Present for the wife :D

[DrDigitized2]

My wife is turning 35 in 20 days. I was thinking of upgrading her PC a little and wanted your advice since I haven't been keeping up to date on the new technology. Right now she is just using the CPU's GPU. She mostly plays WoW and uses her PC o browse the internet. We both have a 27 inch monitor but I still catch her using mine to play her games, ha ha. I was planing on spending around $200 on her GPU and I found one that had nice reviews. 

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100364VXL Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5.

I am open to suggestions on video cards though. I am also going to need a new PSU as hers is only a 430 watt. I feel that a new video card would make her computer a lot more enjoyable for her to use.

 

Her current specs are:

Motherboard: ASUS F2A55-M LK PLUS FM2 AMD A55

CPU: AMD-FM2 A8-5600k

Ram: 2x4gb ddr3-1600mhz Team Xtreme

PSU: Corsair Builder series430 watt.

 

Thanks

[GabrielT]

For that price range the 270x 280 285 and gtx 960 are all good options. 280x are available sometimes for 200 but are pretty power hungry. That psu should be enough but it might be close if you are overclocking.

 

My wife uses a gtx 660 and she gets good FPS at high at 1080p

[DrDigitized2]

For that price range the 270x 280 285 and gtx 960 are all good options. 280x are available sometimes for 200 but are pretty power hungry. That psu should be enough but it might be close if you are overclocking.

 

My wife uses a gtx 660 and she gets good FPS at high at 1080p

Thank you for your feedback.

[paulktreg]

The R9 270X is specified for a 500W minimum power supply although you'd probably get away with it?

 

The R9 280X is a definate no-no.

 

If you could spend a little more it would be best to upgrade the power supply and fit a mid-range graphics card.

[GabrielT]

Even with a 280x I can't see that system ever pulling more than 380 watts at stock clock speeds. This still gives 50 watts of headroom ignoring the fact that the cpu will no longer be operating as the graphics and reduce it's max power draw.

 

Personally I would suggest a 500 watt PSU for a new build with these parts but as it stands now a quality 400 watt power supply should be adequate in my opinion.

[RedFury77]

You could do better with a 280 for the same price, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202099&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

And if you are interested in a good lightly used psu, I have a corsair tx750 that I could let go for a good deal...

[slick2500]

I think with video cards you should worry more about the amperage coming off the 12 volt rail than the wattage of the psu. A R9 270X requires a minimum of 15A on the +12V rail to run at full power.

[GabrielT]

Slick makes a good point about amperage, though I'm not certain of the specs corsair psu's tend to have hefty 12v rails.

If power supply really is an issue a gtx960 is the best option. They pull really little power and perform nearly as well as a 280x

[IVIYTH0S]

I'll have to look at some PSUs but I'd say a 280x or 7970 could easily had for that budget, if you don't mind used (and even new I have a feeling there is a 280X out there for close to $200)

[GabrielT]

The CX430 V2 has a 32A 12v rail. This means 360 watts from that. The CPU and video card are both utilize the 12v rail for power. Power draw at stock speeds 100% balls to the wall load gives theoretical max wattage of 350 watts but a more realistic power draw is going to be about 325w while gaming.

This is not a lot of headroom. I know I just bought a 960 but I also just bought a 280x so I feel like I can be without bias when I say that a GTX 960 is a better option if you do not intend to buy a new PSU.

 

 

I'll have to look at some PSUs but I'd say a 280x or 7970 could easily had for that budget, if you don't mind used (and even new I have a feeling there is a 280X out there for close to $200)

$190 with rebate, though with a 280X it would be a really good idea to upgrade to a beefier PSU long term. Who knows, maybe corsair built some headroom into that unit but I wouldn't bet on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202137&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

[potatochobit]

you can get some of the more common brands for the 280X under 200$ after rebate like sapphire

sometimes you get a free game too

 

your power supply might need a 6 and 8 PIN though, I am not sure about your specific model

 

the 280X IS VERY LONG

 

MAKE SURE YOUR CASE HAS SPACE

 

it did not fit in my antec P182 which is a very big case
I had to remove the hard drive tray for it to fit

 

keep that in mind

 

you might consider a cheaper graphic card AND getting her an SSD instead

 

or a nice gaming mouse and mouse pad

Edited April 9, 2015 by potatochobit