed for cheaper. so wait till autumn next year before upgrading, anyways get a good quality psu around 400W from one of the brands i recommend.


Quality PSU Brands and do what they claim.

XCilo
Hiper
Antec
Tagan
Corsair
Fortron
EnerMax
SeaSonic
SilverStone

[Tony]

Ok, you got me concerned now lol.

I have just done a calculation however on http://www.extreme.outervision.com

And providing i have correctly marked everything, then my Recommended PSU Wattage is 238 watts ???

[markymoo]

yes thats about right over 200W for sure around 220-240W

it best you get another 1GB of memory. this would give better performance gains than a low end graphics card over your existing graphics and you wouldn't need to buy another PSU. the improvements of a budget graphics card over your existing onboard will be minimal. if you don't get the one you want you end up buying twice anyway and get the one you really wanted lol

[innerpeace]

I want to thank everyone again. I'm looking hard at PSU's at the moment.

@markymoo, Thanks, I will have a look at the brands you mentioned. I'm trying to choose a quality unit because when I'm done using this machine, a relative will get it. Your list will help me :).

[markymoo]

yes send it to a good home for a good rest. hehe

Go see a man called Dave. He know an awful lot on PSU's

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t136602.html

and look out for a man called JonnyGuru. He just lives and breathes PSU's

http://www.jonnyguru.com

[innerpeace]

-{ Quote: "yes send it to a good home for a good rest. hehe" }-
LOL

-{ Quote: "Go see a man called Dave. He know an awful lot on PSU's

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t136602.html

and look out for a man called JonnyGuru. He just lives and breathes PSU's

http://www.jonnyguru.com" }-
I'll have a look. I'm learning more than I wanted to at the moment. I'd rather play with security software programs :P . The place I shop at, newegg.com seems to have a new community forum eggxpert.com so I'm giving it a try too. Newegg only ships in the US in case anyone was reading this. Thanks markymoo :).

[markymoo]

Yes everything is so cheaper there in the states like on newegg. I used to read the newegg users comments on products that was interesting. Have you played with Comodo 3.0 firewall yet? The final is out, it highly rated.

[innerpeace]

-{ Quote: "Yes everything is so cheaper there in the states like on newegg. I used to read the newegg users comments on products that was interesting. Have you played with Comodo 3.0 firewall yet? The final is out, it highly rated." }-
Nah, I'm not currently setup to try new programs. That's why I'm looking for hardware lol. I did get version 2.4, but I waited a couple weeks after the release until the masses found the bugs. I'm glad I did because there were fixes for problems.

I think I have found an Antec that might suit my needs. 380 watts should be enough for me.