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upgrade recommendations?

S

Sparkynutz

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
156
I am looking to upgrade my video card if it will be beneficial.

I only play warcraft 3 and now starcraft 2
no other games and dont really plan on it.
I dont really care if I need my settings turned down as long as my screen doesnt get laggy. I want to spend as little as possible on a new card and only if it is needed.
I'll probably be building a new computer in a year or two and want to hold off upgrading this one if I dont have to.

my current setup is
q6600 on an abit p35 mobo
corsair hx520 power supply
2gigs ddr2
ecs 8800gts video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134037
19" acer cheapo lcd monitor

I've had this rig for a little over 3 years now and will be buying a new hdtv to use as a monitor.
Im moving my computer into the kitchen and would like to watch tv on it.
it seems to play starcraft2 fine now on all the highest settings but I havent played it much yet and my screen resolution on the 19" acer isnt as high as it will be with a new 22-27"
I'm leaning towards getting this acer-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009268
in a week or two once my kitchen remodel is complete.
Im thinking of getting a dvi to hdmi adapter and trying it out first.
the new hdtv's im looking at dont have dvi inputs and my video card doesnt have a hdmi output

What do you guys recommend or just try the adapter and see how it goes?

thanks,
Ryan
 
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What monitor resolution are you using now and what do you expect will be the native resolution of the new monitor? You need to make an estimate as this will have a significant impact on the card needed.

What PSU do you have?

You can also find some guidelines on upgrading your video card at:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/gaming.html

You can also get an idea by looking at some reviews of newer video cards that show performance for different resolutions. I just don't know of any that show your games or what the comparable games would be.
 
Well if all you play is Warcraft 3 and Starcraft 2, and you don't mind turning graphics down, just try the adapter and see how it goes. If anything, you low RAM is making the display "laggy" and not your video card. With 2GB of memory you are likely getting some choking when the games or your system access the HDD.

How much RAM is on your 8800GTS? 8800GTS performance can vary a lot based on what version of the 8800GTS you have (some of them sucked).
 
ocellaris said:
Well if all you play is Warcraft 3 and Starcraft 2, and you don't mind turning graphics down, just try the adapter and see how it goes. If anything, you low RAM is making the display "laggy" and not your video card. With 2GB of memory you are likely getting some choking when the games or your system access the HDD.

How much RAM is on your 8800GTS? 8800GTS performance can vary a lot based on what version of the 8800GTS you have (some of them sucked).
Click to expand...

512mb on the video card. I have my exact card linked in my first post as well as my powersupply listed rockyjohn.

my current monitor is 1440x900 on cheapo 19" acer
new monitor will be 1920x1080

still unsure if I should get the 23" acer or the 27" LG tho.
I will be sitting about 2 ft from the monitor and worried the 27" might be to big.
I plan on looking at some in person at bestbuy before I place my order just to hopefully help me decide on size.

I will look into more memory, should be able to get some cheap now.
thanks for the heads up on that being my weakpoint.
 
audioman81 said:
512mb on the video card. I have my exact card linked in my first post as well as my powersupply listed rockyjohn.

my current monitor is 1440x900 on cheapo 19" acer
new monitor will be 1920x1080

still unsure if I should get the 23" acer or the 27" LG tho.
I will be sitting about 2 ft from the monitor and worried the 27" might be to big.
I plan on looking at some in person at bestbuy before I place my order just to hopefully help me decide on size.

I will look into more memory, should be able to get some cheap now.
thanks for the heads up on that being my weakpoint.
Click to expand...

Sorry I can't get to NewEgg links from work. The 512MB card are the good ones that are a much newer design compared to 320MB and 640MB 8800 GTS card, keep it.
 
HDMI is DVI with audio added, the adapter will work fine or you could get an DVI-HDMI cable. Either should work without issue.
 
sorry to bring back this old thread, but I never upgraded anything. just quit playing starcraft 2 for a while and just now started playing again. My video is laggy with settings as low as it will go and really need to upgrade something. video card, memory or both.
I really don't see the need to upgrade the pc just quite yet as this Q6600 is still better than most of the crap put out today aside from being power hungry that is.

Any ideas on a good reasonably priced video card?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
audioman81 said:
sorry to bring back this old thread, but I never upgraded anything. just quit playing starcraft 2 for a while and just now started playing again. My video is laggy with settings as low as it will go and really need to upgrade something. video card, memory or both.
I really don't see the need to upgrade the pc just quite yet as this Q6600 is still better than most of the crap put out today aside from being power hungry that is.

Any ideas on a good reasonably priced video card?

Thanks,
Ryan
Click to expand...
The Q6600 cannot compare to any modern Intel chip out there. I'm sorry you're in denial. Starcraft 2 is CPU bound, so it is going to benefit you most to upgrade your platform. Your 8800GTS still has some life in it if you're still using that 1440x900 monitor. That said a 750 Ti would be a great upgrade at $135. But I would not consider a GPU upgrade before upgrading that platform. You could step into an i3-4360, LGA1150 motherboard, and 4GB DDR3 memory for around $250.
 
Upgrade the GPU to 750 Ti.....great choice.....under 150 dollars.:D

I do agree the more logical approach would be to upgrade the entire platform.
Core i5 CPUs are quite stout and you could up your RAM......

you'd be very pleased and not out a ton of money.....I'm looking at a full on upgrade for my youngest......Ci5 4690K based with a m-ITX mainboard, 8 GB RAM, the whole shooting match, new case and PSU included in the price.....around 1100.......you could spend a lot less if you pick and choose carefully.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping to run this system atleast another 6months to a year and build an i7 when I have the cash saved up. Kinda broke for now after just putting a roof, siding and windows on my house.
I'm planning on keeping this old system for my son and as a backup so upgrading will still be worth it to me. I built it back in 08 and havent looked into new computer tech much since but the new build will be for a new thread.
I found two more 1gb sticks of same memory I'm using now for $20 shipped and looking at this card-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127703&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo
Would it work on my mobo? Like I said I'm way out of loop on tech and don't know what new stuff will or won't work on my old tech.

I found an amd quad core lenovo other day on sale for $329 and looked at benchmarks of that processor compared to q6600 and most areas it wasnt even as fast. That's when I started looking at upgrading again. We have i5s at work that are slow as crap. Might be something to do with all the garbage they run in backround on them tho.
 
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audioman81 said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping to run this system atleast another 6months to a year and build an i7 when I have the cash saved up. Kinda broke for now after just putting a roof, siding and windows on my house.
I'm planning on keeping this old system for my son and as a backup so upgrading will still be worth it to me. I built it back in 08 and havent looked into new computer tech much since but the new build will be for a new thread.
I found two more 1gb sticks of same memory I'm using now for $20 shipped and looking at this video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127703&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo
Would it work on my mobo? Like I said I'm way out of loop on tech and don't know what new stuff will or won't work on my old tech.
Click to expand...

I'd just spend the extra cash on a 750Ti vs. a plain 650.
 
audioman81 said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping to run this system atleast another 6months to a year and build an i7 when I have the cash saved up. Kinda broke for now after just putting a roof, siding and windows on my house.
I'm planning on keeping this old system for my son and as a backup so upgrading will still be worth it to me. I built it back in 08 and havent looked into new computer tech much since but the new build will be for a new thread.
I found two more 1gb sticks of same memory I'm using now for $20 shipped and looking at this card-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127703&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo
Would it work on my mobo? Like I said I'm way out of loop on tech and don't know what new stuff will or won't work on my old tech.

I found an amd quad core lenovo other day on sale for $329 and looked at benchmarks of that processor compared to q6600 and most areas it wasnt even as fast. That's when I started looking at upgrading again. We have i5s at work that are slow as crap. Might be something to do with all the garbage they run in backround on them tho.
Click to expand...

Well, as far as the AMD thing, it's sort of apples to oranges there.
We just upgraded all our office stuff with Core i5s on a Gigabyte M-ITX platform and they are fast,fast.
Of course I cut out all the crap, these computers have essentially one task and perform very well. I was impressed at the capability of the Ci5......but also they aren't gaming platforms.

Sounds like you have a good plan in mind. I'd honestly go with the cheapest GTX 750 Ti you can find.:D
 
One other thing. Will the 750 ti above work in my mobo and have xp drivers? It doesn't say in specs
 
Is that one better than the one I posted?
If so, why?
Only thing I see is two fans. From reading. These are supposed to be pretty cool running cards and I have a pretty nice case with lots of fans.
Oone i posted is overclocked stock as well... just a touch faster. Doubt ill do any changes.
My q6600 is slightly overclocked, but dont recall how much. Been running good for years. Definitely got my money out of it.
I hate windows 8. I had to use it at school for a couple college courses last year and hated it.
When I build I'm going windows 7. We use it at work and I think its goimg to be easier to adapt to.
 
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