Buying a new graphics card - (read first post)

lonehawk79 said:Should I bother swapping my Radeon 4670 512MB DDR3 for an 8800GTS or a 9800GTX? My setup is a Philips 22-inch monitor, an E5200 processor, 4GB of Kingmax 800MHz RAM, a P31 motherboard, and a 400W Chiftec power supply. Mostly, I just want to play at 1680x1050 resolution. Thanks.

Shorty and sweet—yes.

Hey there,
-CPU: Athlon64 3000 1.8 MHz
-Motherboard: Gigabyte GA K8N SLi
-GPU: Nvidia GeForce 6600 PCI-E
-RAM: 1GB

So, I'm wondering, if I go out and grab a new graphics card, am I actually gonna be able to run Far Cry 2, and more importantly, which one should I even bother picking up?

Brian Grant47 said:Best regards,
-CPU: Athlon64 3000 1.8 MHz
-Motherboard: Gigabyte GA K8N SLi
-GPU: Nvidia GeForce 6600 PCI-E
-RAM: 1GB

If I pick up a new graphics card, will I be able to run Far Cry 2? Also, which one should I get?

Go with either the Radeon 4670 or the GeForce 9600 GSO. Anything higher than that is a complete waste of money for a rig like yours. You'll be able to play it, though don't expect top-tier performance—it'll just work.

P.S. That game is totally overrated.😉

So what about this GF 8600?

Brian Grant47 said:what about this GF 8600?

Absolutely not. Don't even think about 🤣

So, I picked up an MSI 3850 256 MB ddr3 OC yesterday for $167, and it actually came bundled with Colin McRae Dirt along with a whole bunch of various adapters. Does that sound like a decent deal to you all? I wouldn't exactly call myself a hardcore gamer, but I do enjoy sitting down for something a bit more relaxed every now and then—something like Tomb Raider, for instance. To be honest, the last Underworld installment I tried playing was struggling quite a bit on my old Nvidia 8500.
Does anyone happen to have a solid, intelligent review of the 3850 handy?

Frank Collins85 said:So, I picked up an MSI 3850 256 MB DDR3 OC yesterday for $167, and it came bundled with Dirt Rally and a whole bunch of adapters—does that sound right? I wouldn't call myself a hardcore gamer or anything, but I like to jump on occasionally for something a bit more laid back, like Tomb Raider... though honestly, the last Underworld title was struggling pretty hard on my old NVIDIA 8500.
Anyone out there have a decent review for the 3850?

Check it out over here: http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...pphire_hd3850/

Frank Collins85 said:Picked up an MSI 3850 256 MB DDR3 OC yesterday for $167. It came bundled with Dirt Rally and a whole bunch of adapters. Is that a solid deal? I’m not exactly a hardcore gamer, just someone who likes to play something low-key every now and then—something like Tomb Raider. That last Underworld title was actually struggling quite a bit on my old NVIDIA 8500.
Does anyone have a decent review for the 3850?

It's an excellent card for that price point. You made the right call. As long as you aren't running a massive high-res monitor, everything should run smoothly.

Anthony Scott93 said:Honestly, you can't beat that card for the price. You made a solid choice. As long as you aren't trying to push everything on a massive high-res screen, everything should run beautifully.

I really appreciate the vote of confidence. I always have this nagging fear that I've somehow messed up a purchase or missed something obvious...

The monitor is a 22" 🙄

Frank Collins85 said:Thanks for the support, I always worry I might have messed something up somewhere...

The monitor is 22 inches 🙄

It’ll run fine; maybe not at max settings, but everything will work.

Hey everyone! So, I’m looking for a bit of guidance here—I'm planning to pick up a new graphics card, and my budget is sitting right around to $133 . I’m not really hunting for anything high-end or fancy, honestly; I just want to be able to run FIFA 09 without issues. I don't play much else, really. Currently, I'm working with 1 GB of RAM and an Intel Pentium 4 series motherboard. Someone actually suggested this one to me earlier:
-> so if anyone could be so kind as to weigh in with a professional opinion, I’d certainly appreciate it. Thanks in advance

I'm trying to figure out if it actually makes sense to pick up another one of these and run them in CrossFire—since the tech supports it, anyway. I'm wondering if there would be any noticeable jump in actual gaming performance or anything else along those lines...
I mean, what am I even really gaining by setting up CrossFire?😕😕

My monitor is a 22-inch model, running at a resolution of 1680 x 1050,

Because there is absolutely no way I'm dropping $200-$300$0.00 on something like an HD 4...☕

Thanks!🙂

The HD4870x2 is the only one sitting north of $667
.
The HD4850 is hovering somewhere around $1,100 or higher
while the HD4870 is looking more like $1,500 plus
.
(Keep in mind these prices aren't set in stone)
.
But honestly, if you pick up any of those cards, you're basically looking at a lifetime supply of high-end gaming enjoyment..

bluenomad11 said:I'm wondering if it's even worth grabbing another one of these and running them in CrossFire since it's supported. Would I actually see a real difference in gaming performance or whatever else...
And honestly, what am I even gaining from CrossFire? 😕😕

My monitor is a 22-inch and... resolution is 1680 x 1050,

Because there is absolutely no way I'm dropping 2-3 $0.00 on something like an HD 4...☕

thanks 🙂

If I were you, I'd just sell the 3870, and if you really have the cash to mess around with CrossFire, you're better off just picking up an HD 48x0 or an 8800 GTS 512 instead.

Why not just sell what you have right now and pick up a 4850 or 4870 instead?
You aren't going to see much of a performance boost by messing around with Crossfire here.
By the way, where exactly did you find that data regarding $1000 for the 4xxx series?

The 3870 performs roughly on par with today's 4670—honestly, thanks to the memes, maybe even better.

If you run dual 3870s in CrossFire, you'll see a performance bump. Theoretically, you're looking at double the power, though in practice, it rarely hits that mark.
In reality, running two 3870s or a CrossFire setup puts you right around the level of a single 4850.
---------
Regarding CrossFire... you can definitely add another 3870, provided your motherboard actually supports it. Which board are you using?

Budget-wise... a 3870 will run you about $233 or more. I’d definitely suggest picking up an identical 3870 to match.

------------
Just my two cents... if you can snag a used 3870 at a great price, and your board supports CrossFire, and your PSU can handle the load, then go for it.

Otherwise... just sell the 3870 and grab a 4850, which starts at around $367.

---------------

or even just a cheaper HD4830, which is actually pretty affordable

I’m just trying to get my head around things here. Based on everything I’ve read so far, it honestly doesn't seem worth the trouble 🙂 hehehe
But I am curious—would it actually make sense to shell out those extra $267 for a 3870 and just put it in a CF setup? (I already have a card, and I just picked up this rig a couple of months ago)—or should I just grab something like an HD 4... instead? I’m honestly stumped on what to do with my current card XD, let alone who I’d even sell it to 😢
Also, would running two HD 3870s actually perform better than a single 4850? I’ll admit, I’m definitely not a hardware expert 🙂

Everything’s all squared away now—thanks so much! 😉