Well recently I put in a new gpu into my old system so my brother could use it. It is a Pentium D 3.14 Ghz with 2GB DDR2 Ram, and I just put in a ATI 4870x2 into it. Before that I had the x1900xt in it. When he went to run his games he told me that the fps was worse than before, checked it out and I couldn't find a solution. I downloaded all the correct drivers and no changes occurred. Could it be the system or processor, I'm stuck here.
It looks like your Computer is Decent. The Graphics Card should not have a problem. Maybe you need to update your Mother board? and Do download the Correct Drivers for the 4870. Ooh..and Red got it right. It probably needs more Power Supply. Around 500W should be fine... but here is a good deal for 750W if you want to go that high http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...-009-_-Homepage or 1000W http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...mp;Sku=ULT40064 Z
Probably the PSU. Going from a relatively (by this generation of GPUs standards) low draw card, to one of the hungriest f*ckers on the market is probably causing the card to be unstable. Buy a new PSU. Something from Corsair, 600w - 700w. That PCP&C PSU that Zainx linked would be the business. 60a 12v rail is ideal for such a hungry card.
Yes, but wattage means little these days. I've seen plenty of 750w+ PSUs that can barely deliver 200-300w of clean power. What you need to pay attention to is amperage. What PSU do you have?
Well, the Pentium D is gonna be a huge bottleneck for such a card, and to be honest, you'd have gotten better performance out of upgrading CPU, RAM and motherboard, than sinking that money into such a graphics card.
I got the card for free so.. What do you recommend for a motherboard and CPU. I already know what ram I am going to buy him