C2D GPU Upgrade: Completed!

  • Thread starter tlowr4
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tlowr4

tlowr4

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Australia
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G'Day all.

So my friend who was getting the i5 gaming rig can't do so at the moment, so he's going for an upgrade on his PC as it is. His specs so far:

Core2Duo 7300 @ 2.66GHz (will OC to 3GHz+)
4GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM
MSI GeForce 210 1GB
Gigabyte GA-G41M Motherboard
2TB Seagate 7200RPM HDD with Win 7 Ultimate 64bit

Now to the upgrade issue. The 210 is by no means powerful enough for his needs. His 'requirements', if you will, is to be able to play BF3 at at least Medium settings and average 30FPS (resolution isn't a problem, he'd happy to run at a very low res). Price limit is $100 (give or take, not including shipping). He wants it to be as powerful as possible for this price. Then again, not too powerful as to bottleneck the system.

Other thing is, his current power supply wouldnt' cut a new card. I have one I could give him, but I don't know if it'd have enough grunt. It's a Thermaltake 430W PSU. 18 amps across a single 12V rail. Peaks at 450W. If this isn't enough, mind posting some suggestions about it?

The closer to home (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) as possible the better, and unfortunately E-Bay is out of the question (problems with his paypal etc).

So yus, any and all help is appreciated. :) Cheers.
 
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As far as I know a card like the HD 6670 does not require anymore power than what the PCI-E supplied power of 75watts. So a power supply upgrade is not needed. If there is a HD 6790 around then you can use that make more use of the better GPU for staying in that 75watts. His standard PSU should have no trouble powering it and I've read that medium settings are possible with the HD 6670 in BF3.
 
IMHO 6750 may be an excellent solution for your friend. BF3 in medium and 1600*1050 is possible with this but don't let him buy any inferior GPU.
 
nick09
As far as I know a card like the HD 6670 does not require anymore power than what the PCI-E supplied power of 75watts. So a power supply upgrade is not needed. If there is a HD 6790 around then you can use that make more use of the better GPU for staying in that 75watts. His standard PSU should have no trouble powering it and I've read that medium settings are possible with the HD 6670 in BF3.
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Alrighty. However, a power supply upgrade is needed since his old board didn't have ATX power headers. It was a funny custom PSU for his case (HP 7700). He's currently using that system (with the HP board), I just listed the new parts since they're currently being ordered.
 
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So you plan on reusing that HP case? I can't tell which one he has since HP has made a Convertible Minitower and a Small Form Factor Tower cases with the same model number. Make sure the front I/O is your standard two pin connectors(Power LED, Power Button, etc...). Plus make sure the motherboard mounting will meet the standard of ATX or mATX. Most of the time if this computer tower is 4-5 years old then you would not have trouble replacing the motherboard.
 
6770. Minimum 30 FPS Guaranteed. Only $100 bucks.


...and how is he exactly going to OC the CPU?
 
nick09
So you plan on reusing that HP case? I can't tell which one he has since HP has made a Convertible Minitower and a Small Form Factor Tower cases with the same model number. Make sure the front I/O is your standard two pin connectors(Power LED, Power Button, etc...). Plus make sure the motherboard mounting will meet the standard of ATX or mATX. Most of the time if this computer tower is 4-5 years old then you would not have trouble replacing the motherboard.
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No, we've got an old crappy case from the 90's and we're painting it up and modding it to fit more fans (got 4 spaces for 1x140mm (front) 2x92mm (rear) 1x120 (top). It's a full sized mid-tower, so the size and new PSU size isn't an issue.

NissanSkylineN1
6770. Minimum 30 FPS Guaranteed. Only $100 bucks.


...and how is he exactly going to OC the CPU?
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Rightio, will look at it.

Just a standard BIOS overclock. As far as I know, the chip I gave him (E7300) has an unlocked multiplier. Bring up the FSB, bring up the mutiplier, voltage if needed. Done. I've got an aftermarket cooler (Zalman CNPS8000A) that he can use. His chip at stock speeds idles at 39C and tops out under P95 Large FFT at 47C. That's with the stock cooler. So there's plenty of OCing headroom with the new cooler. 👍 (I hope)
 
With that Zalman cooler the most I'd do is bring it up to the performance of an E7500. There is not much surface area for the heat to travel to due to it being a small cooler.
 
nick09
With that Zalman cooler the most I'd do is bring it up to the performance of an E7500. There is not much surface area for the heat to travel to due to it being a small cooler.
Click to expand...

Alrighty. I'll see if I can get my hands on a cheap, better cooler. Something like a Hyper TX3 or a Hyper 212 should be alright, I suppose? I'd like to try to squeeze as much as possible out of it.

NissanSkylineN1
The mobo won't be able to OC.

Never noticed that it wasn't a stock board.
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Haha, you're 'right. He's currently running on a stock board but the new one is on its way. I just hope when we change all these parts that Win 7 isn't a fart and says "You need to contact Microsoft!" or whatever it does... :L
 
tlowr4

Alrighty. I'll see if I can get my hands on a cheap, better cooler. Something like a Hyper TX3 or a Hyper 212 should be alright, I suppose? I'd like to try to squeeze as much as possible out of it.
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No that cooler is good enough. There is no need to throw money at a cooler you don't need and save it for a good GPU. Though that 430wattt PSU should be fine for a HD 6770. Just check the wattage for the 12V rail.
 
Well judging from the fact that an HD 6770 would have the 6pin power cable the max theoretical power for the GPU is 150watts. Then when you add the 65watt CPU that's 215watts. So, yes, way too close for comfort. As in the label says the most the PSU would be able to produce is 216watts on the 12V rail. So you better go hunting for a different PSU.
 
nick09
Well judging from the fact that an HD 6770 would have the 6pin power cable the max theoretical power for the GPU is 150watts. Then when you add the 65watt CPU that's 215watts. So, yes, way too close for comfort. As in the label says the most the PSU would be able to produce is 216watts on the 12V rail. So you better go hunting for a different PSUstop attempting to do the impossible.
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FTFY.

Seriously.. Why are you trying so hard to make this computer which obviously was never meant to run anything beyond what it came with, run more? You're stretching every part to its limit, and it's going to end badly for your friend. If your friend desperately wants to run BF3 at Medium settings, he's better off just waiting till he can afford his i5 rig. At this point he's wasting money on an already old system that won't benefit enough from the upgrades.
 
This do for? Decent amperage across the dual 12V: http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-3404053...ply_80PLUS_ECO_Series_140mm_Ultra_Quiet_Fan_2

and the site:

http://www.aywun.com/ProductDetails.asp?ID=132#idTab4

EDIT:
bergauk
FTFY.

Seriously.. Why are you trying so hard to make this computer which obviously was never meant to run anything beyond what it came with, run more? You're stretching every part to its limit, and it's going to end badly for your friend. If your friend desperately wants to run BF3 at Medium settings, he's better off just waiting till he can afford his i5 rig. At this point he's wasting money on an already old system that won't benefit enough from the upgrades.
Click to expand...

Well he's 17, hasn't got a job, and his parents have started asking for board payments till he gets himself a house. He'd rather pay the $250 to upgrade his computer now, that wait for 2 years till he's got $1000 for a gaming rig that'd have (by then) outdated parts, and to play (by then) and outdated game. Plus, since we're mates, and I know people, I've gotten him parts for much less than if he bought them new. E.G.

He had a Core2Duo @ 1.8GHz. I gave him the 2.66 in exchange for $5 and his old 1.8.

We got the RAM cheap ($15 for the 4GB kit). We got the new Motherboard on sale ($50). And the new PSU would be around $40 if all goes well. Graphics card is $100. All in all, about $200+ to transform a piece of crap into enough to get him by for now. :)
 
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If he's in such a situation, I simply reccomend him to stop gaming and go find a job or an education.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
There are no reviews found for that power supply. Judging by the low price it most likely sucks.
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Ok, thanks. If someone could post a few suggestions (Under $50 would be great), it'd be a big help. I havn't got a lot of time to go hunting around soo yeah.

NissanSkylineN1
If he's in such a situation, I simply reccomend him to stop gaming and go find a job or an education.
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Oh havn't I just. Time and time again I've said that. He's got a job in the pipeline but...there's reasons why he's not working yet. He's still at school and stuff...I don't think he'd appreciate it if I said why, but yeah. He just wants his rig upgraded and he's throwing a few bucks my way so, I said I'd do it. Gotta keep my word. :) But yes, you're right. If he could get a solid, part-time job, it'd make the world of difference.
 
bergauk
FTFY.

Seriously.. Why are you trying so hard to make this computer which obviously was never meant to run anything beyond what it came with, run more? You're stretching every part to its limit, and it's going to end badly for your friend. If your friend desperately wants to run BF3 at Medium settings, he's better off just waiting till he can afford his i5 rig. At this point he's wasting money on an already old system that won't benefit enough from the upgrades.
Click to expand...

Because I can and for the fact that most of the parts have already been ordered. Besides this guy is playing on ultra settings with an E7400 oc to 3.5GHz, 4GB of ram, and an HD 6770.

Language warning:


Even with such old tech it is possible to play a game like this in medium settings.

@Tlowr: I would try to stretch the budget and get a good PSU like an Antec, such as this one. Then you can get this HD 6770. It's all within the specs of what the system needs to draw from the PSU and not over the budget.
 
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^^ Yeah, will go for that PSU.

By the way, that video isn't bad. Considering I'd have similar CPU performance, and quicker GPU performance (card is pre-OC'd from 775 too 850MHz), we should be right to go.
 
nick09
Because I can and for the fact that most of the parts have already been ordered. Besides this guy is playing on ultra settings with an E7400 oc to 3.5GHz, 4GB of ram, and an HD 6770.

Language warning:


Even with such old tech it is possible to play a game like this in medium settings.

@Tlowr: I would try to stretch the budget and get a good PSU like an Antec, such as this one. Then you can get this HD 6770. It's all within the specs of what the system needs to draw from the PSU and not over the budget.
Click to expand...


Sometimes.. You are just so unbelievably ignorant. You just suggested a 350w PSU, for a card that NEEDS a 450w PSU. How is that going to work out?
 
bergauk
Sometimes.. You are just so unbelievably ignorant. You just suggested a 350w PSU, for a card that NEEDS a 450w PSU. How is that going to work out?
Click to expand...

You do realize that is the recommended figure for an entire system? Plus that the GPU gets 75watts from the expansion slot and 75watts from the 6-pin PCI-E power connector? Add that to the 65watt CPU and that is 215watts. The PSU I posted can power up to 336watts on the 12V rail. I do not see the problem here. That is, unless you do some testing, document your scientific tests, and prove me wrong.
 
AMD
Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
450 Watt or greater power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for AMD CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode).
Click to expand...

Straight from AMD's site.

For the record, I've build 3 systems using the Radeon 6770, and have always put a 450w PSU in them minimum.

If the CPU is going to be overclocked, it's going to be drawing more power as well. Do you REALLY want him to stretch his luck with a 350w PSU?
 
AMD
AMD
Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
450 Watt or greater power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for AMD CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode).
Click to expand...

See bold. Not necessary, recommended. 👍
 
nick09
Good job falsifying information bro.
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Falsifying? I edited my post. Why do you have to assume I'm lying about it?

I edited in additional thoughts, not edited out details from an official source that you know.. sorta designed the card.

tlowr4, get a 450w PSU at least.
 
Look. How about I get this. 315W on the 12V rails. Same power as the Antec, and it's got 460W in the title so it should keep everyone happy, eh?
 

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