It may be time to buy a video card...

[zCypher]

I've bought Bioshock and Mass Effect, and neither will start - both give error messages. I've been able to play some games, like CSS without any problems.

I guess the integrated video will finally have to go.

I'm looking to spend no more than $150. What would your pick be?

My current system:

MSI G31M3-L
E5200 (2.5GHz)
4GB DDR2-800
TB WD Black

Edit: I'm not looking to change mobo or CPU, just add a video card.

 

[Shilohen]

Hi,

I'd say http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102865. It's right in your budget and a very decent card. Going up to 160$ would open the 5770 and 4870 options. Another, cheaper option, would be http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150351.

 

[Magusigne]

WoW you will see a HUGE difference.

There is a bit of a price disparity your in currently. Personally, if you have been hauling around games with an intergrated fx board then ANY video card is going to be an improvement. Personally with your rig (which is going to need an upgrade probably in the next year or two) I'd find a nice used 9800GTX for like 60-70 bucks and use that.

The 5770 I'd recommend if you planned on going balls to the wall with your budget. You could probably use it in your next rig too.

 

[Shilohen]

He just bought Mass Effect (assuming ME 2), a nice video card would get him nice eye candies. It all depend if the 150$ is the target expected price or "I will spend that amount only if I have no other choice" type of budget. If the latter then yes, anything would be better than your integrated graphic so you could go with the cheapest.

 

[f4phantom2500]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-824-_-Product

that's a solid deal, but it was $94 with free shipping just yesterday.

 

[Termie]

The 4850 for $125 and 5750 for $145 linked above are good cards, but they're a little overpriced. I'd go for this 5770 at $150 (after rebate). Newegg link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161317. A better card, and still within your budget.

But seeing that you're coming from integrated, others are right that just about any card will blow you away. If you'd rather just get "enough" to play the games you've mentioned, you can save a bunch of money by going for this 4770 for $92 at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...70,2533-7.html

The 4770 is a little faster than a 8800gt/9800gt, and after that the ranking would go 4850/gts250, 5750, and then 5770.

 

[Shilohen]

Bah, I didn't see that mail-in rebate, so yeah the suggested 5770 is better than the 5750 Vapor-X, unless you really like low noise.

 

[crisium]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-824-_-Product

that's a solid deal, but it was $94 with free shipping just yesterday.

This. Since you cannot get a 5770 for $150 or less, the whole $99-$150 bracket is the same performance. Now this card only has 512MB of memory, but besides that it performs as fast as a 5750. Now the 5750 will OC a lot more, but I'm just going with proportional performance. Even if you OC like a dog, except in the cases where 512MB is not enough, the 5750 will not justify it's 30%+ price premium.

Or this:

But seeing that you're coming from integrated, others are right that just about any card will blow you away. If you'd rather just get "enough" to play the games you've mentioned, you can save a bunch of money by going for this 4770 for $92 at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...70,2533-7.html

The 4770 is a little faster than a 8800gt/9800gt, and after that the ranking would go 4850/gts250, 5750, and then 5770.

Only a tad slower than a 4850 or 5750, but cheaper ($10 cheaper than the 4850 using the standard shipping). And uses less power consumption than the 4850.

 

[0roo0roo]

even cs:s benefits from higher level filtering+fsaa
igp =horrible

 

[zCypher]

Thanks for all the good replies. Do you think the E5200 will be fine for now? My last PC lasted me a good 5 years without being upgraded much. My next upgrade will probably be HD after this...

I don't see myself caring about ~5fps difference in games, as long as it's comfortably playable with normal settings, I'll be happy. Just bioshock and mass effect will keep me busy for a long time, I'm sure.

I'm thinking about the Radeon 5750, seems to be a pretty good card.

 

[Termie]

Thanks for all the good replies. Do you think the E5200 will be fine for now? My last PC lasted me a good 5 years without being upgraded much. My next upgrade will probably be HD after this...

I don't see myself caring about ~5fps difference in games, as long as it's comfortably playable with normal settings, I'll be happy. Just bioshock and mass effect will keep me busy for a long time, I'm sure.

I'm thinking about the Radeon 5750, seems to be a pretty good card.

The 5750 is great, but try not to pay more than $130 for the 1GB version. Newegg has the 512MB version for $130, but that's not a good deal. There must have been a run on the 5750, because they are way over retail price everywhere right now.

If you need something now, I'd go for either 4770/4850 for ~$100 or 5770 for $150. Those are solid deals.

And your 5200 will fine, although the general rule of thumb is that you want to try to overclock to about 3Ghz to match the level of video card you're talking about. Even if you don't, you'll see a huge improvement, but if you're going to keep the 5200 at stock speeds, I'd recommend the cheaper cards listed above.

 

[CraigRT]

I paid $100 CAD for a 4850 just the other day (new)..... I still think its the best value card out there for just raw performance per $.

 

[Magusigne]

Thanks for all the good replies. Do you think the E5200 will be fine for now? My last PC lasted me a good 5 years without being upgraded much. My next upgrade will probably be HD after this...

I don't see myself caring about ~5fps difference in games, as long as it's comfortably playable with normal settings, I'll be happy. Just bioshock and mass effect will keep me busy for a long time, I'm sure.

I'm thinking about the Radeon 5750, seems to be a pretty good card.

Do you want to spend 150-170 or would you prefer to spend as little as possible

 

[VirtualLarry]

I overclocked an E5200 in a budget gaming rig that I built for a client to 3Ghz really easily, at stock voltage, with C1E and EIST still enabled. Try that on your rig, and be sure to stress-test (prime95, OCCT:linpack) for a few hours (up to 24) to make sure it's stable. It should be a walk in the part to overclock that E5200.

Oh, with my Gigabyte G31 mobo that I used, it only has a 2.66 memory multiplier with the 200Mhz FSB CPUs, so I used DDR2-800 memory with it.

 

[happy medium]

Your best bet is to grab this 5750 1gb for 137$ shipped and overclock it past 5770 speeds like I did. I play all games on high settings @ 1280x1024 and 1600x1200.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102859

They also have a 5770 512mb for 130$ shipped.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I would not argue with any of the suggested video cards. Personally, I would think a 4850 or 5770/5750 would be a good choice.

However, no one mentioned the power supply. If your system is a prebuilt one with integrated graphics, you probably would need to upgrade your power supply to use any of the suggested cards. It would help if you could post the specs of your power supply.

 

[crisium]

And also what resolution. 4850 512MB for $99 is as fast as a 5750, but if you are gaming at 1920 you are better off getting a 1GB card, though both ME and BSh are both usually fine with 512.

 

[Magusigne]

I would not argue with any of the suggested video cards. Personally, I would think a 4850 or 5770/5750 would be a good choice.

However, no one mentioned the power supply. If your system is a prebuilt one with integrated graphics, you probably would need to upgrade your power supply to use any of the suggested cards. It would help if you could post the specs of your power supply.

While you do have a point as to what his power supply is, I doubt its a pre-built unless he added the WD Black.

OP- Update your post

1) What power supply do you have
2) Is 150 what you expect to pay? Max?
3) What resolution do you game at?
4) Do you anticipate upgrading your entire rig in the next year or two?

 

[f4phantom2500]

you should also check the fs/ft forum. i'm in the middle of a deal right now to get a 4870 512MB for $85 shipped.

also, you guys telling him to get the video card with more memory, come on, he's coming from integrated video. really, he should be looking at around the $70~$100 price bracket for a 4830~4870 level card. while more memory is nice, i really don't think he's gonna care that much. that's where the best deals are, especially in the fs/ft forum. he's probably not playing at super high resolutions anyway.

oh also OP, as stated earlier, your processor is fine, might wanna overclock a bit though.

 

[nitromullet]

You might also consider looking for a GeForce GTX 260. New, they probably run more along the lines of $170-200, but you should be able to find a used one for $150 pretty easily.

If you're worried about a warranty on a used card, look for XFX, and ask the seller if they can transfer the warranty. I have no idea what this will sell for, bit worth checking out IMO: http://cgi.ebay.com/XFX-NVIDIA-GeFo...emQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item335a26d322

 

[Zargon]

the nice thing about the 5xxx is unless you go big $$ they are easy on power/heat

http://www.geeks3d.com/20090618/graphics-cards-thermal-design-power-tdp-database/

as for XFX, the warranty is worthless if it hasnt been registered within 30 days, if you dont its a one year warranty instead of lifetime.

 

[Decembermouse]

Radeon 5770 is worth the price increase over the 5550. I would get those over a GTX260, for the price. Those 260's are fast, yes, but hot and loud. My flatmate has a nice non-reference EVGA GTX260 Core 216 one with a nice cooler, and I can hear the fan all the way from his room into my room. They don't even do DX10.1, either...

I'd get a 5770 now, then later get another and Crossfire it. Quieter, much lower power usage, and newer/more high tech.

 

[nitromullet]

as for XFX, the warranty is worthless if it hasnt been registered within 30 days, if you dont its a one year warranty instead of lifetime.

That's why you have to ask the seller. If they registered within 30 days they will be able to send you a code to xfer the warranty. If not, they won't... Pretty simple.