Buying a new graphics card - (read first post)

So, here’s the deal: after three years of riding this thing around, I’ve finally decided it’s time to actually drop some cash on an upgrade.

The current setup looks like this:

Intel Pentium D 805 CPU 2.66GHz
Abit IL8 motherboard (Intel LakePort-ICH7)
Intel i945P chipset
PCI-Express 16 x interface
Radeon X1300 Series 512 MBytes
DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 512 MBytes, Kingmax Semiconductor
Kingmax Semiconductor neon PL-400 ATX12V Power Supply

My plan is to grab two 2GB sticks of RAM and maybe pick up a 22'' (1680x1050) or a 24'' (1920x1080) monitor, though I have a nagging feeling my current graphics card isn't going to play nice with those resolutions—honestly, I'm not even sure if it can handle them. So, I'm looking for some advice: what kind of GPU would actually satisfy my relatively chill needs? We're talking multimedia and programming, nothing crazy.
I'm also fully aware that I might need to swap out the power supply too, right?

hd4670 for under $167..

Hey everyone!

So, here’s what I’m rocking right now:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64, 1800 MHz (9 x 200) 3000+
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 (5 PCI, 1 AGP 8X, 4 DDR DIMM)
Chipset: nVIDIA nForce3 250Gb, AMD Hammer
GPU: GIGABYTE RADEON 9200 (128 MB)
PSU: 350W

I’ve got my eye on this monitor:

What I'm wondering is if this thing will actually handle a 1920*1080 resolution. If it won't cut it, what kind of graphics card should I be looking for to make sure it works without any headaches?

P.S. Any bright ideas on how to "beef up" this build so it actually feels somewhat modern, or am I better off just biting the bullet and buying a whole new motherboard, CPU, and GPU? My budget is roughly $667 excluding the monitor.

Go ahead and start a new thread for the configuration discussion.

Hey there, I'm a bit of a newcomer here and I'm honestly not quite sure where this post belongs, so if there's any way to move it to the right section, please let me know... anyway, I'm currently running an ATI hd 4850 Sapphire, which is actually a pretty solid card, but I feel like it might be time to step up to something more modern. I was looking at picking up this XFX Radeon 4870 1Gb ...but I'm really torn on whether it's actually worth the jump. If anyone has a moment to weigh in, could you tell me how much of a performance boost I'd actually see compared to what I have now? Sorry if I posted this in the wrong spot! 😕

It’s a solid card—really good stuff—it just happens to be a little more than I want to drop right now http://www.google.com/search?q=graphics+cards

wearygull said:It’s a fantastic card, really... I mean, the performance is there, but man, my bank account just isn't quite ready for it yet! I was just browsing through some search tools online and stumbled upon this interesting little directory... It seems like a useful way to dig through various databases if you know what you're looking for! I can see myself spending quite an afternoon clicking through different queries, perhaps trying to track down some specific technical specs or old product listings... It’s funny how much information is tucked away in these niche corners of the web, isn't it? Just one of those things that makes you realize how vast the digital landscape really is... anyway, just thought I'd share this little find with everyone!

I was just sitting here wondering... how much of an actual upgrade we're talking about compared to what I'm running right now? I mean, I really need to know if pulling the trigger on this is actually worth my hard-earned cash or if I'm just chasing ghosts...

I’d say you could probably break even if you sold your current setup right now—maybe a 10-20% return on your money, at least.
btw—what resolution are you running, and what kind of power supply are you rocking?

wearygull said:Even a 10-20% bump would make it worth it if you sold what you have right now.
by the way—what resolution are you running, and what kind of power supply are we talking about?

I'm playing at 1680 x 1050, and I believe the PSU is a 450W ATX unit, if I recall correctly...

😂 ATX, which one specifically? If you're talking about Benjamin Franklin, I wouldn't say it's quite a 10-20% difference.

Maybe it’s some MS Industrial gear or something—not sure, but definitely worth a double-check just in case. Jesse Kern4, what would you say? Any idea on the price tag for this one?

Jesse Kern4 said:😂 ATX? Which one? If you're talking about Benjamin Franklin—I wouldn't say even 10-20%...

So, my current power supply is just this Chieftec 550W, model GPS550AB... that's literally all I know. Given that, would upgrading actually be worth the money? Does anyone happen to know how much more kick this new one has compared to what I'm running right now? I'd love some insight...

I’d say it’s actually a bit less than that, maybe somewhere in the ballpark of 8-12%. Once you start overclocking that 4850, those differences pretty much just vanish into nothingness.

silentcanyon72, don't go changing anything. You're just making things way more complicated than they need to be, and honestly, your power supply and GPU are doing just fine exactly as they are.

Jesse Kern4 said:If you ask me, I’d say even less. Maybe just an 8-12% bump. Once you start overclocking that 4850, those differences pretty much vanish into thin air...

silentcanyon72, don't go changing things up now! You're just making it complicated for no reason. Your power supply and your GPU are both perfectly fine as they are...

Wait, hold on—what even is "overclocking"? I honestly have no clue...🤣

Jesse Kern4 said:I’d say keep it lower—maybe just an 8-12% bump. Once you start overclocking that 4850, those margins basically disappear anyway.

silentcanyon72, don't overthink it. You're just making things complicated for no reason—your PSU and GPU are totally fine as they are.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...x_4.html#sect1 if you want to scroll through and check it out.

Picking up the tempo.

Jesse Kern4 said:Boosting those clock speeds.

But how exactly would I go about doing that? If I push the limits like that, I'm going to need some serious cooling upgrades too...

In theory, you should be able to 😁 But honestly, I think your Sapphire card is handling the heat just fine. You could always just pull up the NVIDIA Control Panel, or maybe some other utility like Control Center, and tweak the clock speeds there yourself.

I’ve got an older rig that I don't use for heavy gaming, mostly just sticking to the classics. I think > is about as demanding as it gets for this machine (yeah, it’s a real beast, haha), but I’m really looking to pick up >, which means I definitely need a new graphics card. I'm also thinking it might be time to swap out a few other parts while I'm at it, so I'd love to hear your suggestions.

• PCI

• AMD Sempron 2600 +, socket 754, Core speed 1600 Motherboard Gigabyte Technology

• Motherboard Gigabyte Technology, GA-K8NE

• 2GB RAM

I want to keep my spending under $233. 🤷

Alright, here’s the current setup:

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66 GHz
RAM: 2GB
PSU: Either 550W or 750W (not sure yet, I'll get the exact info later)

... I want to know what the absolute best move is to squeeze out the highest FPS possible in games, staying under a budget of $1267.

Also, would throwing two ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 cards into this build actually work? And if it does, is that really the peak solution for maxing out FPS and performance in games?
Gigabyte Technology EX38-DS5
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
4GB RAM
550W Chieftec
... though maybe I could push that processor to 3.0 GHz or higher. If that isn't the ultimate way to go, tell me what is.

One last thing—what's a realistic resale price for an ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 these days?

Thanks!