Upgrading graphics card, help needed please!

Clutterfree

Thanks for your help.
The card linked in Gonzos post is out of stock. Is this the same item?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/amdradeongraphicscards/amdhd7850series/MSI/R7850-1GD5OC.html#utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=products

I have checked the PC and it has a 500 power supply and an Asus motherboard. It does have a PCIe slot which the current graphics card is in so is it just a case of swapping them?

My son has also seen this card.
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-amd-radeon-7850-hd-860mhz-2gb-pci-express-3-0-hdmi-core-edition-89S7.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product%20search&utm_content=Q200

It hass 1GB more than the first one, but is it better or even compatible?

The games he wants to play but are currently too slow on his PC are:
Grand Theft Auto 4
Hitman
Planetside 2

Should this card upgrade improve this?

Many thanks. Apologies for all these questions but I don't want to end up with a card that is no good as they are not cheap.

gonzo127

yes the novatech card is the same as the one i linked,

as to the other one you have linked, if you read the review i posted, in general the extra 1gb of ram on the graphics card makes very little difference if you are gaming at 1920x1080 or under, and in some instances the lower ram card will be quicker due to the factory overclock on the card, however if he is going to be playing on resolutions higher than 1920x1080 then the 2gb card will be better

Clutterfree

Gonzo, sorry me again!
Is there any difference between these 2 cards please?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/amdradeongraphicscards/amdhd7850series/fx-785a-znfc.html

And

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/amdradeongraphicscards/amdhd7850series/MSI/R7850-1GD5OC.html#utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=products

I see the second one says over clocked but I don't really understand the difference!
The first one comes with 6 games, one of which my son wants for Christmas so, if there is no difference between the two then that makes more financial sense rather than buying the game separately.

Also my son has been told he will need a new PSU to run this card and has been recommended this

http://www.ebuyer.com/271798-corsair-430w-v2-cx-series-psu-cp-9020046-uk

Is that correct and is it easy to fit?

Thanks again for any help and apologies for all the questions, I'm just wary of making an expensive mistake.

gonzo127

ok well the difference between the card is the overclock, so i will try to explain what it means,

so all graphics cards are designed by nvidia or amd based around a reference design with specific speeds for the processing core on the ram speed etc so what a overclock is, is where the card is 'made' to work faster than the original design stated,

in reality you will find a factory overclock to give 5-15% performance increase over the base model and the bonus of this is that this doesnt invalidate the warrenty, however if your son finds that his card is running out of puff (to be honest a 7850 even at reference speeds will not struggle with 99% of current games) then you can do a manual overclock it yourself.

doing it yourself, you can usually get the overclock higher than they do on a factory overclock card - however this does invalidate any warranty you have on the card so is something i wouldn't suggest he does straight away if he doesnt need it (especially considering the card you have linked 'only' comes with a 2 year warranty)

as to the power supply i do not think you will need to change it based on this
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/09/13/nvidia-geforce-gts-450-review/7
and
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2012/11/05/msi-radeon-hd-7850-1gb-review/8

basically as you can see the power draw of the 7850 is actually LOWER than the current gts450 included in the system (and that is even when the 7850 is running at a much higher resolution than the 450 which should stress it more) so if the power supply can cope with the power demands of the GTS450 then it should be able to cope with the 7850

Clutterfree

Thanks Gonzo for explaining it to me.
So in your opinion as they are roughly the same price which do you think he should go for?
He said he wants to play games such as Hitman Absolution and Guild Wars 2 and Far Cry 3.

He's been told his PSU is rubbish and this card will "fry" his PC :eek: so as you can imagine I am a tad concerned!

He took a pic of his PSU...

http://imgur.com/4ELf1&RZ3qc#0

Thank you for your patience.

gonzo127

well from his perspective the overclocked one will get him some extra free performance without going against warrenty

from your perspective the other one with the added games would be best as he will get more than good enough performance for 99% of all current games but for only £2 extra he will get 4 more games (one of which is one he wants anyway)

as too the PSU, well the one included isnt a exactly confidence inspiring make as i have never heard of them before, and it is true that if a PSU blows it can take other parts of the system out with it, which is why it is usually the most important, yet over looked, part of any computer, so buying a better (branded) PSU certainly wouldnt hurt, but as above according to the power consumption figures from the reviews it does indicate that if the current PSU powers the GTS450 with no problem it SHOULD power the 7850 with no problem however once i get a bit of time (probably tomorrow now) i will have a look at the PSU you have posted in more depth

Clutterfree

Thanks Gonzo!
Maybe the extra £34 for a new PSU would be worth it for peace of mind! I will wait to hear from you.
I appreciate your help and the time you are giving me.

Now I just have to buy a new gaming PC for my other son, but that's a whole new other thread for another day ! Lol.

Thanks.

Toxteth_OGrady

7850 draws just over 100W at max clock so 17A on 12V rail of that psu should be ok.

Ron_Doran

Toxteth_OGrady - And in English that would be......

gonzo127

ok well as Toxteth_OGrady has put the current PSU should have no problem with running the 7850, the 12v rail is advertised as having enough power and as previously stated running the gts450 shows that it doesnt appear to be stretching the truth.

however the better PSU certainly wouldnt hurt the system and the one you have posted is a pretty good psu for a decent price and wouldnt have any problems running the system. but as above you dont necessarily need it, so of course it would be down to personal choice if you feel you want to change it