Can my computer handle this?

[norkss59]

Hello, my name's Alex, i am new to the website and i have a simple question. Yet simple for some not me

I would like to buy an ZOTAC GeForce GT 740 2GB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card.

The problems is, can my computer handle it?

Here's some of the specs:
Windows 7 ultimate 64-bit
system manufacturer: Hewlett-ppackard
System Model HP xw4400 Workstation
Processor Intel(R) Core (TM) 2 CPU 6700 @.2.66GHz ~2.7GHz
Graphic card: AMD Radeon HD 5570
Approx. Total Memory 6GB

Note i can run the latest World Of Warcraft expention at low without lag.(Nothing to be proud of )

[DaveLembke]

According to silk screen on the motherboard it claims to not exceed 75 watts for PCI Express 16x slot for video cards that lack the 12 volt molex connection. If you added a card that is less than or equal to 75 watts you might be ok if the power supply can handle it. Chances are you would have to upgrade power supply.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hp-Workstation-XW4400-Tower-Motherboard-Socket-775-DDR2-SP-442031-001-W-Tray-/151538228249?pt=Motherboards&hash=item234861dc19

For the GT 740 you would need to upgrade to like a bronze 80 450 watt power supply.

If you use a video card that has the molex power connection to it, you can exceed the 75 watt limit of the PCIE 16x slot because instead of the PCIE slot having to power the card thru the mother board, the card would be powered directly from the power supply.

[norkss59]

i basically would need a more powerful power suply? if i buy the new card, could i unplug or disable things that uses a lot of energy and it would be ok? By the way i really appreciate you taking your time to answer me.

[DaveLembke]

i basically would need a more powerful power supply?

 If you havent already replaced the power supply, then yes you would need to get a better power supply. However if this is the desktop small form factor version of this computer and not the tower version of this computer a power supply upgrade would be hard to find.

if i buy the new card, could i unplug or disable things that uses a lot of energy and it would be ok?

There are generally no good easy power saving techniques to desktop computers to try to lessen power draw for the power to be applied to a video card. Its best to upgrade the power supply to meet the added power demands.

By the way i really appreciate you taking your time to answer me.

No problem thats what we are here for   

Note i can run the latest World Of Warcraft expention at low without lag.(Nothing to be proud of )

I also play WoW and with my latest build, i now realize that its specs are overkill in comparison to the demands of the game. I have an 8-core 4Ghz CPU, 8GB RAM, and a GeForce GTX 260 with a 600 watt power supply and I have the game set to Ultra settings for graphics and am getting 40-60 fps, and World of Warcraft is only using 2 of the 8 cores at any one time, so the game doesnt make full use of the 8-cores. For the fact that you have a Dual-Core a video card upgrade should be all you need. Prior to this latest build I was gaming with a 2.53Ghz Athlon X2 4450B with 1MB Cache CPU and ASUS Radeon HD5450 with 512MB Video and after latest WoD expansion I had to lower my graphics settings to Fair to get 20-30 fps. So the HD5450 doesnt really cut it anymore. Prior to WoD expansion I was able to run at Normal setting for graphics and get close to 60 fps and around 20-30 fps on High setting.

[norkss59]

I understand now. so my 400 watts wouldn't do it, it'll be better to get 450 right? Since my financial situation limit me, would there be any good graphic cards with more than the one i have i could add to my pc?

[DaveLembke]

Since you have a 400 watt power supply you might be able to barely squeek by. I thought you only had a 300 or 350 watt PSU. I see recommendations for 450 watts with that video card, but Newegg states 400 watts minimum on the spec info as seen here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500335&cm_re=zotac_gt_740-_-14-500-335-_-Product

At 400 watts it might work fine or you may find out that the systems stability destabilizes with crashes when power demand exceeds what the PSU can handle.

*Also this video card is slightly overkill in comparison to the CPU you have. The only issue with this is that the CPU bottlenecks the video card performance. But given my experience with Core 2 Duo systems and World of Warcraft, you should be fine for at least the remaining period of time that WoD runs for. Not sure about future expansions which might update the game engine that is seriously aged etc which would pose an additional resource requirement. The good thing is if you need to upgrade to a better system, this video card can move to the newer build.    My wifes computer a Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz with Geforce 9800GT still plays WoW with WoD expansion just fine at Normal settings at 20-30 fps

[norkss59]

Alright, i'll keep the post up to date, tomorow i'll try the new graphic card and see if it's ok. If it doesn't work i'll just get a refund and save up for a new computer. Thanks a lot for your time it really means something to me. 

[norkss59]

By the way i just looked up the graphic card you proposed me and it says this: Power Supply Requirements 500 W
My powersuply is 400, it won't work?

[DaveLembke]

hmm... interesting. Newegg shows 400 watts. Info on google search such as a toms hardware hit shows 450 watts. Which site are you looking at that states 500 watts?

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[norkss59]

here is the link, it's at the bottom: http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/zotac-zotac-geforce-gt-740-zt-71001-10l-zt-71001-10l/10304489.aspx?path=17edb0cca5eb00c05d5ee878ab783a0den02

Surprisingly enough, on their website "Zotac's website" it says 400.

And plus, they don't deliver this one in Quebec which is where i live because of a law restricting any English product not being translated in french here. -facepalm- Stupid laws like those really bothers me.

[DaveLembke]

Interesting...

And plus, they don't deliver this one in Quebec which is where i live because of a law restricting any English product not being translated in french here. -facepalm- Stupid laws like those really bothers me.

If they have a return policy for full refund you could give it a try still. Someone is wrong with their info. A 500 watt trusted brand power supply would be plenty for this card. Just be sure to get one that is bronze 80 if you do buy a power supply and buy a brand such as Corsair or XFX etc. If you have any questions about power supplies you can share them here and we can assist with pointing out a good one etc.

I've been to Quebec many times since I live in New Hampshire. I wasnt aware of this law.  I have a friend in Barrie, Ontario that I have shipped computer parts to. Hopefully i wasnt breaking any laws sending computer parts that may only have english documentation From conversations I have had with him I guess Ontario and Quebec have their differences even though its the same country of Canada.

My biggest issue when visiting Quebec is that I dont know French and so when i speak english people right then and there know that i am an outsider and sometimes they will switch from french to english to communicate with me, or they will be difficult and not switch to english and I am like great  The good thing is that my wife took french in high school and so she can speak some french and get by, but it might also be that outsider females are respected more than males idk ha ha. One thing that did catch my eye though was a Mc Donalds in Montreal that had poisson on their menu ... in which my eye read it initially as poison and not poisson for Fish Fillet Sandwich.  Only other languages that I know are some German, Spanish, and Russian which wont help me in Canada 

[norkss59]

Ahah yes, indeed french laws here can be surprising sometime & yes i will give ZOTAC GeForce GT 740 2GB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card a try and try to downclock my prossesor from 2.6GHZ to maybe 2.4GHz or even 2.2GHz if it can help in the hope it doesn't crash in my face after 30min of gameplay.

For the info, they do have a full refund policy which is great.

[DaveLembke]

I wouldnt bother downclocking, however if your motherboard supports a green mode to enable speed stepping where the system will idle at say 25% clock and only go to 100% clock when processing power is needed you can shave off some watts when idle. My wifes Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz when Idle with speed stepping runs at like 600Mhz, then when processing power is needed it will increase the clock to 1200Mhz, 1800Mhz, or 2400Mhz as CPU demand increases or decreases to speed up or slow down the CPU. But this doesnt lag the performance because if running World of Warcraft the CPU is pretty much running 2400Mhz full speed due to the demands of the game.

More info on EIST here: http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/203838.htm

[norkss59]

alright so i managed to find a power supply Retail Plus WT4100B ATX465 but i can't find the watts on it, any recommandation?

[DaveLembke]

If on a really tight budget and able to buy through newegg, this refurb power supply here is a way to get a good quality power supply and not pay $50+ . They offer a 3 year warranty on this PSU too which is pretty good when most companies will only give like 1 year on refurbs etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139107


The biggest problems with power supplies are that many of the no name/ unknown brand quality ones that are manufactured state that they are say 500 watts when they are lucky to hold up well at a 350 watt continuous draw. The PSU you linked appears to be a 465 watt and I cant suggest buying it because I only suggest products that i trust, companies that have a good track record for good products etc.