Advice Needed: Video Card Upgrade

[jamesbond007]

Hello all! I currently have a Dell XPS Gen4 rig that has 3GB of RAM and a 3.4GHz P4/HT. I currently have a 7800GT videocard, which was great when I had a 17" LCD to drive. Last fall, I purchased a 2407 and now try to run my games at 1920x1200.

Half-Life 2/CS: Source run OK, but it could use a little more juice. I have AA/AF off and everything else is on high. I recently purchased Crysis and I run most settings on low with a few things on medium, such as textures and physics. I run this so that it doesn't look so much like an original Nintendo game when I play.

What I'm asking everyone if they think it'd be worth upgrading to a 8800GT/GTS or just wait it out until the next time I upgrade. To be frank, I mostly do photo processing and my CPU and RAM handles that just fine.

What would you do?

Thanks in advance!
~Travis

 

[happy medium]

whats your psu like?
If it's like 350 watts get a 7950 gt 512mb.
Anything more won't help with a pent4 IMHO.

A 1950 series uses too much power and the 8800 forget about it.
Mabe a 3850?

 

[jamesbond007]

I believe it is 460W...I know it's pretty beefy and I know it was almost 500W when I was specing out the system. It's very long and makes up the entire bottom of the case. Think of a 1U's PSU. It's very flat, short, and very long.

You think a 8800 would be too much, eh? Hmm...

 

[ManWithNoName]

Please Delete

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
I believe it is 460W...I know it's pretty beefy and I know it was almost 500W when I was specing out the system. It's very long and makes up the entire bottom of the case. Think of a 1U's PSU. It's very flat, short, and very long.

You think a 8800 would be too much, eh? Hmm...

I think a 3850 512mb version is perfect for you. Anything more is a extreme bottleneck and a waste of money.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: ManWithNoName

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
I believe it is 460W...I know it's pretty beefy and I know it was almost 500W when I was specing out the system. It's very long and makes up the entire bottom of the case. Think of a 1U's PSU. It's very flat, short, and very long.

You think a 8800 would be too much, eh? Hmm...

If I were you and since you don't game much, I'd just go with a HD3850 or a 8800GT 256MB card. These should last you a while. Either that or just keep your current card. What's your budget?

At 1900x1200 resolution a 256 mb card won't be enough. Get a 512mb card.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Originally posted by: happy medium

Originally posted by: ManWithNoName

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
I believe it is 460W...I know it's pretty beefy and I know it was almost 500W when I was specing out the system. It's very long and makes up the entire bottom of the case. Think of a 1U's PSU. It's very flat, short, and very long.

You think a 8800 would be too much, eh? Hmm...

If I were you and since you don't game much, I'd just go with a HD3850 or a 8800GT 256MB card. These should last you a while. Either that or just keep your current card. What's your budget?

At 1900x1200 resolution a 256 mb card won't be enough. Get a 512mb card.

I missed that and I agree. Revising.

 

[happy medium]

here ya go

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814131075

 

[ManWithNoName]

If I were you and since you don't game much, I'd just go with a HD3850 or if you have the spare change an 8800GT 512MB card. These should last you for quite a while. Either that or just keep your current card. What's your budget?

HD3850 512MB - $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102715

8800GT 512MB - $221 (after rebate)
http://www.ncixus.com/products...X/Galaxy%20Technology/

 

[ManWithNoName]

Originally posted by: happy medium
here ya go

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814131075

Very nice fan on the Powercolor HD3850. Looks like it's worth the extra $10, but inching closer to the 8800GT 512MB in price.....

 

[happy medium]

Im more worried that his pent 4 won't cut it.? But at least he can crank up the details.

 

[jamesbond007]

Budget isn't too much of a concern. I didn't really want a new system, but just a video card upgrade instead. Come February, I'll have had this rig for 3 years! That's insane, considering I use to upgrade every few months (literally) before I went back to school. Funny how college and studying changes your spending habits so drastically.

I might just hold out till I build a new quad-core this summer. Never hurts to wait!