Been out of the loop for 4 years, help!

[GreenRecycler]

Hey guys, been out of the loop in computer hardware and have a few questions.

Im totally confused by all these video card options. Last I was heavily into gaming, the Geforce GTX295 was king while the 9800GT/8800GT were the midrange cards.

I am currently looking for a game to ONLY play COUNTER-STRIKE SOURCE. That is it, nothing else besides that.

My current specs are

Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.0GHz
0GB Ram (Got to buy some)
430w Antec power supply
80GB Sata Hard Drive

Im looking for a low cost low power solution. I know I can get away with a 2600xt or 8600GT but if there is a new gen card that is faster and has lower power consumption for under $30, that makes more sense.

Thank You

 

[SPBHM]

you can find the 6450 for $30 or less... if you find one, a 5570/GT 430(128bit DDR3) is much faster.

 

[blastingcap]

Hey guys, been out of the loop in computer hardware and have a few questions.

Im totally confused by all these video card options. Last I was heavily into gaming, the Geforce GTX295 was king while the 9800GT/8800GT were the midrange cards.

I am currently looking for a game to ONLY play COUNTER-STRIKE SOURCE. That is it, nothing else besides that.

My current specs are

Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.0GHz
0GB Ram (Got to buy some)
430w Antec power supply
80GB Sata Hard Drive

Im looking for a low cost low power solution. I know I can get away with a 2600xt or 8600GT but if there is a new gen card that is faster and has lower power consumption for under $30, that makes more sense.

Thank You

At $30 you won't be able to find much. Maybe a used GT240 GDDR5 version (NOT the DDR3 version). Overclock that and it will be faster than a 8600GT and use only 75 watts at max load. Even at stock speeds, it'll still give you 8600GT-like performance and draw like 60 watts max. I bought that card a while back for my gf's computer and she was pretty happy with it and could play older games just fine like Fallout 3. Maybe not with AA turned on or anything but still at highest textures and stuff.

This chart may help: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

I would not get a HD 6450 or GT 430. Those are not any cheaper than a GT 240 GDDR5, and run considerably slower as you can see in the chart linked to above. The 5570 is ok and comparable to the GT240 GDDR5, but I'm not sure how much they sell for used. The HD4670 is similar to the 5570 but you may find better deals for it since it's an older card.

If you do not want to buy used then consider simply selling your system and getting a AMD APU-based system with integrated graphics on the die itself. Pair it with the fastest RAM you can afford.

If you can't do that and ONLY want to upgrade your video card, and can ONLY buy new, try to find a GT 240 GDDR5, HD 5570, HD 4670, or HD 5670. The HD 4670 I can personally vouch for as that was my main gaming card for quite a while and it could easily play TF2, CS: Source, DOD: S, Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc. if you didn't go too crazy with anti-aliasing settings. Good overclocker, too. And it didn't require any PCIe connector as it maxed out at 75 watts anyway. Nice, quiet, power-efficient. Someone might still have those new.

 

[toyota]

At $30 you won't be able to find much. Maybe a used GT240 GDDR5 version (NOT the DDR3 version). Overclock that and it will be faster than a 8600GT and use only 75 watts at max load. Even at stock speeds, it'll still give you 8600GT-like performance and draw like 60 watts max. I bought that card a while back for my gf's computer and she was pretty happy with it and could play older games just fine like Fallout 3. Maybe not with AA turned on or anything but still at highest textures and stuff.

This chart may help: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

I would not get a HD 6450 or GT 430. Those are not any cheaper than a GT 240 GDDR5, and run considerably slower as you can see in the chart linked to above. The 5570 is ok and comparable to the GT240 GDDR5, but I'm not sure how much they sell for used. The HD4670 is similar to the 5570 but you may find better deals for it since it's an older card.

If you do not want to buy used then consider simply selling your system and getting a AMD APU-based system with integrated graphics on the die itself. Pair it with the fastest RAM you can afford.

If you can't do that and ONLY want to upgrade your video card, and can ONLY buy new, try to find a GT 240 GDDR5, HD 5570, HD 4670, or HD 5670. The HD 4670 I can personally vouch for as that was my main gaming card for quite a while and it could easily play TF2, CS: Source, DOD: S, Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc. if you didn't go too crazy with anti-aliasing settings. Good overclocker, too. And it didn't require any PCIe connector as it maxed out at 75 watts anyway. Nice, quiet, power-efficient. Someone might still have those new.

even a stock gt240 gddr5 is already 60-70% faster than the 8600gt.