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    I need some help picking a Graphics Card (GPU)

    DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
    edited February 2015 in PC - Technical Discussions
    Hello Simmers! I need some help, I was wondering if you could suggest a Graphics Card that will work with these settings; (I know my computer is junk, sigh...) and I just want one to run Sims 3 from medium-high with Advanced Rendering on, that's all, even medium is very fine for me, whatever the price. My Power Supply is 300W so that's an issue too, I know, I need A LOT of upgrades but, I want to start with this one and then move on to other ones, can ya help moi?
    System Specs in Comments (Pics)
    It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!

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      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      1)

      1466182_1572929869645471_8594440888611189367_n.jpg?oh=048260cfc311ae94f236d8bd40b228c0&oe=55957A9C&__gda__=1435475190_814beb530d85d4f43b83d7dd584a3f5d
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      2)

      10347625_1572929866312138_3155414212102566360_n.jpg?oh=bbfea46c23a0760e2d7f6d471e57212b&oe=558FA5FF&__gda__=1431310272_08e8ba0dd8b548170838964c944407f3
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      altad1altad1 Posts: 1,091 Member
      Hi Dasakala, sorry I'm not very technical so can't help, you might want to post this in the technical section, there are some great people there who will be able to give you advice. Hope you find the info you need :)
    • Options
      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      Oh I must've skipped it! I will, thank you!
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      Hello Simmers! I need some help, I was wondering if you could suggest a Graphics Card that will work with these settings; (I know my computer is junk, sigh...) and I just want one to run Sims 3 from medium-high with Advanced Rendering on, that's all, even medium is very fine for me, whatever the price. My Power Supply is 300W so that's an issue too, I know, I need A LOT of upgrades but, I want to start with this one and then move on to other ones, can ya help moi?
      System Specs in Comments (Pics)
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      1)

      1466182_1572929869645471_8594440888611189367_n.jpg?oh=048260cfc311ae94f236d8bd40b228c0&oe=55957A9C&__gda__=1435475190_814beb530d85d4f43b83d7dd584a3f5d
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      2)

      10347625_1572929866312138_3155414212102566360_n.jpg?oh=bbfea46c23a0760e2d7f6d471e57212b&oe=558FA5FF&__gda__=1431310272_08e8ba0dd8b548170838964c944407f3
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      CrackseedCrackseed Posts: 5,209 Member
      Based on the components in here, I almost have to ask - do you know if your computer has PCI-E slots in it for the GPU? I think your machine looks "current" enough it should but it's still worth asking as that will drastically affect your GPU options.

      The 6150SE is an integrated GPU from 2004 - pre-dating some of the current powerful standards supported. You might be looking at having to hunt down an AGP card.
      y9UdOhq.png
      "My spirit animal can beat up your spirit animal"
      ~ Origin ID: DaCrackseed ~
      S4 Patch Notes | Bug Reports | Cache Clearing (load times)
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      icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
      edited February 2015
      Because of TS3's age, most medium-range GPU's would probably do the job.

      What I recommend is setting a budget, then looking for cards around that price. Then check its rating on www.game-debate.com. It can also tell you if it's compatible with TS3. According to the site, a GeForce 7600 GT is good enough, and it has a 2/10 rating (probably due to its age). Given that it's 2015, you should probably try something newer around the $60 range.

      For wattage, there are calculators online that can help you tally up the usage of all your parts. :)

      P.S. For sustainability reasons, after getting a new GPU, I recommend saving up for a new rig altogether. The modern gaming world isn't kind to dual cores and 2 GB RAM. Hard drives that are a few years old are also more likely to fail, at least in my experience.
      Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

      Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
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      CrackseedCrackseed Posts: 5,209 Member
      icmnfrsh wrote: »
      Because of TS3's age, most medium-range GPU's would probably do the job.

      What I recommend is setting a budget, then looking for cards around that price. Then check its rating on www.game-debate.com. It can also tell you if it's compatible with TS3. According to the site, a GeForce 7600 GT is good enough, and it has a 2/10 rating (probably due to its age). Given that it's 2015, you should probably try something newer around the $60 range.

      For wattage, there are calculators online that can help you tally up the usage of all your parts. :)

      There's going to be great options available but given the potential age of this machine, we need to verify what kind of GPU standard it supports before a good set of recommendations can be made.
      y9UdOhq.png
      "My spirit animal can beat up your spirit animal"
      ~ Origin ID: DaCrackseed ~
      S4 Patch Notes | Bug Reports | Cache Clearing (load times)
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      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      There is a Pcie 16 (Or something like that, but yes it does have that, I asked a lot of times)
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
      Crackseed wrote: »
      icmnfrsh wrote: »
      Because of TS3's age, most medium-range GPU's would probably do the job.

      What I recommend is setting a budget, then looking for cards around that price. Then check its rating on www.game-debate.com. It can also tell you if it's compatible with TS3. According to the site, a GeForce 7600 GT is good enough, and it has a 2/10 rating (probably due to its age). Given that it's 2015, you should probably try something newer around the $60 range.

      For wattage, there are calculators online that can help you tally up the usage of all your parts. :)

      There's going to be great options available but given the potential age of this machine, we need to verify what kind of GPU standard it supports before a good set of recommendations can be made.

      That's a good point. I don't know much about compatibility across parts, but I do know that your motherboard needs to have the correct slot for the GPU you're buying.
      Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

      Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
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      CodySimsteinCodySimstein Posts: 1,466 Member
      Hello,

      To be honest, the easiest option for you (but perhaps not the cheapest) is to buy a new computer, as this computer is pretty much so old that any upgrades wouldn't be worth it, and probably actually more expensive in the long run than getting a new computer.

      I say this because graphics card compatibilities are very weird - your motherboard has a Gen 1.0 PCIe slot, whereas most graphics cards these days are Gen 3.0 PCIe. Now technically these graphics cards are backwards compatible, but I have personally seen issues where there have been problems often related to the PCIe generation differences.

      You could try a GT 630, GT 640, GT 730 or GT 740 - these should all need less than 300W, and usually aren't too expensive. But I cannot say for definite that they'll be compatible. :\

      I hope this helps and keep simming,

      Cody
      Member of the Tech Responders team.


      Ask me about custom-built PCs!

      Need to upgrade? - $400 for high settings in Sims 4 --> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtphdC
    • Options
      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      Those are my options too, or a GT 520M that one runs Sims 3 well, I'll do some extra research and try to decide on one, which of the four do you suggest?
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      CrackseedCrackseed Posts: 5,209 Member
      Ugh - had a big post and it got eaten somehow or noted as needing approval >_<
      y9UdOhq.png
      "My spirit animal can beat up your spirit animal"
      ~ Origin ID: DaCrackseed ~
      S4 Patch Notes | Bug Reports | Cache Clearing (load times)
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      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      It does, I've seen myself
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
    • Options
      icmnfrshicmnfrsh Posts: 18,789 Member
      Crackseed wrote: »
      Ugh - had a big post and it got eaten somehow or noted as needing approval >_<

      Had that happen to me too. I hate it when it does that. @_@
      Don't manhandle the urchin. He's not for sale. FIND YOUR OWN! - Xenon the Antiquarian, Dragon Age II

      Race Against the Clock: Can your elder sim turn back the clock before their time runs out?
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      CrackseedCrackseed Posts: 5,209 Member
      edited February 2015
      Alright, let's try this again - @icmnfrsh listed a great site that can help. Also check pcpartpicker (google that) for some excellent guides and parts pricing/compatibility stuff.

      You may get away with keeping the 300W but I suspect if you want a solid card you'll need to bump up to a 450-500 overall.

      I'm biased towards Nvidia but I feel their drivers are just stronger as well as having better hardware. However, AMD (ATI) is still excellent and has some pretty bonkers pricing on some of their mid-range cards.

      NewEgg/Amazon generally have great deals and good support/reliability when you're ready to order unless you have some local places you trust/carry good selection of what you'd need.

      Keep in mind you may get away with finding a relatively new card for a great price but it may not give you maximum performance because your system may have other bottlenecks in it such as RAM timings/speed, Motherboard BUS speed and even your HD (Is that a SCSI in there? Haven't seen a SCSI in a long time! xD)

      Edit: Yeah, if you put an external site link in your post needs approval I guess? Have like 2 of them waiting lol - just decided to strip the link.
      y9UdOhq.png
      "My spirit animal can beat up your spirit animal"
      ~ Origin ID: DaCrackseed ~
      S4 Patch Notes | Bug Reports | Cache Clearing (load times)
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      CrackseedCrackseed Posts: 5,209 Member
      Double posting, but again - @icmnfrsh raises a good point that your system may simply need a total refresh. Are you comfortable telling us what kind of spending total you have to work with? You'd be surprised what kind of system you can build these days for amazing prices :)
      y9UdOhq.png
      "My spirit animal can beat up your spirit animal"
      ~ Origin ID: DaCrackseed ~
      S4 Patch Notes | Bug Reports | Cache Clearing (load times)
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      chesterbigbirdchesterbigbird Posts: 8,581 Member
      You only have 1.8GB of useable ram. That's a big problem. You ideally need 6 preferably 8.
      Honestly a new pc makes far more sense.
      i7 6700K
      16GB hyper X fury
      MSI GTX 1080
      MSI gaming M5 mobo
      Evga 750 supernova
      Corsair hydro h110i GT
      Corsair obsidian 750D
      500GB SSD
      6TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
      LG 34" ultra wide


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      DasakalaDasakala Posts: 126 Member
      Believe me, if I could I would >_>
      It's just like boiling a frog! If you try to throw a frog in a warm pot it'll hop right out! But if you put it in mild water and warm it up slowly, the frog won't understand what's happening until it is too late!
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      luthienrisingluthienrising Posts: 37,628 Member
      The thing is, even if you put the best possible card in that machine, you still wouldn't get the performance you want in the game from it.
      EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
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      ceejay402ceejay402 Posts: 24,507 Member
      its early and its so very cold :) so i may be missing something here when you say you could get a 520m are you saying you could buy one because the 500 series is rather old

      if you can play the game even in windowed right now then i say just start saving up for a complete new build there is nothing salvageable even the case maybe too small depending on the card you save up for. sorry
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