Graphics card advice.

[x_Fiona_X]

Hi all,

I'm looking to replace my graphics card which no longer works in my PC, however I have absolutely no idea where to start with these. My current card is:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...-PCIE-1GB-CO-R

I'm guessing that's probably quite old, but my friend has a card he no longer uses which is:

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desk...specifications

He said I could buy it from him for 50$, would this be a good idea? Unfortunately I can't provide my details for my PC as i can't actually turn it on without my graphics card. >.<

I've tried to do some research on my own, by comparing the two and the gtx295 comes out a lot better than the one I have.

http://www.hwcompare.com/5069/geforc...adeon-hd-5450/

I suppose i'm just looking for a second opinion, or possibly an alternative suggestion if anyone has one. Thank you!

[Deleted]

what games and res do you play at?

[x_Fiona_X]

what games and res do you play at?

I think the resolution is either 1280x720 or 1024x768, certain it's one of those. I don't really play any games at the moment, but I think Wildstar when that is released

[Taiknee]

I wouldn't recommend buying your friends GPU since it appears to be stuck at directx10

[DeltrusDisc]

Well yeah, the GTX 295 is better than the 5450. The 5450 was never intended as a gaming GPU, it was meant for light media and video watching, gaming? No. The 295 on the other hand, is a beast. It was the kingpin of its day and was the best you could get, pretty much. For $50 it is honestly probably worth it, but I would want to know what kind of power supply you have, as the GTX 295 was a real watt-hungry monster.

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I wouldn't recommend buying your friends GPU since it appears to be stuck at directx10

He can live without DX11. The GTX 295 is a steal, even today, in early 2014, for $50. Though if he can get some more cash, or has more cash, a more current solution would be better, thanks to less heat produced, better cooler, better performance, etc etc.

[glo]

You'll likely need a new PSU and possibly case to support it if you're using a pre-built.

[x_Fiona_X]

Well yeah, the GTX 295 is better than the 5450. The 5450 was never intended as a gaming GPU, it was meant for light media and video watching, gaming? No. The 295 on the other hand, is a beast. It was the kingpin of its day and was the best you could get, pretty much. For $50 it is honestly probably worth it, but I would want to know what kind of power supply you have, as the GTX 295 was a real watt-hungry monster.

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He can live without DX11. The GTX 295 is a steal, even today, in early 2014, for $50. Though if he can get some more cash, or has more cash, a more current solution would be better, thanks to less heat produced, better cooler, better performance, etc etc.

This is sort of what I was hoping to hear! Unfortunately money is very tight for me at the moment, so I can't really afford to buy anything fancy. Although on the back the power supply is "Max output power is 750W" if that helps at all

[glo]

This is sort of what I was hoping to hear! Unfortunately money is very tight for me at the moment, so I can't really afford to buy anything fancy. Although on the back the power supply is "Max output power is 750W" if that helps at all

Can you give us the 12v ratings on the power supply? It should be on a label on the unit itself. You'll need to open the case.

[DeltrusDisc]

You may be able to make the 295 work, and I say may because of what glo said and the fact we still don't know everything about your computer - which I must ask about. Could you provide the dear forum a DXDiag of your system, or if you know all of the parts, what everything in your system is? The more detailed, the better!

What we are mainly looking for to help you out, is computer OEM, if you did not build it yourself, and if it was a company, the product name and version itself.

Power supply brand and any info you can give us on it.

[x_Fiona_X]

Sorry for the late reply, i'm not really confident when it comes to looking inside my PC, so i'm quite slow. I've done a lot of searching also and all I really know is:

Processor is an AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.9GHz,

2GB RAM

WinPower power supply 750W Output:
+5V 36A Max
+3.3V 35A Max
+12V1 18A Max
+12V2 21A Max
-12V 0.3A Max
+5V/SB 2.0A Max

Motherboard GA-M57SLI-S4 - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=2287#ov

I hope that is enough to help, thank you again.