Help from professionals about a graphics card purchase.

[asjdwf]

I have relied on the threads from this great place for some time now. And, since it is time I feel I need an upgrade on my graphics card, I personally feel obligated to ask the pros here what they would get.

I currently have a NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT I mostly play World of Warcraft. My wife plays Sims 3 and sometimes I play betas of games that I have been invited to. I just have the feeling that with all the new stuff they are doing in games it's time for an upgrade on the graphics card.

I'm running windows 7http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic377647.html# home 32 bit. I have 4 gb RAM, 2.4 ghz

The Max Resolution of my monitor 1440 x 900 / 60.0 Hz but I run it at 1024 x768 / 60.0 Hz.

my computer is a Q6600 2.4Ghz.
Intel core 2 quad

Power Supply 550 Watt Top Power Power Supply

Motherboard Board NVIDIA nForce 630i based chipset, DDR2, mATX, PCI-e

Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q6600, quad 2.4GHz cores, 8MB L2 Cache (+$100.00)

CPU Cooling Intel® Certified Heatsink/Fan, Thermal Controlled Variable Speed Fan

DDR2 Memory 4096MB Corsair™ XMS2 DDR2-800 Low Latency Extreme Memory with Heat Spreader (2x2048)

I had it custom built from Velocity Micro about two and a half years ago. (The time may be a little off.)

I am willing to spend up to about $200 dollars right now but if waiting a few months will get me more for my money is the right thing to do........that I am willing to do.

I was looking at

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390

but I don't know if my power supply which is here,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817101021

will run it.

Thanks in advance for you help friends.

AJ

 

[Annisman*]

Well, your link doesn't seem to work for me. I would say, given the games you play and the resolution you play at, a GTX 460 768mb card should be the most expensive card that makes sense (120 after rebates) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127512

And if you want to go ATI a 5770 wouldn't be a bad choice

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-330-_-Product

Also 120, but no rebate.


Either card would work just fine with your power supply.

 

[toyota]

you really need to oc that cpu a bit if you actually want to get the best use out of a significant gpu upgrade. 1440x900 is an extremely low res and your Q6600 at just 2.4 would really hurt the potential of a gtx460 especially in games that don't really utilize more than 2 cores.

 

[Skurge]

Yeah, a 460 768mn would be a great choice. 5770 is overpriced IMO. unless you are looking for a really small, really low power gaming capable card.

The Max Resolution of my monitor 1440 x 900 / 60.0 Hz but I run it at 1024 x768 / 60.0 Hz.

This, I urge you to invest in a new monitor as well. If you can.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I've also say GTX 460 - 768 MB if you find a deal under $125.

There are deals on faster cards at $150-160, GTX 460 1 GB, Radeon 5850 / 6850, so don't pay more than about $130 for the 768 MB.

Note that the GTX 460 "SE" 1 GB is slower than the 768 MB, so you should pay even less for one of those.

I wouldn't pay more than $100 for a Radeon 5770 based on its performance.

Edit: the only reason to get a $150+ card is if you do plan to replace the monitor soon.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

fot that resolution a
GeForce GTS 450


Everything else faster would be a overkill

 

[toyota]

fot that resolution a
GeForce GTS 450


Everything else faster would be a overkill

with his cpu at stock speed then yes that is true for the most part. the gts450 is really not much cheaper then some of the deals out there on the gtx460 768mb though.

 

[happy medium]

but I run it at 1024 x768 / 60.0 Hz.

A gtx460 768mb and you will be set for 4 years.

 

[toyota]

surely he wants to run at 1440x900 though? if not then there is zero reason to upgrade from a 9800gt to play at 1024x768.

 

[blanketyblank]

fot that resolution a
GeForce GTS 450


Everything else faster would be a overkill

450 is barely an upgrade over a 9800 so I'd save your money on that.
Personally if I were in your position I'd spend the extra for a 1Gb card. A 5850, 6850, or 1 GB 460 can be had for about $150 and won't be VRAM limited if you turn on eyecandy/ get a 1080p+ screen.

 

[Annisman*]

Don't forget everyone, a little bottleneck now, makes for a better system later if he ever decides to upgrade the monitor/rest of system in a year or two.

 

[-Slacker-]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161338

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102873