Need Advice On Upgrading My Graphics Card upgrading from 8600 GT to HD 4870/ 5770

[bluedragon 0]

Hi, I am going to upgrade to either HD 4870 or HD 5770. I just want to know 2 things. 1. I am currently running Windows XP 64 bit. and an Nvidia graphics card. Do I need to format my system , If I go for a Radeon ? or can I just remove the graphics card's drivers and then install the new drivers ? 2. Should I upgrade my power supply ? I am currently Using a 550 Watt, which is powering my CPU (Q6600) 4GB Ram and 1.5 TB of HDD (1 TB + 2x 250 GB) my current card is XFX 8600 GT for which the maximum draw is about 50 Watt. The two cards I am considering are going to draw upto 100-120 watt.

Edited May 1, 2010 by bluedragon (see edit history)

[Ash-Bash 0]

Hi, I am going to upgrade to either HD 4870 or HD 5770. I just want to know 2 things.

I used to have the HD 5770 then went to the 5970 Black Edition!

1. I am currently running Windows XP 64 bit. and an Nvidia graphics card. Do I need to format my system , If I go for a Radeon ? or can I just remove the graphics card's drivers and then install the new drivers ?

No need to format your system simply remove the old graphics card along with the drivers and install the new drivers and graphics card.

2. Should I upgrade my power supply ? I am currently Using a 550 Watt, which is powering my CPU (Q6600) 4GB Ram and 1.5 TB of HDD (1 TB + 2x 250 GB) my current card is XFX 8600 GT for which the maximum draw is about 50 Watt. The two cards I am considering are going to draw upto 100-120 watt.

I would maybe do this just in case you need the extra power I mean it seems like you are a heavy gamer so for a stable game to run normally yes. The current one I am using in my Gaming system is a 1200w crosshair power supply. Though you may want just something around the 700w mark if you don't want to invest to much.

[web_designer 7]

when you upgrade your system by adding new cards or changing cards like graphic card. you absolutely don't have to format your computer, because changing cards deal with hardware, and your windows is a software, even if you get an error after operate your computer you don't need to format, the error mostly occur when you didn't plug your card in the right way. all you have to do turn off your computer, change the graphic card and make sure it is in the right place, turn on your computer and windows by default will detect the new hardware devices that plug in to it, so install your new graphic card software and that's it.for the power supplier, in general you should check the prerequisites for your graphic card from the manual to see if it fits with your system or not. if not then you should replaced it as mentioned in your manual. however, it is better to change your power supply with one supplys extra power to get along with your graphic card, especially if you want to play games with deep illustration and graphics or it will explode .

[truefusion 3]

Unless you have heard else where that Nvidia card drivers conflict with ATI card drivers, then there is no need to do any kind of maintenance work for those things (though you should still uninstall the Nvidia card drivers for the sake of having a neater system). The power supply you have now is just fine for either card. In fact, i'm pretty sure you could even get the system to work if you had a 430 watt power supply.

[bluedragon 0]

Hmm.. Thanks for the reply. I now only have 5770 as an option, since the last 4870 was sold out yesterday (thats what my dealer says). I can still buy a 4870 in 512 but I think its better to stick to 5770 1GB. As for the power supply, I think I'll upgrade if I face any issues.