Midrange minimum for Oblivion?

[mrzed]

Making do with integrated graphics for now, but just picked up Oblivion at a sale price I couldn't pass up. I will be running on a LCD TV at 1360*768, or on the monitor at 12*10, which amount to similar pixel counts. I'm hoping to play with modest eye candy and only minor slowdowns outdoors.

Rest of system spec:

Antec 380W PSU
Abit NF-M2 Nview
3800+ X2 (mild OC)
2* 512 DDR2 667

Currently - 7900gs fits the budget best, will it be enough to do what I want?

 

[Arkaign]

Yes, you could even get away w/7600GT. Or better, one of the $130ish recert Evga 7800GTs at Newegg!

 

[mrzed]

Good. Trying to figure my best price/performance option. I don't upgrade often, and I stay well back of the curve, but I want to keep the next card for likely 2 years. Current options are (in $CDN):

7600GT ~ 120-130
7900GS ~170-200
7950GT ~240-250

For some strange reason, ATI cards are not as price competetive here in Canada in the midrange.

For a pure price/performance standpoint, I get the impression the GS is the best deal of the bunch.

 

[Arkaign]

Well, you're upgrading at a tough time :

Option 1 : Get the 7600GT, get good performance now, sell to a chum in a few months, upgrade to 8600GT, keep for 18-24 months

Option 2 : Get the 7900GS, get excellent performance now, keep for 12-18 months

Option 3 : Get the 7950GT, get outstanding performance now, keep for 18-24 months

ATI hates Canucks j/k Idk why prices in Canada are so bad.

EDIT : With your PSU, I would recommend option 1, they are actually quite good, even for Oblivion

 

[40sTheme]

7950GT is the best if you can pay the money. Seeing your specs, it should be fine on your PSU. Mine does not draw very much power. I have 2GB DDR2 800, Pentium D 820 (that thing is a power whore) and the 7950GT clocked at 710/1700 on a 520W PSU, and the PSU never shows workage above 46%.

 

[mrzed]

I'm actually certain my PSU should power just about any current card. It's a mATX mobo, 65W EE processor, single HD, single DVD. I'm not looking to do any big voltage OC, so there's lots of headroom for hungry video. The PSU is the stock one out of the NSK2400 case, so it's a nice new efficient model.

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Well, you're upgrading at a tough time :

I never seem to upgrade at the right time. Last time I got a complete new system, mine fried, and it was mere weeks before the rev B thouroughbred XP's came out. My rev A got a measly 20% OC, while the same price weeks later would have got 50+.

The nice thing is, I'm so far behind the curve that anything current will seem amazing to me. Especially Oblivion on a 42" LCD TV from my couch.

I'm leaning to the GS, it seems highly OCable, and from the sounds of it, at the resolution I'll be at, it should last

 

[40sTheme]

Yup, with your choices that you've proposed, the 7900GS is the best bang for the buck. Go for it.

 

[akshayt]

1950Pro with another GB of RAM should be your best bet.