Curse

Articus Red · Feb 06, 2008, 06:29 AM // 06:29

Hello I have a HP PC with 1536mb of ram 2700mhz with an amd processor.

Ok so on terms on RAM I'm pretty sure I'm fine I run GW and other games fine. But I have some extra cash so I was hoping to upgrade my computer and the first thing that came to mind is my video card. my current video card is an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE 256 mb. Alright so I run guild wars fine but sometimes I do get slow fps rates I think its probably just cause I run other processes in the background and once I exit them it speeds up. I don't want to get a new video card thats going to be 300 dollars expensive, maybe like 200 or 150 range. Also I know GW2 is coming out in about a year, I want a pretty good card that will run that game smooth as well so when it comes out I'm ready to play and be happy

Any advice of which I should get, I'd prefer to stay with NVIDIA.

deluxe · Feb 06, 2008, 07:47 AM // 07:47

The best performance for your money at the moment: Ati Radeon HD3850
There's not really something from nVidia that can beat the price and performance from that card.

EniGmA1987 · Feb 06, 2008, 07:49 AM // 07:49

First you need to know if you have an AGP or PCI-Express graphcis slot on your motherboard. Once you find out then you will know what kind of graphics card options you have. AGP cards are slower and cost more now days.

PCI-Express:
ATI Radeon HD3870 w/ 512MB of video memory
ATI Radeon HD3850 w/ 512MB of video memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103051

Those are your two best choises for under $200, the 3870 might be slightly over $200 depending on where you look. The Nvidia GeForce 8800GT w/ 512MB of memory is a bit better than the 3870, but costs around $240. If you can afford it and want great performance for the money, get an 8800GT.
You can get a 3850 for $200 AFTER tax and shipping so that might be what you want to do. Plus the 3850 seems to have one of the best price to performance rations out of all the cards on the market.

AGP:
ATI Radeon 2600XT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102718
ATi Radeon 2600PRO (best performance to cost ratio)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102709
Nvidia 7600GS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130076

Not too many good cards for AGP anymore. None of them seem to have a 256-bit memory interface. The only reason I recommend the ATI cards over the Nvidia for AGP is because the ATI cards have newer tech in them that will work better in the future. Besides, image quality is better with ATI cards than Nvidia.

*EDIT* oh, and judging from the look of your current card, you more than likely have an AGP slot. Building a brand new computer with a 3850, a nice dual core processor, and 4GB of good RAM only costs $800 now days. You might think about saving your money and upgrading to a whole new computer with the latest tech in it instead of spending so much on upgrading an old computer that wont be able to play games in a year or two.

Yichi · Feb 06, 2008, 07:49 AM // 07:49

XfX 8600 gt OC 512mb. Best buy has them for like 229. I run 2 of them and love the performance i get out of them.

deluxe · Feb 06, 2008, 08:02 AM // 08:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yichi

XfX 8600 gt OC 512mb. Best buy has them for like 229. I run 2 of them and love the performance i get out of them.

I'm pretty sure a single 3850 is faster than 2 8600gt budgetcards

ps. dumb people buy hardware at bestbuy, lmao at the prices. 8600GT is 83 euro's here (120 dollar), 229 dollar on bestbuy.

Surena · Feb 06, 2008, 08:39 AM // 08:39

[email protected] SLI.

Get a 3850 with 512MB, it's a way better deal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deluxe

I'm pretty sure a single 3850 is faster than 2 8600gt budgetcards

An old 1950XT is already faster.

Articus Red · Feb 06, 2008, 09:16 AM // 09:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by EniGmA1987

*EDIT* oh, and judging from the look of your current card, you more than likely have an AGP slot. Building a brand new computer with a 3850, a nice dual core processor, and 4GB of good RAM only costs $800 now days. You might think about saving your money and upgrading to a whole new computer with the latest tech in it instead of spending so much on upgrading an old computer that wont be able to play games in a year or two.

Wow is it really as low as 800 bucks? I've never thought of building my own computer but if I can get all parts for 800 give or take a few...I would do it. I think I'll look into it, thanks.

cebalrai · Feb 06, 2008, 11:35 AM // 11:35

Articus, ignore most posts above IMO. Buying a whole computer when you don't need to is a huge waste. Get a new rig when you can't run the games you want to play, not because someone says it's old. Remember, the longer you hold out on upgrading, the better your machine will be when you finally take the plunge.

You have an AGP slot. Therefore any 8000-series card is not compatible. This is not a problem for GW, as it runs great on AGP-level graphics cards.

For $104 you can get GeForce 7600 with 512 mb of ram at Circuit City. This price is as good as any online retailer. This is a sweet deal for AGP people. It's way more than enough to run GW at a high frame rate with maxed-out settings, without getting major dips in performance when the screen gets busy.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/eVGA-...oductDetail.do

Snograt · Feb 06, 2008, 12:04 PM // 12:04

Wow, a sudden spate of ATI love - what happened?

I used to be a great supporter of the Athlon series processors and the X series GPUs, but then along came Core, Core2, Duos and Quads, and the almighty nVidia 8000 series. Was sad to say goodbye to AMD/ATI, but it had to be done.

arrowofthewood · Feb 06, 2008, 12:27 PM // 12:27

I'd go for the 8800GT 512MB by Nvidea, best quality/best performance, its pwns all the ati cards out there.

cebalrai · Feb 06, 2008, 01:20 PM // 13:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by arrowofthewood

I'd go for the 8800GT 512MB by Nvidea, best quality/best performance, its pwns all the ati cards out there.

Again, ignore inappropriate posts like this.

The Meth · Feb 06, 2008, 02:39 PM // 14:39

Since you say you run guild wars and your other games fine, I would say hold off on upgrading. Don't upgrade your computer now for guild wars 2, upgrade it when it comes out, prices drop so fast over time with computer hardware that you will be able to afford much better by then.

Also, although you don't state whether you have PCI or AGP, I'm assuming you probably only have an AGP slot, unless you have one of those rare systems which have both types. That means you are going to need to upgrade at least your motherboard as well as your video card if you want to upgrade past a 7800, which was the last AGP nvidia card I believe.

Edit: 7800 is the last AGP card, not 6800.

cebalrai · Feb 06, 2008, 02:50 PM // 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Meth

Since you say you run guild wars and your other games fine, I would say hold off on upgrading. Don't upgrade your computer now for guild wars 2, upgrade it when it comes out, prices drop so fast over time with computer hardware that you will be able to afford much better by then.

Also, although you don't state whether you have PCI or AGP, I'm assuming you probably only have an AGP slot, unless you have one of those rare systems which have both types. That means you are going to need to upgrade at least your motherboard as well as your video card if you want to upgrade past a 6800, which was the last AGP nvidia card I believe.

There are multiple posts above referring to a 7600 for AGP, so I'm not sure why you're saying this. There are even links to vendors selling them.

There is also a 7800 for AGP. It's quite a solid performer even with today's games. Here it is at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUNOTM?...0&linkCode=asn

Articus Red · Feb 06, 2008, 10:27 PM // 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by cebalrai

There are multiple posts above referring to a 7600 for AGP, so I'm not sure why you're saying this. There are even links to vendors selling them.

There is also a 7800 for AGP. It's quite a solid performer even with today's games. Here it is at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUNOTM?...0&linkCode=asn

Hey thanks alot bud, yeah the computer thing, my computer isn't going anywhere anytime soon, my baby runs smooth and I hope it will do so for a few more years till it actually comes to the time to upgrade it to a new one. unfortunately for me I don't know how to check if I have an AGP or PCI slot, I'm new to the video card section of my computer so I don't know much about it when it comes to that area...after opening up a new window and doing a bit of research, I went to the crucial.com website and put my comp model in..an a320n and I now know my graphic support is AGP 8X..whatever that means. But yeah I can read spec and understand them! for the most part heh

and I really like the 7800, a bit out of my budget, but I can afford it if I really want to. The 7600 is good too, but it being a PC card that means I can use it right?

Also to Meth: I know theres alot of time from here till now till GW2 and other great games that are going to need good graphic cards, but I don't know if I'll have the money then cause I'm a full time student, so I normally don't get spending cash like this

But yeah I'm just taking upgrading into consideration, I might hold off, just gotta see my options

moriz · Feb 07, 2008, 12:47 AM // 00:47

first thing first:

there's a pretty big difference between PCI and PCI-E. PCI is very slow and not suited for graphic cards. PCI-E is the newest standard for graphic card slots, and is faster than AGP and PCI.

anyways, since you have AGP 8X, you obviously have AGP. so follow the geforce 7600 advice if you wish, since those are probably the best value. it will play GW and any other game you play very well.

BTW, if you can still find a radeon 9800PRO for $50, that's a very good buy as well. that card, is. a. BEAST. very much outdated now, but can probably match or exceed the geforce 7600. the problem is, i'm not sure if you can find it anymore.

I Dont Do Coke · Feb 07, 2008, 02:08 AM // 02:08

Lul... ATI will have one month of glory with their 3850s and 3870s before the GeForce 9s are out.

deluxe · Feb 07, 2008, 05:11 AM // 05:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Dont Do Coke

Lul... ATI will have one month of glory with their 3850s and 3870s before the GeForce 9s are out.

I think you are missing something. The 38x0 cards arent meant to compete with the best of the best, they are meant to compete with the 8800GT. They come pretty close for a heck of a lot less money.

I Dont Do Coke · Feb 07, 2008, 05:39 AM // 05:39

Yes, of course. AMD's Athlons and Phenoms also suck, but they're priced competitively.

Mmm I meant their HD3870X2 specifically, which reigns at the top as the most powerful single-PCB GPU, but costs about the same as an 8800 GTX. It'll be first-rate until NVIDIA's 9800GX2 comes a month later at about the same cost.

Master Sword Keeper · Feb 07, 2008, 06:34 AM // 06:34

Nvidia 2600 sapphire pro.

Smoothest FPS ever.

HD, 512mb.

cebalrai · Feb 08, 2008, 01:49 PM // 13:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Articus Red

Hey thanks alot bud, yeah the computer thing, my computer isn't going anywhere anytime soon, my baby runs smooth and I hope it will do so for a few more years till it actually comes to the time to upgrade it to a new one. unfortunately for me I don't know how to check if I have an AGP or PCI slot, I'm new to the video card section of my computer so I don't know much about it when it comes to that area...after opening up a new window and doing a bit of research, I went to the crucial.com website and put my comp model in..an a320n and I now know my graphic support is AGP 8X..whatever that means. But yeah I can read spec and understand them! for the most part heh

and I really like the 7800, a bit out of my budget, but I can afford it if I really want to. The 7600 is good too, but it being a PC card that means I can use it right?

Also to Meth: I know theres alot of time from here till now till GW2 and other great games that are going to need good graphic cards, but I don't know if I'll have the money then cause I'm a full time student, so I normally don't get spending cash like this

But yeah I'm just taking upgrading into consideration, I might hold off, just gotta see my options

If you're planning to upgrade your graphics before getting a new computer then why wait?

The 7800 and 7600 are the ceiling for you so it's not like you can wait for new technology to come out. Sure these cards will get a little bit cheaper in the next few months but not too much.

I upgraded from a 5700 to a 7600 by the way. The difference was so amazingly huge I was like whoa...