[UV_Power]

Since I may/may not be building a new gaming computer, I was wondering how I could get the most out of my current desktop (as seen in my signature). I know it's a rather old machine, but I read somewhere that with everything that I have, I will be able to run a 7800GS agp pretty well. I have ALSO read that there is no point to get that card because of the bottleneck and I won't be getting any better speeds than from a 6600GT.

So, what advice would you give me if I wanted to get the best video out of my current system?

Edited by UV_Power, 27 March 2007 - 12:56 AM.

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I was just wondering how much you're willing to spend on that graphic card. That way I could limit my search.

[SOORENA]

I was just wondering how much you're willing to spend on that graphic card. That way I could limit my search.

[UV_Power]

I saw it on sale for $129

[SOORENA]

The 7800GS beats the 6600 by a long shot I don't know where you got that from but their wrong. It even beats a 7600 GT in PCI-E 16x.

Here refer to THIS for comparisons.

[UV_Power]

Yeah, at proper speeds I know the 7800GS vs. 6600 there is no question the 7800GS is a better card. But my question was would my computer reflect that difference or would it restrict it seeing as how it runs at 400 FSB and my memory is only DDR PC3200.

But, anyways, I broke down and bought the card and tried it out and it was not disappointing. It more than doubles my fps on my games (Only tested it on Prey and CoD2). I am getting about 35 fps on average at 1680x1050 with 4xAA.

But, now I have new questions:

First, my benchmarks (3dMark05, 3dMark06, and AquaMark03) are, naturally, giving me higher scores. But, they are all running in a fast forward animation as well. They finish in about 2/3 of the time it did on my old card. Is this normal when upgrading to a faster card? Is the fast forward on my benchmarks just a side effect of higher fps? Or should all benchmarks run the same amount of time regardless of the card?

Second, and this might be part of my first question, what are the best video drivers to get for this card? There are alot of websites that say which drivers will work for the 7800GS, but none of them say which is the best for gaming. I am getting the feeling that every computer individually has their own BEST driver, which is why there is no one best driver for ALL computers, but does anyone know of which one will be optimized for games so I can try them out?

Thanks.

[SOORENA]

If the graphic card came with a cd then install that first. Then depending on you're windows use these:

Windows Me/98

Windows Xp/2000

Windows Xp Media Center Edition

Windows Xp 64-bit

Windows Vista 32-bit

Windows Vista 64-bit

[UV_Power]

Already tried both. Same effect.