Buying a new graphics card - (read first post)

Much appreciated! I ran the numbers and hit over 570W without even pushing it, so an 800W unit should be perfectly fine. I just hope the build quality holds up, but thanks again—and please excuse my impatience earlier, I'm pulling the trigger on all these orders today!

Hey everyone, I could use some advice here.
Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB DDR2 RAM
ASRock N61P-S
Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE/nForce 430 Chipset

Since I can't really play anything modern with this integrated graphics, I was thinking about picking up a decent card $150 just to hold me over until I can save up for something better. I've been looking at a few options and was wondering if anyone could suggest which one to go with, and if they'll actually be able to run games like PES09, Undercover, or raca grid reasonably well?

Powercolor Radeon HD 4550, 512MB DDR3
Powercolor Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB DDR3

Or maybe something cheaper would be enough for the games I have right now?

GF 8500GT Turbo, 256MB DDR3
Powercolor Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB DDR3
9500GT, 256MB DDR3

Thanks, everyone. I hope I didn't miss any important details—I guess I don't quite understand all these technical specs and numbers yet.

Don't settle for anything lower than an HD 4670 if you want $183 a decent 😉
experience.http://www.amazon.com/s?k=hd+4670&x=0&y=0

Andrew Flores8 said:I wouldn't go any lower than an HD 4670 if you want a decent $183 😉

I don't know, I'd love to, but even those $150 options seem like a bit of a stretch... I guess I have myself to blame for thinking newer games would actually run on this new junk pile. But then again, what else can you really expect for $2,000?
One more question if you don't mind, is it more important for the graphics card to have 512MB instead of 256MB, or does it matter more whether the memory is DDR2 or DDR3?

Your setup is pretty solid with 2GB of RAM and a dual-core processor; if you upgrade the graphics card, you'll be able to run all the latest games without any issues.👍
Regarding memory, it really depends on the specific card. For instance, a 256MB card can actually outperform one with 1024MB, though DDR3 is definitely an upgrade over DDR2 in any case.

EDIT: In my opinion, the HD 4650 is the best choice for $150.
http://www.amazon.com/s?k=graphics+card

So what happens to the integrated graphics then? Does it just shut off entirely, or is there some way for them to actually work together?
And thanks for bearing with me. I haven't really kept up with this "world" in years, so I'm feeling a bit lost.

Look, I’ve been having a nightmare with my Radeon HD 2600 XT 512, so I’m thinking about trading it in for something better up to $233. I’m willing to throw in an extra $100, maybe up to $67 at most, just to make the swap happen.

Since I managed to flash my current 2600 XT into a FireGL, I’d love some recommendations for a card that can undergo the same kind of modding for CAD software. High definition performance is a must, and I don't want to blow more than $300 on it. Ideally, I'd stay under $700, maybe stretching to $800, though I could push to $900 😁 if I really had to, but I might be overcomplicating things... It would be great if you could suggest 3 😬

One crucial thing, though—please pick the cards from the selection available on this specific site.

www.microcenter.com

I’m planning to head out and grab something tomorrow, so I’m in a bit of a rush here. Thanks.

Question: is it actually possible to mod this into a FireGL?

http://217.14.221.177/StartEU.ashx?_...3IXIhiXYY6pkXk

http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...-disguise.html

Perhaps this might actually be of some use to you?

George Ross41 said:http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...-disguise.html
Maybe this might actually be useful...

So, you're telling me this card can actually be modded into a FirePRO??

Hold on, so I just install the FirePRO V5700 drivers and that's the whole deal...😲

Not quite... it just claims the V5700 architecture is identical to the HD 4670.. but there aren't any drivers available..

I suspect you could probably mod an HD 3870 into a V7700 if you use one of the higher-end cards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_FireGL

The wiki says it works... though an HD 3850 could probably pull it off too.

Good luck finding anyone on an American tech forum who actually has the drivers or a patch to make it functional.

Kyle Sanchez4 said:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_FireGL

claims it's possible... though I suppose an HD 3850 could pull it off too...

but just try asking around on some US tech forum for the specific drivers or patches needed to actually make it work...

You have a point there, the 3870 should theoretically slot right into a V7700; that's what the discussions over at PCMag are suggesting anyway. Generally speaking, if the hardware is compatible, there ought to be a way to handle the drivers... I was thinking I might just grab the V7700 driver package and attempt to force the installation onto my own card...🤷

I've got an Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT—was wondering if it’s actually possible to just pick up another one and run them in SLI... and roughly what kind of price we're looking at for a motherboard that actually supports it, since mine definitely doesn't.

Anthony Sanders7 said:I've currently got an Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT, and I was just wondering if it might be possible to pick up another one and link them together using SLI... also, does anyone have a rough idea of what a motherboard that actually supports that would run me, since I know my current one won't cut it?

Well, it really all boils down to which processor you're running under the hood, whether you're rocking an Intel setup or an AMD one... 🙂

For instance, if you're on an Intel system, you could potentially look into something like this - http://groups.google.com/group/hr.po...5e34160c?hl=hr

Those newer 775 series SLI boards are getting pretty pricey these days, so honestly, they might not even be worth the investment...

So, I've got an Intel Core 2 Duo E4500. If the motherboard is just $67, how can I be sure it'll actually work? It seems almost too cheap to be true... I'll definitely ask about that, thanks so much for the reply. My current board feels pretty low-end—it won't even recognize Everest home edition. I found some instructions online saying it's an Abit AB9 LGA775 ATX or something like that.

Yeah, I really think that motherboard would be a solid fit for your setup... The reason I mentioned Jefina is just because there’s no warranty included on it, which is always a bit of a gamble, isn't it? But hey, if you're looking to step things up a notch and want something a little more premium, I actually happen to be selling my own AsRock 680i SLI for $200. 🙂

I’ll definitely give it some thought—but what about the graphics card? From what I gather, I really should just go for the Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT... though I'm not entirely sure what the actual difference is. If I see one listed as "factory overclocked," does that even matter much?

Anthony Sanders7 said:I’ll definitely give that some thought, but what about the graphics card situation? From what I understand, I really ought to pick up a genuine GeForce 9600 GT, though I'm honestly not quite sure what the actual difference is... if I see one listed as "factory overclocked," does that even matter much in the grand scheme of things?

Not really. http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=140912

Just grab this one, find an SLI-compatible motherboard, bridge them together with an SLI bridge, and you're all set!

Haha, alright then... thanks a ton. I'm gonna go ahead and give them a call now to see if they still have it in stock...