Upgrading Video Card

[DaveJMathews]

Hey guys,

I am getting ready to upgrade my video card and wanted some pointers the card I am running now is a few years old and ready for retirement.

I am currently running a Gigabyte HD4550 512. It is a single slot non-fan card. Because of the layout of my board with the PCIe-16 right next to the PCIe-1 I am kinda stuck in this department, there is no room for the standard fan I have seen on most cards that takes up the neighboring slot. If its not too large and the fan goes to the left of the card instead of the right It might work, I will have to check the clearance to the board first.

What I need is a PCIe-16 non-fan card, DVI and HDMI out with Dolby7.1 sound thru HDMI. "Currently my t.v. does pass thru 5.1 Dolby over optical, but when I go to upgrade my receiver I would like to bump up to 7.1"

I would like to stay in the ATI family but I am willing to go back to Nvida as well. Doesn't have to be a gaming card of any sort just something that will be nice for plenty of HD content without and issue. The 4550 has done its job well, but I notice it bogging down on some heavy HD content now and it can no longer handle the slight overclocking it started with. Deff could use a upgrade from the 512 memory as well.

Let me know what you would recommend. I would like to stay in the 100-200 range. Being the board cant fit a standard fan card that pretty much covers everything on the market. ha ha..

[staknhalo]

Anything on the Nvidia side will bitstream from the GT430 and up. ATI has since the 5k series I believe; so really it's just do you want to game or not? If not, go with the cheapest low end from whatever series mentioned and up..the only decision you would have to make is fan or fanless. If your HTPC is in the same room as you, go fanless. If not, go fan for the sake of it.

You say it "doesn't have to game"; but you want it to, tell me your PSU and I'll give you a rec.

[CyberSimian]

Because of the layout of my board with the PCIe-16 right next to the PCIe-1 I am kinda stuck in this department, there is no room for the standard fan I have seen on most cards that takes up the neighboring slot.

I have an elderly Nvidia 8600GTS that has a fan, but the card occupies only one slot (on my motherboard I can use the slots on either side of the 8600GTS). On the other hand, I have been thinking recently about upgrading to a fanless Asus Nvidia GT640, whose heatsink is so enormous that the card occupies two slots!

If you want only a low-end card, a one-slot card should be easy to find.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

[Mike88]

I bought this card when it was on sale. It was $14.99 after rebate. I've seen it sale a couple times.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127584

It has a fan but if you look at the edge view the fan does not stick out. In fact I do have a tuner card in the next slot. It's difficult to tell how loud the fan is because my HTPC is in the corner. And if I get close I think the PSU fan is what I hear.

If you're in no hurry just keep checking prices until you see something that might work for you.

[SilverRubicon]

The 4550 has done its job well, but I notice it bogging down on some heavy HD content now and it can no longer handle the slight overclocking it started with

My PC only has the onboard ATI 4000 and it has never had an issue with any HD content. I've invested in CoreAVC (no other codecs installed) and CPU usage is minimal. Prior to CoreAVC I was concerned but any codec with hardware assist and the 4550 should be more than enough.

If you want and/or need bitstreaming of the new HD audio codecs, then yes, you should upgrade. I've thought about it but don't want another component sucking down more electricity as my pc runs 24/7 (dvr).

[DaveJMathews]

I bought this card when it was on sale. It was $14.99 after rebate. I've seen it sale a couple times.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127584

It has a fan but if you look at the edge view the fan does not stick out. In fact I do have a tuner card in the next slot. It's difficult to tell how loud the fan is because my HTPC is in the corner. And if I get close I think the PSU fan is what I hear.

If you're in no hurry just keep checking prices until you see something that might work for you.

That one looks like it would work well... I have been poking around the 6000 series too...

[DaveJMathews]

The 4550 has done its job well, but I notice it bogging down on some heavy HD content now and it can no longer handle the slight overclocking it started with

My PC only has the onboard ATI 4000 and it has never had an issue with any HD content. I've invested in CoreAVC (no other codecs installed) and CPU usage is minimal. Prior to CoreAVC I was concerned but any codec with hardware assist and the 4550 should be more than enough.

If you want and/or need bitstreaming of the new HD audio codecs, then yes, you should upgrade. I've thought about it but don't want another component sucking down more electricity as my pc runs 24/7 (dvr).

A buddy dropped the card after i installed it into the new case... its working fine but I had to apply some new artic silver and kinda jimmy rig the heat sink... i think it had more to do with that than anything...lol I have always liked the gigabyte brand, this one just took some licks it shouldnt have. I have it clocked to factory now and just figured since I'm in no need of a gaming card a nice HD card that will set me up the next few years would be good.

[DaveJMathews]

Anything on the Nvidia side will bitstream from the GT430 and up. ATI has since the 5k series I believe; so really it's just do you want to game or not? If not, go with the cheapest low end from whatever series mentioned and up..the only decision you would have to make is fan or fanless. If your HTPC is in the same room as you, go fanless. If not, go fan for the sake of it.

You say it "doesn't have to game"; but you want it to, tell me your PSU and I'll give you a rec.

It is right in my entertainment center, I have a desk int he corner with a hard wired keyboard and mouse and extended display for easy use, but for the most part it is strictly a media center. I have a few emulators for some of the older console games I simply can not find, but really they do not need any kind of power. The case itself is already sporting 4 fans for ventilation and I never hear it. I don't think it will mater either way because of the case location, its a good 8 feet from where anyone sits.

[staknhalo]

Is the nMedia full height or low profile? If low profile, an AMD 7750 will let you game at 1080p (no need for a power connector either) with pretty nice settings even in recent games, and will still help with your emulators. If it's full height you have a lot of other options I could recommend. I was just talking about this kinda in another thread lol.

[DaveJMathews]

Right now for ATI It's a toss up between the

HD6570:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102942
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150580

and the

HD6670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150587

Not a huge difference in price, slight difference in performance. A few low profile cards to choose from. I have owned many of the major brands never XFX anyone know the quality of these? reviews seem good. I use Asus, MSI, Sapphire, and Gigabyte for my office all the time and never had an issue.

[DaveJMathews]

Is the nMedia full height or low profile? If low profile, an AMD 7750 will let you game at 1080p (no need for a power connector either) with pretty nice settings even in recent games, and will still help with your emulators. If it's full height you have a lot of other options I could recommend. I was just talking about this kinda in another thread lol.

Full height its the 5000s model.

[DaveJMathews]

Is the nMedia full height or low profile? If low profile, an AMD 7750 will let you game at 1080p (no need for a power connector either) with pretty nice settings even in recent games, and will still help with your emulators. If it's full height you have a lot of other options I could recommend. I was just talking about this kinda in another thread lol.

After I did the comparison the 7750 looks awesome. Hard to find a low profile name brand on newegg though. Still the XFX and PowerColor model has decent reviews. I'm willing to pay the extra to future proof for a while. Have to hunt for a sale now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150612
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814131461

Looks like most of the DDR5 models ditch VGA and go with Display port, all are PCIe 3.0 which is nice future proof for a while and dx11.

[Crash2009]

The 7750 is almost twice the card for just 5 bucks more. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video ... 750&id=321

The 6770 is/was still available with VGA and DDR5, a month ago from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-HD6770 ... ds=HD+6770

I have 2 machines with video cards from XFX. No problems so far. The fan on the 6770 is cool and quiet. On the downside though the 6670 is pretty thick and it has covered up one of my pciE slots.

[DaveJMathews]

The 7750 is almost twice the card for just 5 bucks more. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video ... 750&id=321

The 6770 is/was still available with VGA and DDR5, a month ago from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-HD6770 ... ds=HD+6770

I have 2 machines with video cards from XFX. No problems so far. The fan on the 6770 is cool and quiet. On the downside though the 6670 is pretty thick and it has covered up one of my pciE slots.

Agreed I think I have made my choice. the XFX looks the nicest and good reviews but its size scares me it is very long, I will need to measure my clearance and make sure it will not get in the way. Still the cheapest I have seen so far for their slim model is $105.00

The PowerColor gets basically the same reviews and is almost identical size to the card I am using now. It is the safer bet and it looks like the card that I can find at the most reasonable price.

[staknhalo]

Is the nMedia full height or low profile? If low profile, an AMD 7750 will let you game at 1080p (no need for a power connector either) with pretty nice settings even in recent games, and will still help with your emulators. If it's full height you have a lot of other options I could recommend. I was just talking about this kinda in another thread lol.

After I did the comparison the 7750 looks awesome. Hard to find a low profile name brand on newegg though. Still the XFX and PowerColor model has decent reviews. I'm willing to pay the extra to future proof for a while. Have to hunt for a sale now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150612
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814131461

Looks like most of the DDR5 models ditch VGA and go with Display port, all are PCIe 3.0 which is nice future proof for a while and dx11.

I had the HIS low profile. Traded for a Nvidia GTX 650 which is like the equivalent, but full height. It has a power connector but I'm running it without one and haven't had any issues; even gaming They make full height 7750's just go for that from whatever brand you trust. TBH nowadays aside from customer support the technology/manufacturing is at a state where a card is a card IMO. Others may disagree. I would say go low profile though if you ever thing you want to get a smaller case. HIS and SAPPHIRE were the ones who made low profile ones when I bought mine. Both are known as legit. SAPPHIRE moreso. I went with the HIS cause of the double fan cooling on the card; but it gave off a high pitch wine. Not so loud, just high pitched. The SAPPHIRE might do you fine as you said you got enough cooling.

Don't put too much stock in future proofing now as h.265 will come soon and we are all going to need new cards for that. Go with what you want.

[DaveJMathews]

Here are the 5 that will work for mine. The HIS looks nice but the fan its just a hair too think, I literally need a single slot card to be safe, God knows why they made the Pci x16 right next to the Pci x1 I am riding right on my tuner card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productco ... 129-263-TS

I think its a toss up between the Powercolor and Saphire card.

433% increase over my current card for 100 bucks or less, cant be that! http://www.hwcompare.com/11831/radeon-h ... n-hd-7750/

The only thing about the sapphire is the adapters... I hate to have that mess, but its worth it for the better name I think.

[staknhalo]

Here are the 5 that will work for mine. The HIS looks nice but the fan its just a hair too think, I literally need a single slot card to be safe, God knows why they made the Pci x16 right next to the Pci x1 I am riding right on my tuner card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productco ... 129-263-TS

I think its a toss up between the Powercolor and Saphire card.

433% increase over my current card for 100 bucks or less, cant be that! http://www.hwcompare.com/11831/radeon-h ... n-hd-7750/

The only thing about the sapphire is the adapters... I hate to have that mess, but its worth it for the better name I think.

If this purchase isn't important for you I'll look into it more later on...going to play some drunk TF2 now If you wanna buy it now hopefully others chime in.

[LuckyDay]

If you are deciding between the Saphire and Power Color I would highly recommend the Saphire. Much better brand in my experience.

Keep in mind that these are all the same board and GPU sold by different companies. The only difference for the majority of them is the heatsink and fan. There are occasionally some cards that will be overclocked but not usually on a mid-range card like the 7750.

The biggest things to look for are usually feedback on temperature/power rating and customer service from the specific manufacturer.

On a card like the 7750 (which is an excellent card) the differences between the cards are going to be very minimal. The 7750 is a pretty low power and low heat GPU. I would go with the trusted brand and price (along with your size restrictions) over any other factor.

[barnabas1969]

I've used this video card before, and it worked fine in Media Center. It does everything you want (including HD audio formats), has no fan, fits in one slot, and costs $39.99 ($29.99 after the mail-in rebate), plus $2.99 shipping at Newegg.

I bought it as a test once to diagnose a problem. It worked fine. It turned out that my video card wasn't my problem in the HTPC, so I put the 6450 card in my desktop PC.

EDIT: And it does come with a low-profile bracket if you need that. There's one review on Newegg's site that says that it doesn't come with one, but mine did. I still have it if you need it.

[DaveJMathews]

I've used this video card before, and it worked fine in Media Center. It does everything you want (including HD audio formats), has no fan, fits in one slot, and costs $39.99 ($29.99 after the mail-in rebate), plus $2.99 shipping at Newegg.

I bought it as a test once to diagnose a problem. It worked fine. It turned out that my video card wasn't my problem in the HTPC, so I put the 6450 card in my desktop PC.

EDIT: And it does come with a low-profile bracket if you need that. There's one review on Newegg's site that says that it doesn't come with one, but mine did. I still have it if you need it.

Thanks for the offer. I am going with the Powercolor 7750. I wish the Sapphire would have worked instead but after measuring the space I have behind the HTPC to the back of the entertainment center I do not have the clearance for the HDMI mini to full size adapter without having the HTPC hang out over the shelf edge. It barely fits as is because of how deep my case is. I'm holding off for the next week see if i can't find a deal its 89.99 with the 10 dollar mail in rebate at newegg but if it gets any lower I'm gonna jump on it.

Its not the highest bench marked of the 7750 cards, but for an HTPC and compared to my old card this should be a nice improvement for under 100 bucks and keep me future proof for a little while.

Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions.