[2thoma00]

Hi,

About 6 months ago I decided to put together a reasonable HTPC for use in my front room but now I would quite like to upgrade it a bit so I can handle some decent games as well. Now I know enough about computers to put one together but when its comes to graphics cards I just don't have a clue what I'm looking for.

The current spec of the PC is below. Please excuse the layout, I just copied and pasted from my ebuyer order:

Asus M4A88T-M 880G Socket AM3 Onboard Graphics 8 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard
Corsair 500W CX Series PSU
AMD Phenom II X4 840 Socket AM3 3.2GHz 2MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
Running windows 7

So my question, I'm looking for a graphics card that will run with this system and more importantly allow me to play some decent games. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Budget isn't too big a deal but ideally I would like to spend about £200.

Also, is adding a decent graphics card going to be enough. I''m thinking another 4GB of RAM wouldn't hurt.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Andy98765]

4Gb extra is fine if you are running WIN 7 64bit.
As for graphics cards 2 things to take into account.
Stick to AMD/ATI (HD6XXX series) as it should slot in with the drivers you already have onboard.
Keep it quite and be careful the card is not too long (dependant on your motherboard and case size) and if it requires separate power connection then make sure your power supply supports it.
Also watch the watts as some cards will require you to have a bigger power supply.

[2thoma00]

Thanks for the info mate. I thought the power supply might cause a few issues but I will take a look at your recommendations and check the power required.

I am running Win 7 64 bit so I think I'll increase the Ram when I get a chance.

Thanks again.

[2thoma00]

Ok so I did a bit of research and found the following:

HIS HD 6950 IceQ X 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Dual Mini DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card - HIS HD 6950 IceQ X 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Dual Mini.. | Ebuyer.com

Can anyone give me any reasons why this wouldn't be good for my system?

[LJx]

The 7850 is out now, you should stay away from the 6950 /6970, the 7850 performs better and costs less money and uses much less power - I saw a deal today on HUKD and it was £150!

EDIT £160 and it's from ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/349918-his-hd-...hics-h785f2g2m

[2thoma00]

Thanks again for the info. Any reason why I should avoid the 6950/6970 other than the power difference? I found the previously mentioned 6950 for £130 and from a quick glance the 7850 performs quite similarly. I'm not doubting your info you wondering what I'm missing or if there are some major known issues with the 6950 that I haven't come across

Thanks again

[LJx]

The 6950 is good if you get it for the right price, but I would say it would have to be a fair bit cheaper than a 7850 to be worth it

[2thoma00]

Cool. Thanks a lot for all the info and help. I'll have a shop around and probably get myself one at the weekend then have a bank holiday full of gaming! Cheers.