Need new GPU

[sampsa]

So it happens that Witcher 2 fried my ATI Radeon 3200 HD (error code 43) despite of my lowest of the low settings. Luckily I've a kind of a hybrid card that has also 3800 on it and computer switches between these two for games and office programs. No worries ROHOS still runs well.

I was about to update my rig anyway soon enough becasue of names like Skyrim and ME3. Money is not the problem for a let's say up to 200 €. The problem is that I'm tech savvy enough to know that there can be severe compatibility issues at hand but not enough to find out what kind of a card works for me. So I ask of thee, show me the direction.

I've got no idea what kind of information you guys will need so I post a bunch of specs from dxdiag for the starters.

Current chipset http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/chipsets/7-series-integrated/Pages/amd-780g-chipset.aspx780G

System information
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium Service Pack 2
System Manufacturer: FUJITSU SIEMENS
System Model: MS-7304VP
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9550 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
Memory: 3070MB RAM
Page File: 1962MB used, 4392MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode

Display devices
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x9505)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9505&SUBSYS_E630174B&REV_00
Display Memory: 1785 MB
Dedicated Memory: 506 MB
Shared Memory: 1278 MB
Current Mode: 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Yleinen PnP-n

 

[PermenentMarker]

From what I can understand.

Here are your specs.

CPU = AMD Phenom 9550 (Quad core @ 2.2Ghz)
This can be better, I strongly recommend finding the following
AMD Phenom 955BE It's the newer version of the quad core at 3.2Ghz
It SHOULD be compatible with your motherboard as it has the 780G Chipset


Ram - 3gigs... that's not bad


Videocard.
You currently have either an ATI Radeon 3870 or a Radeon 3850
Those were the high end cards of a few years ago

The Radeon HD 3200 is what is intergrated with your motherboard.
It is not a phisical card but just a cheep vga that does a great job for internet explorer, youtube and excel... For games... it's not very capable.

AMD did advertise some sort of "Hybrid Crossfire" to make your onboard 3200 work with another videocard...

It's not worth the braincells to look into it... it does NOT work.
Unless x y z but in short... don't bother.



All in all, if you can JUST run your Radeon 38XX
You should be able to play whatever game you want between low and high settings depending on the game. Skyrim at medium should be capable with it for example.

If the Radeon 38XX is dead... remove the card, the pc will work with the Onboard Radeon 3200.

When you buy your new card... the 3200 will automatically disable itself.


I recommend In order from cheepest to most expensive.

Radeon 6570, 6650, 6670, 6750, 6770, 6850, 6870, 6950
The above listed starting with 5XXX for example 5850

Nvidia GTX 460, GTX 550Ti, GTX 560, GTX 560ti



They are all compatible with your computer as long as you have a PCI express slot for it to fit. (Which you do)


But you need a better CPU. My above recommendation will almost double the performance of your computer.


EDIT

Ignore what I said about upgrading the CPU.
I cannot verify that it would be compatible... Normally an AMD780G chipset can support later Phenom II's but I can't find anything regarding this weird fujutsu motherboard.... if it isn't a laptop...
(Google wasen't good to me for the FUJITSU SIEMENS MS-7304VP)

 

[sampsa]

Ah, so it was another way around, Thought the 3200 was for games and vice versa. I was already lookign into Radeon 6850. Seems like shops in Finland really don't have much the older equipment which would be cheaper. So 6850 looks like the best choice.

Thank you for your post.

 

[fiftyone]

Not sure if this will throw any light on the subject...

[url]http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/284763-10-phenom-8400-problems[/URL]

 

[sampsa]

* Sampsa uses phoenix down *

I'm updating my current computer with Ati 6850 GPU and Corssair CX500 power supply. Now that I've installed both components my screen stopped working. When I turn my screen on it'll show normal Dell computers etc text and logo but goes to sleep after that and the power light goes from green to orange. When I unplug the screen it says various thing of self test failure as if it was having the feed but was unable to make it work properly.

After few tries to fix the problem I put my old GPU back, but same results. Screen goes black after manufacturer logo. I put new GPU back and ensured that it's properly connected into motherboard and having the power it needs, alas still all engulfing blackness.

My main hypothesis is that my screen dates back to 2004 and might not be able work with this new GPU. Thenagain, it stopped working with my old GPU after the new power supply which brings us to my other hypothesis that I've missed some connection. Since the new power supply contains more wires it's well possible that a wrong cord is hanging lose.

Any suggestions, tips and advice are welcome, since I have no clue how to proceed.

 

[Colt .45 killer]

A: Make sure that the extra power cables that go to your video card are plugged in!

B: if any error codes are displayed, or you hear a beep code then tell us what they are / google them. Beep codes are in short and long beeps.

C: You replaced the power supply correct? You also mentioned that this is a dell computer? Dell = dickhead. For the longest time they deliberatly switched wires on the main connector to the motherboard so that new powersupplys would be incompatible. Afaik they stopped this a while ago, however if you still have your old power supply try dropping it in to test.

 

[Tomcat_ha]

a game does not simply fry a integrated chip. There prob is more wrong with it. There prob is more wrong than just that.
Also because its a hybrid crossfire motherboard im not sure how well it supports newer video cards.

 

[tixhal]

i own a motherboard from the same generation, with the same chipset family. it shouldn't be a problem to use it with a newer gpu (or an ancient display). i'd rather say the board is fried somehow. especially because op said the results were the same with the old card.
failing at boot usually indicates some sort of hardware failure. my motherboard has an indicator i can plug into one of the usb ports on the mb, and a color code tells me at what stage of booting the failure occured. (cpu, ram or later.)
if you know someone with similar hardware you might test your cpu and ram on that rig to make sure the board is fried and not something else.
amd doesn't have much to offer for gamers these days (bulldozer fail) so i'd suggest saving your money for an intel board+cpu+ram. your psu and gpu are still usable.

 

[Floyd]

Was your power supply compatable or rated for that AMD processor and/or that motherboard? It sounds to me like it may not be providing the right voltage to the CPU. I've had your exact problem before with one of my son's builds. There's more to a power supply than just wattage.

As was mentioned before, Dell has done some off handed things in their time. Barely adequate power supplies ranks right up there.....

In any event, if the info that Permanent Marker gave is correct, try booting the computer with no GPU installed. It the same problem occurs, try putting your old power supply back in and booting with no GPU.

 

[sampsa]

Okay, for the time being I've put my computer back into status quo with old hardware. The lose cord hypothesis proved to be right. The **** hit the fan because there is a slot in the motherboard that requires 4-pin connector, but the new PSU has only 6- and 8-pin connectors. There are however two 2-pin connectors in separate cords but I don't thing it would do me any good to put those in.

I tried to look for some adapter or something from the shop I usually do bussiness but couldn't find any. Is there something to be done or have I just spent 60€ into a PSU that I can do nothing with? As they say devil is in the details.