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Help Choosing A New Card

D

ddd

n00b
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
11
I have a Dell Dimension E510 (3 ghz pentium 4, 1 gb ram). The current video card is a RADEON X300/X550. I THINK the power supply is 305 Watt.

I want to be able to play games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Borderlands.

Can you recommend some good video cards which are most importantly compatible with my computer and are worth the price?

Need something with at least Shader Model 3.0

Thanks
 
EDIT: Please hold, I need to know what resolution you are playing at, first.

Also, I am trying to acertain whether or not you have a PCIe slot. (EDIT2: you do, a full PCIe16, but I do not know if it's 1.0, or 2.0 - not that it matters. I'm guessing, based off of the 945g chipset, that it is 1.0).





http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...50323&cm_re=xfx_9800gt-_-14-150-323-_-Product

only 66W, and comes with a free copy of Modern Warfare 1.

SM4.0, and is still a decent card, to this day.

But I believe it's the fastest card that would not be heavily limited by your current CPU.

Otherwise, the 9600gt, or the HD4670 would be in the same "not bottlenecked" bracket. (or whatever, some people don't believe on bottlenecking).
 
Thanks for such a quick reply. Well, I was contemplating either building a whole new system all together or getting a new graphics card (because I want to be able to play some games). I'm not exactly sure what resolution I'd be playing the games at, but my monitor resolution is 1280x1024...don't know if that helps.

Is there a way to see how any W a graphics card requires?

Would this card work for me? How does it compare to the cards you've recommended?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

Thanks
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_NVIDIA_Graphics_Processing_Units
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_ATI_Graphics_Processing_Units

in the 'TDP' column, give a good hint of what the power consumption for a card is around. The 9800gt, all newer releases of it, are all of the 'EE' type (at least PNY, Gigabyte, XFX, BFG, and eVGA are) that only use 66W.

These charts only provide 8xxx or higher (nVidia) and 3xxx or higher (ATi/AMD) TDP values, as previously, they were never mentioned.

The 4650, is a lither below the 9500GT from nVidia (more reviews on the 4650 seem to be of the ultra-rare GDDR3 type, which is faster, but only by a little bit).

The 4650 you selected it a lowprofile varient.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150393

is a better 4650 card, as it is from XFX (the generally considered best of all ATi vendors).
 
For the price, the 9800gt cannot be beat, at the moment.

However, I recommend you wait until you see replies in this thread from a few more voices.

The PSU, I could not find adequate specs for, and as such, I cannot tell if that card may be on the high side for your PSU (it probably is).

EDIT: And Welcome to the [H]!

you are also posting at the time when most of us are going to sleep, too. I'll be back tomorrow.
 
Will do, thanks.

I am almost positive that the power supply is 305 W. Hopefully this isn't too bad.
 
ddd said:
Will do, thanks.

I am almost positive that the power supply is 305 W. Hopefully this isn't too bad.
Click to expand...

it's not the 305W rating, some of us folks in the HP Slimline thread run 9800gt cards on a 270W psu.


However...

PSU quality, and the 12V rail rating are more important then a generic '305W' rating.
 
With that PSU, a 5770 or 5750 would be best. They sip power and should be able to handle MW2 with medium to high settings. What resolution is your monitor?
 
vjcsmoke said:
With that PSU, a 5770 or 5750 would be best. They sip power and should be able to handle MW2 with medium to high settings. What resolution is your monitor?
Click to expand...

that PSU might not have the 6pin PCIe cable required, and the 5750 needs.
 
would get yourself up to 2gb RAM also but i would just trash that entire system and built new for 500 bucks u could have a nice little gaming machine.. even less if u transfer your OS and maybe a Sata HD.
 
if your stuk on buying a card for it then go to the for sale forums and get a 4870 for 100 bucks. best bang for buck for that system. your still gonan be holding it back big time so no reason to buy somthing faster.. really a 9600gt would even do wonders for your current rig grab one for 50 bucks on forums here for 50 bucks i bet. for new at 70. point is your system is old and makes no sense to spend a bunch on a card if u haev no plans of upgrading other parts. at that resolution a nice 9600GT would do very well. and for 50 (maybe less) bucks used or 70 new its not a bad deal.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1471752

one for sale there for 55
 
If it were me, I'd scrap the whole thing and start fresh. The P4 is dated, and in my opinion, no sense throwing good money after bad trying to make it last. As mentioned, you can buy some pretty sweet parts for cheap. (Bare bones, then add to it.)

But I like bleeding edge, if I can swing it. (I do the best I can with limited funds.) If a new GPU fits the bill better for you, then go with what the others come up with.
 
I would not spend $100 or more on a rig with those specs. I'd say maybe $50-$70 at the most. A Radeon HD 4670 1GB for $64.99 w/free shipping will do fine. It's slightly slower than a Geforce 9600GT video card but, it does well at 1280 x 1024 res. You can go Med-High settings on some games and keep AA and AF low. Or, as dajet24 mentioned earlier, buy used. It would be good also if you can bump up your ram to 2GB
 
it will beat your current card.. but its worthless compared to anything else gaming wise. seriously u might aswell get somthing that is atleast portable to a new build someday.

its worth the extra 25bucks to buy a 9600GT for 50 .. seriously
 
That's not bad. $80 w/free shipping and it comes with COD4 game. No need for 12V 4 or 6pin connector either.
 
Do you know of anything for the same price that can beat it and that is compatible with my computer? This one for sure is compatible, right? :)

It says Minimum 400 Watt Power Supply Requirement

My power supply is 305 Watt, is this ok?
 
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a 3.0 P4 and 1gb of ram? good luck playing hardly any modern games snoothly no matter what card you stick in there. you wouldnt even get half the performance that a 9600gt is capable of with that cpu in modern games. get another gig of ram and the cheapest 4650 or 9500gt you can find.
 
Yea you DEF will need more memory, 4gigs would be nice, but 2gigs will do.

If you can get a 9600gt or even a 4630 would be ok, But you will really badly bottlenecked...

Either way good luck
 
vjcsmoke said:
With that PSU, a 5770 or 5750 would be best. They sip power and should be able to handle MW2 with medium to high settings. What resolution is your monitor?
Click to expand...
a 5770 or 5750 with a Pentium 4? are you kidding me? :eek:

I just skimmed through the thread so maybe I am missing something but seriously why on earth are some of you people making such ridiculous suggestions? his cpu is not even going to meet the minimum requirements to play many newer games. even if he does just meet them, we all now that minimum requirents are a joke and do NOT equal decent gameplay. not to mention the fact that a 5 year old single core cpu is going to bottlneck the crap out of even a lower end modern card. really a 3.0 P4 and 1gb of memory does not deserve anything remotely fast as a 5750.
 
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how would it run if i upgraded to 4 gb ram and the 9600gt

btw, games i would be playing are like cod4, team fortress, borderlands, and games like that
 
ddd said:
how would it run if i upgraded to 4 gb ram and the 9600gt
Click to expand...
you dont need to have but 2gb on XP and you will be okay as for as sytem memory. a 9600gt will be severely held back by your cpu. many games will have VERY low framerates with that single core P4 and no video card will change that. I really would just get a 4650 or even a 9500gt. sorry but your pc is a very poor platform for most modern games so I would not invest more than I had to.
 
hmm yeah..i suppose so. i think i should just get rid of this and build a new one...thanks everybody..will be back again when i need help building a new system :)
 
ddd said:
hmm yeah..i suppose so. i think i should just get rid of this and build a new one...thanks everybody..will be back again when i need help building a new system :)
Click to expand...
well if its going to be a while before you can afford a new build then by all means get another 1gb of ram and super cheap modern card. that way you can at least play some newer games in the mean time.
 
ddd said:
hmm yeah..i suppose so. i think i should just get rid of this and build a new one...thanks everybody..will be back again when i need help building a new system :)
Click to expand...

Considering your PC might not meet the minimum REQ. on MW2 borderlands or LFD2. I think it is time to build a new system.

Good luck man :)
 
cannondale06 said:
you dont need to have but 2gb on XP and you will be okay as for as sytem memory. a 9600gt will be severely held back by your cpu. many games will have VERY low framerates with that single core P4 and no video card will change that. I really would just get a 4650 or even a 9500gt. sorry but your pc is a very poor platform for most modern games so I would not invest more than I had to.
Click to expand...

... I think we forget that the world of multi core processors only became the norm a yea ro 2 ago max. A 9600GT will run well with a single core P4. 9600gt is low power your power supply is fine. buy the 9600GT and another gig of ram. if your buying new u can get both for under 90 bucks i would bet used on the forums 60 bucks for both. the card u linked is fine. they seem to have removed the need for a power plug on this version my 9600GT in my backup box needed the power plug. I'm in no way saying he is gonna run games well.. but at low resolutions he running i think he can make most anything playable short of a few games where dual core cpu is a requirement.
 
dajet24 said:
... I think we forget that the world of multi core processors only became the norm a yea ro 2 ago max. A 9600GT will run well with a single core P4. 9600gt is low power your power supply is fine. buy the 9600GT and another gig of ram. if your buying new u can get both for under 90 bucks i would bet used on the forums 60 bucks for both. the card u linked is fine. they seem to have removed the need for a power plug on this version my 9600GT in my backup box needed the power plug. I'm in no way saying he is gonna run games well.. but at low resolutions he running i think he can make most anything playable short of a few games where dual core cpu is a requirement.
Click to expand...

If he would spend $200 on upgrading an old PC....might as well buy an xbox.

Better graphics, better framerates.
 
dajet24 said:
... I think we forget that the world of multi core processors only became the norm a yea ro 2 ago max. A 9600GT will run well with a single core P4. 9600gt is low power your power supply is fine. buy the 9600GT and another gig of ram. if your buying new u can get both for under 90 bucks i would bet used on the forums 60 bucks for both. the card u linked is fine. they seem to have removed the need for a power plug on this version my 9600GT in my backup box needed the power plug. I'm in no way saying he is gonna run games well.. but at low resolutions he running i think he can make most anything playable short of a few games where dual core cpu is a requirement.
Click to expand...
its not that its just a single core, its that it is VERY slow clock for clock. a 9600gt would not come remotely close to being fully utilized by that 3.0 P4. heck a 9600gt is many times faster than a top of the line card was back when that cpu came out and was actually relevant for gaming. his minimum framerates are going to be horrendous and he would be lucky to average 30fps in most any modern game with that cpu no matter what video card he goes with. not to mention there are several newer games that basically wouldnt even be playable at all with that cpu.

he wants to play games like L4D 2 which dont seem to have very high min requirements but lets look at reality. here is a benchmark for the original L4D that shows even a faster 3.6 P4 can only average just over 30fps even with a gtx280. now how do you think his slower 3.0 P4 would do with the slightly more demanding L4D 2? http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=48
 
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cannondale06 said:
its not that its just a single core, its that it is VERY slow clock for clock. a 9600gt would not come remotely close to being fully utilized by that 3.0 P4. heck a 9600gt is many times faster than a top of the line card was back when that cpu came out and was actually relevant for gaming. his minimum framerates are going to be horrendous and he would be lucky to average 30fps in most any modern game with that cpu no matter what video card he goes with. not to mention there are several newer games that basically wouldnt even be playable at all with that cpu.

he wants to play games like L4D 2 which dont seem to have very high min requirements but lets look at reality. here is a benchmark for the original L4D that shows even a faster 3.6 P4 can only average just over 30fps even with a gtx280. now how do you think his slower 3.0 P4 would do with the slightly more demanding L4D 2? http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=48
Click to expand...

ahem

""""Left 4 Dead - 1680 x 1050 - Max Settings (No AA/AF/Vsync)""

those are the settings for that benchmark this guy here is running 1280x1024 and lower that to med settings and watch it play just fine:p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0xq1TCgCao

check it out plays fine on single core with decent vid card
 
dajet24 said:
ahem

""""Left 4 Dead - 1680 x 1050 - Max Settings (No AA/AF/Vsync)""

those are the settings for that benchmark this guy here is running 1280x1024 and lower that to med settings and watch it play just fine:p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0xq1TCgCao

check it out plays fine on single core with decent vid card
Click to expand...

Yes the youtube video just shows how choppy it will be.

And you have to remember its a P4 with a 280 GTX not a 4650.

Which one do you think is faster? LOL
 
I disagree game was playable and the video says he had the settings at higher then he probaly should have. ""Settings: All on Very High (shaders) High (others) 1280x1024 Resolution 4xMSAA 16xAF"" those settings were what he was running lower that abit and your smooth.

I still think he should start over and build a new pc but the fact is if he buys a 9600GT and another 1gb of ram he can play most games at low resolution med-low settings.
 
dajet24 said:
I disagree game was playable and the video says he had the settings at higher then he probaly should have. ""Settings: All on Very High (shaders) High (others) 1280x1024 Resolution 4xMSAA 16xAF"" those settings were what he was running lower that abit and your smooth.

I still think he should start over and build a new pc but the fact is if he buys a 9600GT and another 1gb of ram he can play most games at low resolution med-low settings.
Click to expand...

Don't forget he would have to buy a new PSU with a PCI-E plug as well.
 
dajet24 said:
ahem

""""Left 4 Dead - 1680 x 1050 - Max Settings (No AA/AF/Vsync)""

those are the settings for that benchmark this guy here is running 1280x1024 and lower that to med settings and watch it play just fine:p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0xq1TCgCao

check it out plays fine on single core with decent vid card
Click to expand...
you do realize that lowering the settings isnt going to change much because he will be 100% cpu limited anyway. could you really not comprehended that from the fact that chart showing only 31 fps even with a gtx280? just using common sense would tell you its not the gtx260 card holding that game at 31fps. sure it will play on his even slower 3.0 P4 but he is not going to average more than about 35fps in L4D and certainly not in L4D 2. for MW2 his cpu doesnt even meet the min requirements to play it. tons of games like Assassins Creed, Ghosbusters, Red Faction Guerrilla, Far Cry 2 and others will not be playable with that cpu. btw youtube is not where you go for gaming advice.
 
jeremyshaw said:
Newer 9600GT cards do not require the additional 6pin plug.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I know the 2 9600gt's my roommate bought last year did have them.

Boy I guess rebranding cards over and over really do help? lol
 
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