New video card for my following system:

KuNai

KuNai

EGO Zealot
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
1,922
Currently, my specs are as follows:

- Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 @ 2.2GHz
- 2GB of DDR 2 RAM
- XFX 8600 GT XXX edition
- Intel motherboard (Forgot specific)

I'm wondering what's the best card I can get for this system without bottlenecks. If the suggestions aren't great, perhaps I'll just build a new system.

Need some suggestions, and thank you in advance!
 
Kunai said:
Currently, my specs are as follows:

- Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 @ 2.2GHz
- 2GB of DDR 2 RAM
- XFX 8600 GT XXX edition
- Intel motherboard (Forgot specific)

I'm wondering what's the best card I can get for this system without bottlenecks. If the suggestions aren't great, perhaps I'll just build a new system.

Need some suggestions, and thank you in advance!
Click to expand...



I wouldn't upgrade at all to be honest. The 8600GT outperforms many 9 series cards on certain systems, specifically those with Core2 chips. If you wanted to upgrade, I would get a new Processor. If your mobo is LGA775 then get a E8600 3.0 C2D. Cheap and runs like a champ. Or you could upgrade to the 8800GTS which is just a better clock speed on the same hardware.
 
Last edited:
What resolution are you playing at? If its 1680 x 1050 or less, i'd recommend picking up a HD4850. Prices range from $160 - $200

Sapphire ($160): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770

MSI ($190): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127370

HIS ($192): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161244

I'd personally go for the HIS model, mainly because of its redesigned heatsink/fan over the stock cooler.

If you're playing at 1920 x 1200 or above, which i doubt, but since you havent specified, its a toss up between the GTX 260 (216SP) or the HD4870.
 
i would personally just go with the 4850 or the 4870.

best card for your money and with the 4850 you get amazing results for really cheap prices
 
kunai, its really up to what ur playing or what ur interestin in playing. if you are indeed looking to upgrade your video card, i would suggest looking into the nVidia GeForce 9600 cards. reason being is that the cores in the gpu's & the memory clocks are gonna be a bit more than the 8800 cards, but if you look, the prices are generally the same. so why pay for an 8800 card when you can get a 9600 card for the same price & it has more kick, not to mention that you wont have any bottlenecking issues.

also i would agree with arnot, but only if you dont mind getting another motherboard that handles ati graphics because if your motherboard was built on the nvidia chipset, then the technology is gonna have a fit. overall, its up 2 u.
 
Last edited:
the technology will not have a fit with itself, as long as he doesnt run 2 cards (ex. Crossfire on nVidia chipset or SLI on Intel X38/X48 board) you can run ANY card and ANY mobo if you have a single card configuration (or dual GPU card) its only when you get to the above examples that your board will have its own little hissy-fit, and its one you will never win

Although you do have a good point in saying that its up to you and its always depending on what you are going to be playing and what you want that to run at

Oh and 1 more thing... try to steer away from 9000 series... its just the 8000 flashed with a new bios and a tad bit better... there is really no HUGE difference. so if you plan on getting a 9 series, just go with the equivalent 8.
 
pillar said:
kunai, its really up to what ur playing or what ur interestin in playing. if you are indeed looking to upgrade your video card, i would suggest looking into the nVidia GeForce 9600 cards. reason being is that the cores in the gpu's & the memory clocks are gonna be a bit more than the 8800 cards, but if you look, the prices are generally the same. so why pay for an 8800 card when you can get a 9600 card for the same price & it has more kick, not to mention that you wont have any bottlenecking issues.

also i would agree with arnot, but only if you dont mind getting another motherboard that handles ati graphics because if your motherboard was built on the nvidia chipset, then the technology is gonna have a fit. overall, its up 2 u.
Click to expand...

Actually the 9600GT and the 8800 GT are pretty similar but the 8800 GT has more stream processors. I have an 8800 GT right now and it's doing me just fine. :) Also, the 8800 GT is about the same price as the 9600 GT. However, like I said before, a 9800 GTX is only $170 or so. Why not shed the extra $20 for a more powerful card?
 
Also worth keeping an eye on the 9800gx2 cards - picked up a second one last week for $200 for my box.
 
dev/null, not a good idea (no offense). there r only a few of those cards out there, & i dont think kunai is lookin to go crazy on the graphics here. i think kunai is just wantin a lil more umph w/o spendin alot of $$. kunai, i seriously think u should do some research. if needed, hit us up on vent & well be more than happy 2 help guide u in the direction u desire. i do agree that theres very lil difference between the 8800gt & the 9600gt, but overall, its what you plan to play on ur comp that will make the cut.
 
None taken! The 9800gx2 is essentially just a pair of 8800gts (g92) in 'internal' SLI. Since a few cards were mentioned around the $200 price point, figured I would mention I picked up a recertified 9800gx2 for (just) under $200 last week.

(edit) Also - looks like there is a chance the mainboard may not support SLI. While you can run two 9800gx2 cards in SLI, what it does is let you run a pair of cards on a mainboard that does not support SLI - as far as the mainboard is concerned, tis a single video card.

Got to make sure your power supply has the correct adapters, however... and the case can deal with the heat.

Another option - the 260/280 series are also an interesting option.
 
Last edited:
yeah if youre going to upgrade then your memory is fine, but you would HAVE to upgrade your cpu mhz. 2.2, even on dual would bottleneck with 9000 series cards and over. not sure about the equivalent for ATI on that but I would say if you got any 4000 series card upgrade the cpu.

for example, for the latest ATI card, the 4870X2 people sugest at least a 3.0 ghz quad core for no bottlenecking. you really just need to check forums. Google it!


Also, since you have 2 gigs of system RAM, if you get a video card that has over 1.5 gigs of video RAM you will need to run 64-bit XP or VISTA to unlock the full memory wall. Because on 32-bit systems your computer will only use 3.7 gigs of memory.

hope this helped. you got questions find me on vent please.:)

-Blue
 
I always suggest Vista x64. No need to worry about running into a limit for your RAM.

FYI, TECHNICALLY, 32-bit OSes can address 4GB of RAM. You'll never see that though, because it takes every little bit of RAM in your system and subtracts it from the total (sound card RAM included).

~Gooda~
 
arachn1d said:
I wouldn't upgrade at all to be honest. The 8600GT outperforms many 9 series cards on certain systems, specifically those with Core2 chips. If you wanted to upgrade, I would get a new Processor. If your mobo is LGA775 then get a E8600 3.0 C2D. Cheap and runs like a champ. Or you could upgrade to the 8800GTS which is just a better clock speed on the same hardware.
Click to expand...

not to flame a fellow clan member but i upgraded from a 8600 gt superclocked to a 9800 gt and it was like night and day. for those who think that the 9 series is just the 8 series with a new name are wrong. it has a new chipset (g92 i believe) and supports newer versions of open gl (2.1). i would highly suggest a 9 series nvidia card. (preferably EVGA or BFG lifetime warranty). i dont know much about ati but i think that the 4800's are pretty well priced.
 
WhIteY said:
not to flame a fellow clan member but i upgraded from a 8600 gt superclocked to a 9800 gt and it was like night and day. for those who think that the 9 series is just the 8 series with a new name are wrong. it has a new chipset (g92 i believe) and supports newer versions of open gl (2.1). i would highly suggest a 9 series nvidia card. (preferably EVGA or BFG lifetime warranty). i dont know much about ati but i think that the 4800's are pretty well priced.
Click to expand...

The 8-series has the G92 core...as does the 9-series (or most of it at least), lol.

And there are VERY few games that use OpenGL...and even fewer that use 2.1.

~Gooda~
 
Hmm..The kind of card I'd want is a card that I'd be able to max out newer/current games with decent frames (Crysis doesn't count), without breaking my bank that will also last for the next couple of years. Any ideas, guys? I'm looking toward the $100-200 range, in Canadian.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top