Which graphics card should I upgrade to and what power supply should I get to go along with it?

Question

I just bought an emachines et1331g-03w desktop pc and from what I've read I'm going to need to upgrade the graphics card and power supply in order to play demanding games. TBH I only play the sims 2, but I add tons of custom content and really want it to play smoothly with all the settings set on high. I have absolutely no idea which graphics card to get to upgrade. I read somewhere the the harddrive is a seagate barracuda... I don't know if that makes any difference in finding something compatible. Also any other suggestions on how to make it even better and faster would be cool, thank you :)

eMachines ET1331G-03W Desktop PC:
* 2.7GHz AMD Athlon II X2 dual-core processor powers through productivity tasks with ease
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE graphics deliver best-in-class performance and crisp, vibrant video
* 6GB DDR2 dual channel system memory, expandable to 8GB
Allows you to coast through multiple rigorous applications while watching a movie on your PC all at the same time
* 750GB SATA hard drive rated at 7200 rpm
Stores up to 214,000 photos, or up to 183,000 songs, or up to 89 hours of HD video and more
* SuperMulti DVD Drive
Burns CDs and DVDs in multi-formats while it plays movies and music

Answer 1

I second the suggestion of a GTX260 graphics card. I prefer eVGA brand, but that's preference. They have a lifetime warranty and their service is excellent. As for the power supply, buy a reputable brand like Corsair, OCZ, Antec. I have had good luck with Rosewill as well. Make sure that whatever brand you buy is a newer model and conforms to current ATX standards. ATX v2.2 is a recent standard. Buy a power suppy with more than 500 watts. Keep your old power supply. When you upgrade computers, you can take the graphics card and power supply to your next system.

Answer 2

Your plan was a good one, to buy an inexpensive computer, with a reasonably powerful CPU, then immediately upgrade the video card and power supply to make it run games. That's the best way to get an inexpensive gaming system, for somebody who doesn't want to build a computer completely from scratch.



The stock power supply in the eMachines ET1331G-03w is 250 watts, so there's no question you need to replace that.



If you spent $400 for the whole computer, I assume the plan was to add a video card that's powerful, but still relatively cost effective.



These parts would be good.



Sapphire 4850 512MB for $100,



http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008



Corsair CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX power supply (400 watts, 30A +12V), for $55,



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824



Your Athlon II CPU is actually quite power efficient (45 watt TDP), so a good quality 400 watt power supply (with 30A +12V) would be more than adequate.



This would also be pretty good, Biostar GTS 250 512MB, for $110,



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141097

Answer 3

it is not complicated in the slightest. at the start, i'm curious why you opt to alter the flexibility furnish. except the device shuts down while decrease than load it is not going which you will want a clean one. as for the snap shots card: the inventory card for this type is the geforce 610, a incredibly susceptible card. i could propose a 550 or extra effective. once you install it you in basic terms would desire to unplug the laptop, unlatch the hook on the tip of the pci exhibit slot, unscrew it from the boost slot, and pull it out, positioned the hot card in, verify that's locked in, plug in the pci exhibit six pin ability connector if necessary, and screw it into the boost slot. With any snap shots card you will choose the latest driving force which you will get carry of from the producer web page. in case you do bypass from the 610 to the 550 you won't ought to replace the drivers using fact they the two use Nvidia's 310.ninety driving force. the laptop will paintings without the driving force yet won't likely in positive condition the demonstrate good and could be unable to render 3-D snap shots, so which you will get carry of the driving force once you positioned in the cardboard on a similar laptop.

Answer 4

If you only play the Sims 2 or Sims 3, you don't need to buy anything because the integrated Nvidia Geforce 6150 is more than adequate and will play the game smoothly without any hiccups.

http://forums.thesimsresource.com/showthread.php?t=320330



If you plan on playing more demanding 3D games, be sure your computer has a PCI Express x16 slot - there is no information on the web about your computer so open up the case and look for a PCI-e x16 slot. There can be PCI-e slots of different lengths but you must have an x16 slot which is the longest. In this picture the x16 slots are blue and yellow and pci-e x1 slots are the two small bchestnut brown slots between the two pci-e x16 slots. Your x16 slot can be any color but it must be that length for a standard PCI-e Graphics card to work

http://www.hardwarezone.com/img/data/articles/2007/2246/dq6_slots.jpg



Then buy a graphics card depending on your budget, but your computer likely has a 300 Watt PSU or lower so stick with a 9800GT or lower card. A good card is a 4670 and draws a max of 70W.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2521-2.html



For $100-$200 video card, a 550W ATX PSU will be more than enough

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010



But you can always use a PSU calculator to get a more quantitative estimate.

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

Answer 5

Upgrade to a geforce 9000 series OR get the gtx 260 for 150 on new egg,, the gtx is a really good quality product for the price (upgrade for you). and for the power supply.. a gtx 280 requires a 550 watt power supply so the 260 is probably about the same. for the geforce 9000 series id say a 700-900 watt power supply.



*edit* honestly any Geforce card above the 7 series would walk all over sims 2. lol

Answer 6

I use a Nvidia 9400GT 512MB and Sims 2 is cake for me, but if you really want, you can spend a little more and get something with 1GB. As far as Power Supply, just grab really anything that can support the GPU you choose