Upgrade Advice?

[studiostustar]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum here. I was wondering if someone could help me out. I'm wanting to upgrade my graphics on a budget. Here is my current desktop configuration:

Compaq Presario SR2180NX
Windows 7
Intel Pentium 3Ghz Processor
3GB Ram
250GB HD
300w PSU
Geforce 7200GS

I'm looking to spend $100, but I can probably stretch that to $125 or so. I'm mainly interested in smooth gameplay at 720p for my NBA 2K10. I understand I may need to include a new PSU in that budget as well. I appreciate anyone's help!

[Aaron_8015]

GPU
Newegg.com - MSI R4670-MD512 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

PSU
Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE ST350 350W ATX12V 2.2 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Your current PSU may be enough to power the card.... We need:

Make
Model
Watts
Amps (on +12v rail/s)

Also is this a standard shape/size tower?

[ShyguyXPC]

Compaq Presario SR2180NX PC specifications - HP Home & Home Office Products

[Aaron_8015]

That would be a yes to my last question then...

[ShyguyXPC]

the big question would be, does it take a standard ATX design Power supply, or some sort of Proprietary or MicroATX or Small Form Factor Design Power supply?

Should take a full size ATX design, but with Compaq, HP, Dell, etc, sometimes you never know.

[studiostustar]

Thanks for the replys! Guess what, I just noticed that I actually have a 350w power supply. It is a Thermaltake Purepower 2.0. So I guess this changes things a bit. What would you recommend now?

[ShyguyXPC]

new Power supply

seriously, some of those Thermaltakes like Coolermasters Power Supplies are Hit or miss for dependability.

Thermaltakeusa*»*Power Supply*»*250W - 400W*»*Purepower Standard 350W PSU : Purepower Standard 350W PSU W0118RU

Like I was saying, new Power Supply will be needed, it only has 15 Amps on the +12V rail, not enough for a decent Video card upgrade.

on the plus side we know your dealing with a standard ATX design Power supply.

so that opens up your choices significantly.

I'm not familiar with NBA 2K10, haven't played any EA sports games since NHL 2001 LOL...

but for your budget range.

and assuming you have the adjacent slot next to the PCI Express Slot open, for a dual Slot video card.

something like this would/should suffice:

Power Supply: Newegg.com - Antec Basiq BP430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.2 Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Video card: Newegg.com - HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

or

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-N96TZL-512I GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

or

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-N964-LR GeForce 9600 GSO 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

one of these cards would/should work fine... as well as not be too much card for your CPU (CPU might be a bottleneck for anything higher than these anyways, or at least higher than a 9800GT/GTX)

but keep in mind, I'm not familiar with NBA's GPU requirements, but I would imagine those cards should be more than enough to play it at 720p resolutions at very playable framerates.

the 9600GT I think is the best card there, the 4670 lags behind it a bit in most benchmarks, and the 9600GSO usually is around the GT's performance, the two are almost the same in many respects, one has more stream processors, but the other greater clock speeds and Memory bus, etc.

depending on the games, that might make a difference too, for all I know NBA may prefer ATI cards over Nvidia, which would give the Radeon the better chance.

[studiostustar]

Thanks shyguy that helps out a lot. I think I will go for the 4670 and that power supply. Question, is there a difference between the different brands of the 4670?

[ShyguyXPC]

aside from maybe the cooler used and clock speeds (some are stock speeds, others might be Factory Overclocked), not really. the big differences would be Warranty and Customer Service Quality.