What changes can I expect from GT 240 over GF 9300 GE?

Question is, for my type use, how much improvement should expect going to the GT 240?

If GT 240 isn't going to make easily noticeable diff (for my use), will wait on better card to go on sale. Budget's fairly tight, but throwing good $ after bad is stupid. If have better suggestions for my purpose, please chime in.

Have a HP OEM Geforce 9300 GE in my Pavilion d5200t (that I "custom built" / ordered). Has Intel Q9400, 4GB, ASUS MB (told it's similar to P5K64). Orig got lowest GPU card they offered because upgrade $$ were ridiculous. Figured I'd catch better card on sale. Just picked up (not installed) EVGA 01G-P3-1246-LR GeForce GT 240 1GB 128 BIT DDR5 card for $60 on sale. Note: Well aware it's not "high end" - not looking for a $200 - 300 card.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gt_240_us.html

Don't do gaming, but do video / photo / captured web page editing, watch some movies, d/l a lot of heavy graphics pages (teaching) & often need a lot of web pages open. Seems w/ this processor / ram, re displaying edited (avg) photos (for instance) should be pretty instantaneous - figure it's the slower GPU / only 256 MB slowing things. There're other times where graphics don't display quickly as think they should (local - not d/l off web).

Thanks.
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-1246-LR&family=21

 

The 240 should be just fine, I have a 260 and a couple of 9800GT's (which is basically the 240), you can't go wrong there especially from my favourite, eVGA. As to spectacular changes being observed, as all that depends on the rest of your machine which is very good. You will see an improvement.

 

Before ever upgrading a graphics card, it is important to remember that graphics cards can easily be the most power hungry device in your computer. Therefore you MUST ensure your power supply has enough horsepower, and connections, to handle the increased load. Here is my canned text on sizing and selecting a new PSU.

Use the eXtreme PSU Calculator Lite to determine your minimum power supply unit (PSU) requirements. Plug in all the hardware you think you might have in 2 or 3 years (extra drives, bigger or 2nd video card, more RAM, etc.). Be sure to read and heed the notes at the bottom of the page. I recommend setting Capacitor Aging to 30%, and if you participate in distributive computing projects (e.g. BOINC or Folding@Home) or extreme 3D animated gaming, I recommend setting both TDP and system load to 100%. These steps ensure the supply has adequate head room for stress free (and perhaps quieter) operation, and future hardware demands. Research your video card and pay particular attention to the power supply requirements for your card listed on your video card maker's website. If not listed, check a comparable card (same graphics engine and RAM) from a different maker. The key specifications, in order of importance are:

1. Current (amperage or amps) on the +12V rail,
2. Efficiency,
3. Total wattage.

Don’t try to save a few dollars by getting a cheap supply! Digital electronics, including CPUs, RAM, and today's advanced graphics cards, need clean, stable power. A good, well chosen supply will provide years of service and upgrade wiggle room. Look for power supply brands listed under the "Good" column of PC Mechanic's PSU Reference List. Note that some case retailers “toss in” a generic or inadequate PSU just to make the case sale. Be prepared to “toss out” that supply for a good one with sufficient power.

Most PSUs have an efficiency rating of around 70%. This means for every 100 watts of power a PSU draws from the wall, only 70 watts is delivered to the motherboard, with the rest wasted in the form of heat. The best supplies are 85 to 90% efficient, and as expected, cost more. I strongly recommend you pick a quality supply with an efficiency rating equal to or greater than 80%. Look for 80 Plus - EnergyStar Compliant labels.

Too big of a PSU hurts nothing but your budget. Your computer will draw from the PSU only what it needs, not what the PSU is capable of delivering. If a computer needs 300 watts it will draw 300 watts regardless if the PSU is a 350W, 650W, or 1000W PSU. In turn, the PSU, regardless its size will draw from the wall only what it needs to support the computer. In this example, it will draw 300 watts, plus another 45 – 90 watts, depending on the PSU’s inefficiency.

As noted, the eXtreme Calculator determines the minimum requirements. If the calculator (with the changes I suggested) recommends a 400 watt minimum, a quality 400W supply will serve you just fine. But a quality 550W – 600W supply will have, among other things, larger heat sinks to dissipate potentially more heat. It might have a larger fan too. The 400W supply will run most of the time closer to capacity, while the larger supply will be loafing along, rarely breaking a sweat. To help the smaller heat sinks get rid of the wasted 80 watts (20% of 400) of heat, the fan in the 400W supply may need to run full speed, while the fan in the larger supply, with bigger sinks just loafs along too – but in near silence.

Don't forget to budget for a good UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation). Surge and spike protectors are inadequate.
​

 

Thanks for replies. Did not get email notification of AD's, even tho configured to. Have to chk it out.

Talked to some "pros" locally as well. Seems to be a topic there's no consensus on - whether I'll see much diff by upgrading the GPU - to ANY card, on this system, if not gaming. Some say 'yes,' some 'no.' So, I probably won't know for sure till install it (if I do). The GT 240 isn't "high end," but it's not junk & definitely faster than 9300 GE. I can return w/ no penalty. Only question, is the 9300 the bottleneck (if one exists)? If not, upgrading won't make much diff.

May not be much of a factor, but realized the OEM HDD was a Seagate Barrac. ST3500620AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB cache SATA 3.0 GB/s, where the OS is. Added a 32 MB cache, 3.0, 1TB drive later. Not sure how much, if any, diff Vista x64 being on a 16 MB cache HDD makes.

Digerati, thanks for informative reply. Not sure I need to go thru those calcs now (but good resource). This box came w/ 460w PS, tho don't remember the brand. I'm sure it's not "top of line." IF... use the GT 240, it takes less power than the 9300 (or a 9800 GT).

If I add other equip, will definitely check out the sites you linked.

Some suggested waiting for Nvidia to release more of the GT 400 series soon, as most support Directx 11 (not sure diff will make to me). Specs for GT430 are avail & would be step down from GT240 in many areas (still uses GDDR3). Can't find anything on a GT440 & the new GT450 does have higher specs, but uses 106 vs 69w for GT240. Doubt I'll find the GT440 / 450 for $60, as they're new products. All of these cards may be overkill for my use.