Video Card upgrade

[valrisen]

I am looking to upgrade my video card. My system specs are listed below. I am currently running Sims 3 with all expansion packs and a couple stuff packs. My current system does okay with some lag, no fluff on my pets and runs very SLOW in China (only china, not France or Egypt). Most settings are on medium with a couple (Sim Detail and Texture Detail) on high with my current setup. I am looking to spend under $100 for a video card. Does anyone have any recommendations? Here are two that I have found.
This one:
VisionTek Radeon 5550 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=419883&CatId=3669)
or This one:
PNY GeForce GT 220 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5274324&Sku=P56-0220)

My power supply is good enough for either card.

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System Information
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Time of this report: 1/7/2012, 00:07:39
Machine name: RISEN1
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.101209-1647)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: BIOS Date: 10/22/07 Ver: 08.00.14
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 839MB used, 3100MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 7600 GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0392&SUBSYS_C5483842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 512.0 MB
Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0012.8558 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/7/2011 23:50:00, 4226688 bytes

Thank you in advance for your help! :up:

[ajaxsirius]

Between those two? The HD 5550. But for less than $100 you can still get a 6770, which is a lot better. Depends on if your Power Supply can handle it though.

[valrisen]

Between those two? The HD 5550. But for less than $100 you can still get a 6770, which is a lot better. Depends on if your Power Supply can handle it though.
Thanks!
The 6770 is probably going to be too much for my PSU.
I used to be A LOT easier to buy a graphics card, but now there are just SO many that on the surface look like a good upgrade, but if you do some digging you find its not a good card at all.
Would the HD 5550 run the game better than what I currently have? Are there any other cards out there on the market that would be good also?

[ajaxsirius]

Yes, the 5550 is better than what you have. I'm tempted to say significantly better, but I have not used any of those cards myself so I can't be 100% sure. Let me see if I can find a better deal for you. It'll just take me a while to browse. I need to know how many Watts your PSU has and how many Ampere on the +12V rail.

[valrisen]

Yes, the 5550 is better than what you have. I'm tempted to say significantly better, but I have not used any of those cards myself so I can't be 100% sure. Let me see if I can find a better deal for you. It'll just take me a while to browse. I need to know how many Watts your PSU has and how many Ampere on the +12V rail.

Thanks, I will open the case up tomorrow to check on that. The label is not on the back of the PSU I have currently, so I have to take it out of the case to see it.
I also found a Refurbished VIsionTek Radeon 5670 and HIS Radeon 6670, both of those look good too but I have to see if my PSU can handle them.

[valrisen]

450 watts and 20a under +12v on my PSU. I also have a 500 watt with 1a min -17a max under +12V that I have to test to see if it works.

[ajaxsirius]

The 450W is better than the 500W for you. 20A is still kinda weak since that's 20A for the whole system, but it still should be enough for a 6850 or 6770.

Plus I could find some 6770s in your price range.

According to google, the max tdp of a 6770 is approx 108W, your Athlon X64 5000+ 89W. So if they both draw power from the 12V, you should still be safe.

XFX HD677XZNFC Radeon HD 6770 Video Card (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=869628&CatId=7005)

Sapphire 100328L Radeon HD 6770 Video Card (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=612914&CatId=7005)

[valrisen]

Thanks again!! I don't know how I missed those 2 6770's on Tiger Direct. I really appreciate all of your help. :up:

[ajaxsirius]

Glad I could help. Don't forget to google the actual length of the cards and then measure the inside of your case to see if they will fit. Today's video cards are a hell of a lot longer than those from back in the day.

[ellacharmed]

What is the motherboard model? Can you confirm that it is not a MicroATX form-factor? With a matching slimline casing?
Based on that CPU, the motherboard could be one of these - http://products.amd.com/pages/RecommendedMBResult.aspx?f1=AMD+Athlon%E2%84%A2+X2&f2=5000%2b&f3=G2&f4=&f5=&f6=&f7=&f8=65+W

Size-wise: and, like ajaxsirius' warning above, apart from the size dimensions, you should also check that the motherboard has unused slots for a dual-slot card if you're going with the 6770.

Power-wise: some sites cited the ampere requirements for 6770 to be at 25A (considerably more than the 2 PSU models you have), and I cannot find the confirmed values for the XFX and Sapphire models. What I have is for MSI brand models - http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards Though generally they are close, there's still some variations from the manufacturers.

[whiterider]

I know this is a side point, but try this mod to fix the crappy China lag: http://www.modthesims.info/d/450569

[ajaxsirius]

I just noticed that the notes in the page ellacharm3d linked say the values for the 6770 were obtained from a test setup using an overclocked i7 965, which is an extreme edition processor drawing 130W max when not overclocked. Even then the test setup reached 20.2 A. It also specifies that "Subjective obtained GPU power consumption = ~ 96 Watts", which is less than the 108W I originally found. I can't be 100% sure of course, but I think the original poster will be safe.

[valrisen]

I am still looking also...have to wait for birthday money to buy the card. I have a full size case. Here is the link to the product page for my mobo:
ASUS M3A (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2Plus/M3A/#specifications)

I found this last night. The power requirements don't seem AS high and the cost is good.
Sapphire Radeon HD 6570 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=365401&sku=A271-6570)

[valrisen]

I know this is a side point, but try this mod to fix the crappy China lag: http://www.modthesims.info/d/450569

And by the way, thank you for this! I will try it. It is SO weird because the lag only happens between 10:30 PM and 7am and only in china. Every 20 minutes sim time, the game freezes. Trees still move and you can still see animations like the ZZZzzZz for sleep but the clock stops and sims freeze. I knew it HAD to be people getting stuck somewhere when going home to sleep, but I didn't know how to fix it.
:gjob: