| 11 MAY 2009 at 7:59pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
I assume you have a Geforce FX 5200, which is an AGP card isn't it?
If so, then I first need to ask whether or not your motherboard even has a PCI-Express (PCI-E x16) slot?
That is essential for using any of the current generation GPUs.
Also, the higher end (gaming) PCI-E video cards these days require extra power.
So the next question is, what are the specs for your current Power Supply Unit (PSU) measured in watts?
Cheers, Terry
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| 11 MAY 2009 at 8:29pm |
KarstenSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 347
Joined: 23 SEP 2006
Location: DK
Status : Offline | My old videocard was an Nvidia 5200 or a 5500 card. Then I got a 6600GT card that has worked well for about 3½ years.
I know that some people from http://www.gameboomers.com are very happy about the Radeon 3650 (or 3850) card which also comes in an AGP version. I have my eye set on the 512MB DDR2 RAM version.
You will really need a 512MB RAM to run most games decent these days or maybe even a card with more RAM in it?
If you have a computer with a motherboard that a PCI-E(xpress) slot, then I will recommend an Nvidia 8800GT card or maybe a 9800 card? or some of the newer cards like the Nvidia GTX280...
It all depends on your power supply as well, though...
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| 11 MAY 2009 at 9:36pm |
| Deleted User | No, rather go for faster than for more than 512 RAM. Your current vid card technology doesn't use much more RAM than that, though there are many other factors to consider than purely RAM alone, such as the speed of the chip itself, and other capabilities of the card.
Assuming that your motherboard can indeed accomodate PCI-express cards:
I currently have an Nvidea 9800 GTX 512MB, and I assure you that there is no game it cannot play on "high" graphics settings, including Crysis. And yes, it's huge and it sucks power... however, with that card, I had also upgraded everything else. This is a big baby, and she is a tight fit too.
Don't even think of getting anything near as high-end as the Nvidia GTX280, unless your other hardware is also new, high-end stuff, and you are playing ultra high spec games on a huge monitor - otherwise it will be a waste.
On my other PC, I have an Nvidea 8500 GT, and it can certainly run any modern adventure, but I still have that running on a small screen, so I only have to use relatively low resolutions with that card. For what your current mobo gives you, (if you're going to keep it, ) I might suggest going for the Nvidea 8600GT.
If you are going to be using a big screen, or playing anything more taxing on your system than AG's I would would suggest rather going for the 8800GT or even the 9600 GT . Take note, though that if you're going to be going for something as big as 9800GTX, you need at least 600-650 Watt power supply, depending on your peripherals. (I've got an 850W - got it cheaper though, coz they didn't have a 650 in stock.. 8-) )
However, if you're going to upgrade your graphics card this much, it might be a bit of a waste if you don't upgrade your other hardware as well.
I'm not a radeon fan, but they are good value for money, especially some of the latest ones. Do you want to stick with Nvidea, or were you perhaps thinking of going over to Radeon?
In any case, I suspect it might do you better, to upgrade your mobo as well. Plus your RAM - you'll find RAM is very cheap these days, and it's quite an important aspect of gaming performance. Remember that your mobo front-end bus speed also influences the performance of all your other hardware. Your parts are only as good as your mobo is.
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| 12 MAY 2009 at 2:36am |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
When recommending a new mobo, we also need to point out that many newer boards will not work with older CPUs and older types of system RAM.
If those components also need to be replaced along with the GPU and PSU, you might as well look at a whole new system. That's because there are also other critical issues like case size (space for larger parts) and air flow / ventiliation / fans that must be addressed. Additionally, if your Windows OS is a pre-installed OEM version, there comes a point when it simply will not work with all the new components.
If you want to avoid building (essentially) a whole new PC and your current mobo only has an AGP slot, Karsten made some good suggestions. But do make sure that your PSU can easily handle any new video card you are considering before buying it.
Otherwise, Traveler's suggestion about adding some more system RAM is rock solid too. It is dirt cheap and extra memory helps in lots of ways beyond gaming.
Cheers, Terry
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| 12 MAY 2009 at 4:04am |
| Deleted User | If your PC came with the Geforce FX 5200 card originally than in all likelihood it is an AGP mobo similar to my old Dell 4600. Your best bet in upgrading gaming performance is to go with the 6600GT card with modest power requirements as suggested by Karsten. Last time I looked, they were very reasonably priced. I myself purchased this particular upgrade a few years back and it served me well for playing adventure games. Ultimately, the best card you can procure is the GeForce 7800 GS AGP card although it has become somewhat rare and very pricy and requires a substantial power source. As Terry mentioned in the previous post, it might be the time to consider a new system if your finances permit such.
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| 12 MAY 2009 at 2:30pm |
| Deleted User | The only reason reason why I also had a look at the very modern, high-end cards, is that Karsten had mentioned the Nvidia GTX280. This card is top of the range, and I'm prepared to put my mousepad on the block, that it would not work properly/ be included in the list of featured GPU 's for fr8haulers current board, besides that the current fsb speed will cause a bottle-neck and all the wonderful (expensive) goodness of that card would go to waste.
Hence my suggestion that fr8hauler should rather look at a modest upgrade of his entire system, than into buying a supercharged, top of the range graphics card, that will simply not fit in with his current system.
It is actually pretty difficult to reply to a post that simply says: "I need to get a new graphics card: any suggestions ?"
There are many factors to consider, such as the budget you are looking at, and the type of gaming you aim to be doing (Modern high-spec shooter in multipayer on-line gaming stints, or mainly adventure games, or something inbetween like a bit of action and or RPG-ing thrown in with the occasional AG?)
Of course it is quite possible to only replace the graphics card with the current board and other hardware still remaining, but I think you need to sit down and do a list of options, and you might find that a modest upgrade of more than one component might be a better option than paying a lot for older hardware to try and match your current older hardware.
...or of course you could simply go with Camaroboy's suggestion of the 6600GT. .. oh, and like Terry said, up your RAM a bit.
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| 13 MAY 2009 at 5:47pm |
BXLebanonIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 86
Joined: 20 JUL 2005
Status : Offline | If you have a PCI Express slot the best value card may be the ATI Radeon 4670: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-gtx,2270.html.
The Toms site should be getting ready to put out a new article for May about the best cards. I did just buy some GeForce 9500 cards for my PCs because they were cheaper than the ATI Radeon 4670 cards and had the VGA connections I needed, link to that thread here: http://justadventure.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1240762998. The rebates for the XFX cards ended so I don't know how cheap you can get a 9500 for right now.
Now I see on Newegg that there are a few GeForce 9500 cards for under $40 after rebate and several 4670 for under $60 after a rebate, if I was shopping now I'd go for the 4670 card.
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| 17 MAY 2009 at 3:33pm |
jalexSchattenjger
Posts : 2503
Joined: 5 MAR 2003
Status : Offline | I would definatly look into ATI. I used to be a Nividia fan but back about when the FX cards came out I started having problems and having to install new drivers every time I bought a new game. I don't like to do that as I have old favorites that I want to play as well without changing the drivers. I also noticed that sometimes the colors were not right or completly missing.
The higher end Nividia cards may be fine but I didn't want to take that chance.
I have never had this problem with the ATI and have yet to find a game it wouldn't run.
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| 19 MAY 2009 at 2:51pm |
desertjediIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 26
Joined: 15 MAR 2006
Status : Online | I'm looking for a good quality graphics card that can run most any game without incident.
The one card I've seen associated with that phrase most often is the ATI HD 4850. You can snag one for $95 after rebate at newegg. That's a TON of card for the money! Another great performer is the brand new HD 4770 known as the "$99 Monster" - again AMAZING bang for the buck and comes in just under the HD 4850 in performance.
I would try to push your budget to $99 if you can. The cards at that level are pretty serious video cards - WAY more than anything you could get for $50.
ATI is a great choice for low and mid-range video cards. In the high end, I prefer Nvidia mostly because the high end ATI cards run too hot and get too noisy when you try to cool them to reasonable temps. Nvidia is pure bliss at the high end.
I would definatly look into ATI. I used to be a Nividia fan but back about when the FX cards came out I started having problems and having to install new drivers every time I bought a new game. I don't like to do that as I have old favorites that I want to play as well without changing the drivers. I also noticed that sometimes the colors were not right or completly missing.
At this point in "history", you could take that statement and swap the words "ATI" and "Nvidia" and end up with just as valid a statement. Since '97, I've never had a single problem with any Nvidia card. ATI has had its "driver bumps" along the way. Often, ATI has to scramble to release a "hotfix" so their drivers work with the very latest games. That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
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| 19 MAY 2009 at 5:28pm |
| Deleted User | Since they've been upping the rivalry pretty much the last few years, I would say that both Nvidia and ATI are good buys these days. The cards produced by the two brands tend to have slightly different characteristics though. It's up to each individual gamer's taste, and it even depends which specific games you test them on, which card comes out tops.
Although I have traditionally been an Nvidia fan, I will admit to getting a drooly feeling around the salivatory glands when the Radeon 4850 is mentioned...
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