Curse

Voodoo Rage · Dec 01, 2008, 07:21 AM // 07:21

Grabbed this on Black Friday. It desperately needs a video card (integrated graphics barely will run GW). What do you recommend that won't force me to upgrade the 300w power supply? My goal is 25+ frames per second on a 20 inch LCD monitor. (PCI-E slot)

I was thinking of something from the GE Force 9400GT chipset with 512 mb memory. Do you think that power supply can handle that? My budget is under a hundred US dollars. Thanks.

Lord Sojar · Dec 01, 2008, 11:20 AM // 11:20

Under 100?

A 9500GT will blaze through GW on a 20" LCD.

Here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-395-_-Product

Cyber Monday sale ^ = CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. Buy it today.

Quaker · Dec 01, 2008, 03:17 PM // 15:17

Actually, nVidia recommends at least a 350 watt PS for the 9500GT, but you may be able to get away with it. (300watts for the 9400GT)

Or you could try http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102806

The 300watt power supply is a bit of a limiting factor, and it may depend upon the quality of the supply and the current load on it. The 4350 should give you good performance though. Check this out for more info:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...rd,2064-2.html

On the other hand: http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/...e/1824_13.html
recommends the 9400GT

Blackhearted · Dec 01, 2008, 08:57 PM // 20:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rahja the Thief

Under 100?

A 9500GT will blaze through GW on a 20" LCD.

Here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-395-_-Product

Cyber Monday sale ^ = CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. Buy it today.

Bad choice for 2 reasons. first off, 1Gb of ram is completely useless for the 8600/9500 cards(they're the same things) due to their weakness. And Secondly, recommending ddr2 versions of the aforementioned cards is always a no no. Especially when the proper ddr3 one is roughly the same price and removes ddr2's crippling effect.

Elder III · Dec 01, 2008, 11:19 PM // 23:19

doesn't the 9500 need a PCI-Express x16 slot? If I understood the OP he only has a PCIE slot?

Also the 8600gts is cheaper than the 9500 GT and should deliver basically the same performance.

I thought I should point out that you can get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341012

and this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341012

for $55 after rebates.... 500watt PSU and a GPU more than capable of delivering what you want; good brand names too.

Voodoo Rage · Dec 02, 2008, 05:11 AM // 05:11

Grabbed a 9400GT 512mb card at Fry's Electronics today. The computer did not like it, not recognizing the card at all (PCIx16). I'm guessing it was a power supply issue. I swapped it with an older NVidia 7600 card instead from my main computer and that one worked just fine, providing 60+ FPS at the 20" resolution with max detail. It shows you really don't need that high end of a card for Guildwars.

Quaker · Dec 02, 2008, 03:47 PM // 15:47

That's sort of odd - I can't see why the computer would recognize the 7600, but not the 9400GT. Even if the 9400GT requires too much power while running a game, start-up power for the card would be small.
However, does the 9400GT have a separate power connector you overlooked.... I'll look it up....

It doesn't appear to have an external power connector, so maybe the card is just bad, or it wasn't fully seated in the slot when you tried it.

Also, check the BIOS to make sure the on-board video is disabled. Maybe the 7600 works with the on-board, but the 9400 doesn't (?).

Voodoo Rage · Dec 02, 2008, 03:57 PM // 15:57

Yeah, one of those bang your head against the wall computer issues. No external power source. Card fully seated. On-board video disabled. The card works fine in my other computer. Oh well. Bottom line, I got what I wanted; a 2nd computer that can run Guildwars so my daughter and I can play together.