Any suggestions

[Exid]

Anyone got any suggestions for a good video card in the ~$200 range? Currently ive got an nvidia 8800gt 1gb pci-e but im looking to upgrade to something that suits my pc a little better (4gb ddr2, dual core pentium 3.0). Any help is appreciated.

By the way I have this pc. Ibuypower Gamer 901-CL3

 

[taltamir]

dual core pentium? the 8800GT is far more powerful then needed...

Do you mean a core2 duo? cause I wasn't aware of dual core P4 motherboards with pcie slots.

 

[Exid]

Originally posted by: taltamir
dual core pentium? the 8800GT is far more powerful then needed...

Do you mean a core2 duo? cause I wasn't aware of dual core P4 motherboards with pcie slots.

Yea, my bad but thats what I meant.

And really the CPU isnt very good? I was told that was one of the best parts in it.

 

[taltamir]

from the link I see "8500 GT" not 8800GT... those are completely different. Which do you have?

The 8500GT is very low end. Not really suitable for gaming IMAO, the 8800GT is medium high end. You can get better.

 

[Exid]

Originally posted by: taltamir
from the link I see "8500 GT" not 8800GT... those are completely different. Which do you have?

The 8500GT is very low end. Not really suitable for gaming IMAO, the 8800GT is medium high end. You can get better.

Its the exact same comp in the link. So it is the 8500gt, I guess im not thinking the greatest at 5am tonight lol. However I added a Razer AC-1 soundcard to it to go with my barracuda headset.

 

[taltamir]

If you have an 8500GT you should probably upgrade... consider those:

8800GT with custom fan (needed) and 512MB by ASUS (decent company): 120$ -20$ MIR +0 shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121263

4850 with custom fan (needed) and 512MB by MSI (decent company): 195$- 30$ MIR + 9$ shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127370

Or you can get a GTX260, a 4870 etc with the default fan, from anyone... either of them for 230$ or so is a good buy. but from what I see they are about 250$ at the moment.

The GTX280 is still too expensive IMAO. And doesn't really give all that much.
The 4870x2 is too expensive, but does give a significan't boost. But I wouldn't get it unless you are using an LCD which is 27 inches in size or above.

check out this chart to see about how powerful your GPU is:
http://www.tomshardware.com/ch...4%2C1605%2C1617%2C1563

Make sure to look out for OC (overclocked) SLI (two cards of same type working together from nvidia) or CF (two cards of same type working together from AMD). Those can throw you off, don't just look at the name. Also pay attention to how much ram the video card in question has.

the 8500GT gets a compounded total FPS in all tests of 500, the 8800GT OC is 2150 and the 8800GTS 320 is 2000, the 8800GT I suggested is between those two cards.
So the 8800GT is slightly over 4 times faster then your current video card.

the 4850 is about 20% faster then the 8800GT, the 4870 and the GTX260 are about 20% faster then the 4850.

PS. Both the 8800GT and the 4850 need a custom fan or they will be very loud and run too hot, which is detrimental if you want trouble free operation. So be careful about which model you buy. The ones I linked have such a custom fan, and are from reputable companies