New video card...new power supply...

[Wii]

Current card: nvidia 6150se. yeah. bad.
current power: 250w (not sure what exactly it is)
What I'm looking at:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006904&prodlist=yahoo
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204518077&SearchEngine=ya&SearchTerm=204518077&Type=PI&Category=Comp&dcaid=17194
Curious as to: do I have to have a power supply that is SLI or ATI Crossfire ready?
Wanted power supply: 400w, <$50
Power supply suggestions: open.

Edit: OS Vista home premium
slot: PCI-Express
And no, I am not trying to get ultimate graphics out of my computer, I just want something a lot better  ;D

[richardd43]

I would go with a name brand 450 but a good 400 will probably run what you have.

I just had my 8800 plugged in to my old computer and it had some no name 450 in it that is 5 years old.

OCZ 500W StealthXStream Power Supply w/ Dual +12V

This one is $65 CDN so is probably a little cheaper in the US. I have never personally used a OCZ PSU but have read some good reviews about them.

[Wii]

I've seen a LOT of people commenting on the really cheap one's saying they fried their systems so I will just have to beg grandpa for new power supply.

[Wii]

I found what I want I found what I want...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012
and for the graphics
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204518077&SearchEngine=ya&SearchTerm=204518077&Type=PI&Category=Comp&dcaid=17194#prodInfoSec
And for $150 (probably 170 after shipping handling and other hidden expenses)

[richardd43]

Good choices. I have never used the 8500 but tried a 8400 that sucked and the 8600 which we really like. My wife runs a pair of them with 4 monitors and they work great. The 8500 looks to be the little brother with decent specs.

I will just have to beg grandpa for new power supply.  

I am 64 so am probably as old as your Grandpa. Tell him I said to buy it for you.... ROFL

[Wii]

[quote]Good choices. I have never used the 8500 but tried a 8400 that sucked and the 8600 which we really like. My wife runs a pair of them with 4 monitors and they work great. The 8500 looks to be the little brother with decent specs.

[quote]I will just have to beg grandpa for new power supply.

[Gunny04]

I wouldnt go any lower than a 8600GT to be honest, Budget cards have crappy results, after 6 years in the computer world I finally got my first 'Real' Video card..... I ran an MX440 onboard, 6100 Onboard, some intel onboard, a 6200 AGP 128mb and a 7300LE that stole my system ram, I finally FINALLY got into gear and bought an EVGA 8800GTS off a friend. My suggestion, Go with an 8600GTS if you can, low end cards are nothing, and that comes from a noob who ran em for years because they were cheaper!

Gunny

[ctjoyce]

I'm with gunny. The little bit extra for the 8600GT makes a world of difference.

Cheers
Cameron

[Wii]

I'm with gunny. The little bit extra for the 8600GT makes a world of difference.

Cheers
Cameron

Eh, meh mum doesn't want me to "waste" money on it but...I dunno, I guess I need to work something out, I read the review on the 8500GT, it was bad. If I pay around $170 for the card and new PSU, I will have only spent $770 on my FIRST computer ever.

[Wii]

Ok, so I found another good pair...
card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3048552&Sku=P450-8650&SRCCODE=YAHOODF&CMP=SPC-YAHOO
PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1273334&CatId=2036

[ctjoyce]

And here is an even better pair.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130311
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817153052

The eVGA card is slightly faster right out of the box, which is nice, but more importantly eVGA has probably the best warranties in the GPU business. They have replaced more than one card for me, and they are very prompt and professional.

Now I will say a 500W PSU is overkill for your system (without even knowing your full specs I can tell you it is), however these days any respectable PSU is going to be at least a 500W just because most aftermarket parts are aimed at the performance driven consumer.

This pair will not steer you wrong.

Cheers
Cameron

[Wii]

My specs...well, I'll give you the exacts.
[center]---
* AMD Live!
* AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor 4800+ operating at 2.50GHz, with Enhanced Virus Protection

[ctjoyce]

Just a heads up you don't need a SLi rated PSU. You aren't going to be running two cards, so the SLi rating will mean nothing for you.

And just some more food for thought, according to Antec's PSU Calculator http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine your rig would only use 300W even with the new card at its peak power consumption.

Cheers
Cameron

[Wii]

I plan on going SLI in the near future instead of getting a new expensive card just another of the same.

[ctjoyce]

I plan on going SLI in the near future instead of getting a new expensive card just another of the same.

Its unfortunate that your current motherboad doesn't support that. So by the time you factor in a second card plus the cost of a new motherboard, and the loss of your OEM warranty (not that it matters) you will end up paying as much as you would for a single higher preforming card, and not outperform said card with your two mid range cards.

Cheers
Cameron