Buying a new graphics card - (read first post)

Yes, I am😍😍

And if I include that graphics card, the total hits $533 plus
.
😁I think I'll go with that.

Thanks.

Charles Brown said:Well, I certainly did... 😍😍

And if I factor in that graphics card, we're looking at roughly 1300 plus another 300, which brings us up to $533
...
So, I think I'll just go ahead and decide on 😁
...
Thanks so much!

The only thing I'd suggest is grabbing a Gigabyte 460W power supply instead of that Fortron one... 😉

This

Thanks for the help 😁

NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB GDDR2 Dual D

Is it actually any good?
Just mediocre?
Is it trash?
Or is it a total disaster?
Would you honestly rather just end it all than deal with this card because it's such an embarrassment?

Which of those descriptions fits this GPU best?

And by the way, where can I ask about CPUs and other random hardware junk to see if they're worth it?? (Specifically, I want to go through them one by one)...

Look, if you're working with a razor-thin budget and find yourself forced to pick up an NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT, just make sure you grab the version with 512MB of DDR3 memory because that extra speed actually matters. Even then, don't go expecting miracles with modern titles; it’ll serve you fine if you're just a casual gamer playing on a small 19" monitor and you truly don't mind cranking the settings down to low or simply don't have the cash for anything better.

Now, if money isn't such a massive constraint and you actually intend to play newer games, I would strongly advise against settling for anything weaker than an AMD Radeon HD 3850, an AMD Radeon HD 4670, an AMD Radeon HD 4830, or an NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO or GT with 512MB—those usually run somewhere in the $550-$233 range. If you're sticking to a 19" monitor, I suppose you could scrape by with the 384MB version of the 9600 GSO, but barely.

Go ahead and let me know which processor you're planning to pair this card with and what kind of total budget we're actually looking at here.

I’d probably suggest looking at the AMD Radeon HD 4770. It's pretty affordable, yet the performance is almost mid-range. Plus, if you overclock it—and it tends to overclock quite well—it could be great.

covik should probably just start his own thread... he can post all that stuff over there instead

wiredmarlin5 said:The only thing I'd suggest is swapping that Fortron for a Gigabyte 460W PSU. 😉

Stupid question, but... since I don't feel like lugging this rig anywhere, is it actually hard to install a power supply and plug everything in?

Btw, does anyone know the dimensions for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Zotac 😁 (that's the one I'm getting)

Charles Brown said:Stupid question, I know... but here goes. Since I really don't feel like lugging my PC anywhere, is it actually difficult to install a power supply and plug everything in myself?

It’s not that difficult. You just slide the power supply into place, screw it in, and basically shove the cable wherever it fits. 😁

Regarding the dimensions, it looks like Zotac uses the stock NVIDIA cooler, so the size should be roughly
Height 4.376 inches (111 mm)
Length 10.5 inches (267 mm)

That means we're looking at a height of 111mm and a length of 267mm.

Thanks, then it will be set. 😁😁

James Morris4 said:I'd actually throw the AMD Radeon HD 4770 into the mix. It's surprisingly budget-friendly, yet you get performance that sits right on the edge of the mid-range tier—especially if you decide to overclock it, which, frankly, this card handles quite beautifully.

And it’s still about $150$83 more expensive than the options we were just looking at 🙂
.

Quick question for you guys... should I go with the NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 512MB or maybe the ATI Radeon HD 3450 512MB?
I'd love it if someone could break down the actual difference between them! Thanks so much!

I'm currently running the following setup:

Intel Core 2 Duo E5200
2GB Kingmax RAM
Gigabyte P35-DS3R PC Build
Two 320GB Western Digital hard drives
Corsair VX450
AMD Radeon HD 3870 Atomic Edition
Pioneer DVD-ROM

My question is, what is the most powerful graphics card I could potentially pair with this specific configuration?

Robin Perez said:Here’s my current setup:

Intel Core 2 Duo E5200
2GB Kingmax RAM
Gigabyte P35-DS3R PC Build
2x 320GB WD Hard Drives
Corsair VX450
ATI Sapphire 3870 Atomic Edition
Pioneer DVD-ROM

My question is, what’s the most powerful graphics card I can actually throw into this rig without making it a total bottleneck?

How much money are you actually planning to drop on this?

If you're overclocking that CPU to 3.0 GHz, you can comfortably drop in a GTX 285 without a second thought.

Kyle Sanchez4 said:If you overclock that CPU to 3.0 GHz, you can comfortably run a GTX 285.

Are you actually suggesting my power supply can handle a GTX 285?! I was under the impression that was a seriously power-hungry card. I suppose anything rated lower than a GTX 285 should be fine, which is good to know, but now I need to hunt down some reviews to see how that card performs running Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on Ultra settings 😁. As for the processor, I'll get around to overclocking once I pick up a better cooler—maybe something from Scythe.

Theoretically, it pulls about 180W max. Your rig shouldn't have any issues running a 450VX..

I am in need of some advice

My graphics card, a GeForce FX 5600, has finally given up on me.

The rest of the machine is quite dated as well—an AMD 2.1 system with 1.5 GB of RAM, which I believe was purchased about five years ago.

Since I assume finding this exact same model won't be particularly easy, I suppose I should ask: what would be the closest older card that might actually function with this setup and still be available for purchase somewhere?
And one more thing, I wonder if it is even worth my time to go out and buy an old graphics card at all.

It’s pretty obvious we're talking about an AGP card like the GeForce FX 5600 here, so there is absolutely no point in trying to hunt down something brand new. Buying a new card for an AGP slot just doesn't make sense because they are overpriced, whereas you can find used ones everywhere if you look. Your best bet is to just browse the used market, find one that looks decent, and negotiate a fair price with the seller; it's the smartest and most cost-effective way to go. Just keep searching since there are plenty of options out there, but remember that you specifically need an AGP card—nothing else is going to work with your motherboard.☕😁
http://www.ebay.com/b/Graphics-Cards/9345/bn_714791