New Graphics card for old PC

[cat123]

I'm looking for a new graphics card to replace an ATI X300 128mb. My computer is getting on a bit and I'm looking for a new card with DVI/HDMI & VGA as I'm going to connect my Xbox 360 to my new monitor via VGA so need to connect the computer via DVI.

I would also like to be able to watch HD content without it affecting the system too much. I would prefer not to have a card with a loud fan, also prefer one with low power consumption and I'm looking at spending no more than £45.

I've only got a 300w power supply at the moment so can't install anything too power hungry. Not a PC gamer so not bothered about playing games via the card.

I was going to get a HD 4350 or a Geforce 8400 but if anyone has a better Idea give me some advice please.

Some extra info:

Motherboard - HP ASUS Puffer Intel 915P (Grantsdale-P) + ICH6

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...208497&dlc=en#

CPU - Intel Pentium 4 530 Prescott LGA775

RAM - 4GB

Cheers

[llololloy]

well, it's pci express so at least you have a large selection of cheap cards to choose from. Seems you're not bothered about gaming what with the 360 so I'd recommend something like
this for £40 @ scan or this 4350 @ £26?

[cat123]

Thanks the 512MB Sapphire HD 5450 looks good but I wasn't sure if my motherboard would be ok with a GDDR3 card because its an older board and the RAM is DDR but if it is then that looks a good card for the money. Ideally a single slot card would be best.

[DanceswithUnix]

Bargain of the moment is this 4650 & 32 quid (+ 1.99 delivery if you aren't in a tearing hurry).

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...4650512MB.html

Utter overkill for what you want, which is nice for an extra few quid over the cheapest you could buy.

[DanceswithUnix]

Thanks the 512MB Sapphire HD 5450 looks good but I wasn't sure if my motherboard would be ok with a GDDR3 card because its an older board and the RAM is DDR but if it is then that looks a good card for the money. Ideally a single slot card would be best.

The type of ram on the card isn't important for compatibility, it does affect the performance of the card though. For your use it sounds like you aren't going to care what sort of RAM the card has however.

[cat123]

I'm really tempted to go for the 256MB Asus HD 4350 from Scan for only £23.37 but the fact that I've read that it takes up two slots because of the heat sink puts me off. Whereas the 1GB XFX HD4550 only takes up one slot but is a bit more expensive although it’s a better GPU as well. The only thing putting me off getting the 1GB XFX HD4550 is that I might not notice a difference between the two, so may as well get the cheaper one.

[DanceswithUnix]

A bigger 2 slot heatsink tends to make a card cooler and quieter as a bigger fan has less work to do than a small one to move the same amount of air.

Besides, if you lose access to a PCI slot would you ever use it in all honesty? The only PCI cards I ever use these days are TV tuner cards, and you can get those in USB form.

[cat123]

Your right I'm gonna get the one at £23 the 4350.

Thanks for the help

Edit: Got it from scan will be here monday. Cheers