Geeks and Gamers please help!

[PeterMan]

I am looking to upgrade the video card in my desktop.

My system is so-so:

Core 2 Duo 1.6
2 gig RAM
GeForce 7300 GS
Running Windows XP
300 watt ps

I realize that I can't install a high end video card on this machine due to the ps and cpu, but I would like to think that I could upgrade the video card enough to get me by for a little longer before putting together a whole new machine...

So I am looking at cards around $60 - $100 and I plan to stick with nvidia...

I can get a 9600GSO for $65 - the question is would that be a worthwhile upgrade? :?:

thanks!

 

[draggar]

What do you plan on doing with the system? The graphics card will only make programs that seem to run choppy (graphics intensive) run smoother. I'd recommend something with no less than 128MB of RAM built into it - 256MB if you're running graphic intensive programs.

Sometimes, though, it is better to bite the bullet and get a new system. You can get some good deals though DellOutlet (DellOutlet.com) - my system was a "scratch and dent" system and it didn't have a scratch or dent on it (the MS Windows label had a very small tear in it). It's been running well for me for 3 years now (it's not much higher than the systme that you have now).

 

[Theo]

There you go. Looks like your video bandwidth will increase sixfold.

 

[PeterMan]

thanks for the responses, Acro that is a very useful link!

My biggest concern is that the ps in my current sytem won;t handle a higher grade card but now that I think about it I may have a better ps that I first thought...

The pc is my "all around" machine... I use it for web development, photoshop, and some gaming and tv/movies...

I need to make sure I know the exact specs before I decide but I think an upgrade to the 9500 or 9600 series might be doable...

 

[Stian]

I'm both a geek and a gamer!

If you plan on buying a more high-end graphics card then you should also get a bigger PSU. RAM is also very cheap nowadays, so grabbing another 2 gigs would be wise as well.

I believe you should get at least a decent 500W PSU, 2 more gigs of RAM and a Geforce GTS 250 512MB or similar. This card is not the best, but it's alot better than what you have and you will really see a huge performance boost.

This will exceed your $100 budget a little, but I think that if you're thinking of upgrading you should "at least" get the specs mentioned above or else you won't notice much difference in gaming performance.

Also remember to check what RAM you have before buying more. You want to buy the exact same RAM with the exact same clock speed and timings, or else the sticks won't work together and your system won't boot. Also check your motherboard's ram slots as well to see if it can fit more RAM (e.g. you can have 512MB x 4 and no more free slots).

 

[seanboy]

I have a 9600GT and I think its a great card
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Stian]

I have a 9600GT and I think its a great card
Posted via Mobile Device

Then you haven't played any games released the last 2 years.

A game is unplayable if the framerate drops below 30FPS IMHO. I know a lot of people tolerate lower framerates, but I'm really picky when it comes to that. Of course it depends on the type of game you're playing. If you're playing first person shooters or racing etc. then the framerate is crucial. Not so much when playing turn-based strategy, RPGs etc.

 

[draggar]

If you plan on buying a more high-end graphics card then you should also get a bigger PSU. RAM is also very cheap nowadays, so grabbing another 2 gigs would be wise as well.

WinXP won't recognize anything beyond 2GB - excess could be used for shared video memory but having the mem on the card would be a lot faster.

 

[Stian]

WinXP won't recognize anything beyond 2GB - excess could be used for shared video memory but having the mem on the card would be a lot faster.

Not really. You can use 4GB RAM in 32bit WinXP just fine as 2GB will be reserved to the kernel and you will have 2GB free for application usage. Only 3GB will show though, but it's still very beneficiary.

 

[Ang]

why don't you look at upgrading the motherboard and chipset first... it's worth the investment since your running at 1.6GHz and for the time being you could buy a motherboard with onboard video which has come a long way in the last few years.

I just upgraded my motherboard to an Asus P5QLEM which has amazing features and does have onboard video but I went with a higher end graphics card anyways I'm pretty sure my system speed is 2.6GHz but it's overclocked to 3.0GHz

 

[Stian]

Unfortunately, for gaming, no motherboard has a decent onboard GPU.

 

[seanboy]

Then you haven't played any games released the last 2 years.

A game is unplayable if the framerate drops below 30FPS IMHO. I know a lot of people tolerate lower framerates, but I'm really picky when it comes to that. Of course it depends on the type of game you're playing. If you're playing first person shooters or racing etc. then the framerate is crucial. Not so much when playing turn-based strategy, RPGs etc.

I'm guessing you've been over to my house recently to make such a statement. And thanks for the lesson on framerates, Captain Obvious.

 

[Stian]

I'm guessing you've been over to my house recently to make such a statement. And thanks for the lesson on framerates, Captain Obvious.

What resolution are you playing on then if you're getting good framerates with a 9600?

 

[seanboy]

What resolution are you playing on then if you're getting good framerates with a 9600?

I was only saying that to start a nerd fight with you.

Honestly, the only PC games I've played recently have been Crysis, Modern Warfare, and The Witcher. I run them on 1280x1024 with maxed settings. They all run with great framerates. I haven't had the chance to play anything new really since I started playing Oblivion again, which has taken up almost all of my gaming time.

Edit-
Here are the rest of my specs:
Core 2 Duo 2.4
2 Gigs RAM
PNY GeForce 9600GT w/512 MB RAM
Windows Vista

 

[Stian]

I was only saying that to start a nerd fight with you.

Honestly, the only PC games I've played recently have been Crysis, Modern Warfare, and The Witcher. I run them on 1280x1024 with maxed settings. They all run with great framerates. I haven't had the chance to play anything new really since I started playing Oblivion again, which has taken up almost all of my gaming time.

Edit-
Here are the rest of my specs:
Core 2 Duo 2.4
2 Gigs RAM
PNY GeForce 9600GT w/512 MB RAM
Windows Vista

It's on!

Anyways, I still find it weird that you can play Crysis in 1280x1024 with maxed settings and still mantain a good framerate, as upper high-end systems still have problems with Crysis. I play at 1920x1280x4AA and in Crysis the framerate still drops below 30 sometimes. The Witcher and Oblivion are both awesome games btw. I see that you're an RPG player, so am I, it's about the only type of games I play. I've played the Elder Scrolls-series since Arena on the Amiga 500. Love those games.

If you're into RPGs you should check out Dragon Age: Origins, upcoming RPG from Bioware which is said to be the "spiritual" sequel to Baldur's Gate 2. It really looks awesome:

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/dragon-age-origins/9022

My specs: Asus Rampage Extreme X48 mb, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.6GHz, 8GB Corsair TWIN3X 1600MHz DDR3, Sapphire Radeon HD4870X2.

 

[seanboy]

It's on!

Anyways, I still find it weird that you can play Crysis in 1280x1024 with maxed settings and still mantain a good framerate, as upper high-end systems still have problems with Crysis. I play at 1920x1280x4AA and in Crysis the framerate still drops below 30 sometimes. The Witcher and Oblivion are both awesome games btw. I see that you're an RPG player, so am I, it's about the only type of games I play. I've played the Elder Scrolls-series since Arena on the Amiga 500. Love those games.

If you're into RPGs you should check out Dragon Age: Origins, upcoming RPG from Bioware which is said to be the "spiritual" sequel to Baldur's Gate 2. It really looks awesome:

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/dragon-age-origins/9022

My specs: Asus Rampage Extreme X48 mb, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.6GHz, 8GB Corsair TWIN3X 1600MHz DDR3, Sapphire Radeon HD4870X2.

Correction..

I just checked my settings for Crysis. I do turn down shadows and AA. Turning down the shadows has seemed to improve framerate more than anything else, for me anyways.

It funny that you mention Dragon Age. I was just looking at some new videos of that game on Gametrailers (http://www.gametrailers.com/game/dragon-age-origins/9022). That is going to be a good one, although I'll probably get it for the 360 instead of my PC.

The Witcher was excellent. I haven't had a chance to revisit it since the Enhanced Edition came out. I've read that its a big improvement over the original release.

My favorite RPG over the past 2 years has to be Mass Effect. The sequel is coming out next year. Its going to be awesome - http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-reveal-mass-effect/52551

Its good to see there are some gamers on the forum.

 

[Stian]

Correction..

I just checked my settings for Crysis. I do turn down shadows and AA. Turning down the shadows has seemed to improve framerate more than anything else, for me anyways.

It funny that you mention Dragon Age. I was just looking at some new videos of that game on Gametrailers (http://www.gametrailers.com/game/dragon-age-origins/9022). That is going to be a good one, although I'll probably get it for the 360 instead of my PC.

The Witcher was excellent. I haven't had a chance to revisit it since the Enhanced Edition came out. I've read that its a big improvement over the original release.

My favorite RPG over the past 2 years has to be Mass Effect. The sequel is coming out next year. Its going to be awesome - http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-reveal-mass-effect/52551

Its good to see there are some gamers on the forum.

Yeah shadows are usually huge framedroppers. I've been playing The Witcher: Enhanced Edition for a while and they've gotten rid of quite a lot of bugs. I haven't played the "original" that much, so I can't really tell the difference though.

Right now I'm waiting for Dragon Age and White Knight Chronicles for PS3.

 

[adityas]

Stian, What's the price of a Geforce GTS 250 512MB in Europe now, any idea, I'd like to compare it with the prices here in India.....

 

[Stian]

Stian, What's the price of a Geforce GTS 250 512MB in Europe now, any idea, I'd like to compare it with the prices here in India.....

Approximately $160-$170 USD. The 1GB version is like $10-$15 more.

 

[PeterMan]

ok, just to clarify, these are my current system stats:

• Chaintech GeForce 7300GS 550MHZ 256MB DDR2 PCI-E VGA DVI-I HDTV
  
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with SP2 OEM English 1
  
• Patriot Signature Line 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL5 240PIN Memory Dual Channel DIMM
  
• Antec Sonata III Black ATX 16IN Mid Tower Quiet Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5IN 500W 120MM Fan 1
  
• Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 Dual Core Processor LGA775 1.8GHZ 800FSB 1MB Retail 1
  
• Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ATX LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard 1

So it is a bit better than I previously mentioned..

I am thinking the upgrade to a 9600 GSO would be ideal, I will see increased performance and it is a very affordable card...

As for gaming I play WoW mostly and with my current card am anywhere around 33-44 fps (with reduced settings)... so I am expecting that a 9600 GSO would provide a great improvement for me...

A GTS 250 is more than double that price so I don't really want to make that investment with the current sysytem I am using... For $65 I am expecting to squeeze maybe 2 more years out of this box, then upgrade the whole thng again...