[hero2161]

I've recently purchased Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War for the PC. Both games I have waited a long time to play but when I installed both of them I found that they either did not work, or they ran horribly. I invested on an Alienware PC almost 6 years ago, and have upgraded things such as memory but my graphics card is old and is unable to handle games too well these days.

I currently have a Radeon 9600 XT. I want to play the games I listed above as well as maybe Crysis. I wanted to know which graphics card do you guys believe would be good for me to play these games, it doesn't have to be the most powerful card out there, but a decent one enough to play these games and still have fun.

I was looking at the VisionTek HD2600 Pro 512MB DX10 graphics card, which I believe is a Radeon. Would this be a good card to use? If not, which cards should I invest in that are in the 100-200 range?

My system specs:

Pentium 4 3.00 Ghz (dual core)
1.5 MB RAM
Radeon 9600 XT
Sound Blaster Audigy 2
Windows XP


Thanks!

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The games that you have selected are the some of the most high end games available. New machines struggle with Crysis.

You would be best off building a new rig for those games. An upgrade wouldn't hurt though.

Also those are DX10 compatable games and you will not be getting the full effect without Vista. Thats not saying that you won't be able to play it and it won't be fun..

I think this will be your best bet in that range: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161071

This is not a DX10 card but will give you the most performance for your price range. If you can spend a little bit more then you can get the hot 8800 GT that everyone seems to be talking about now: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150252

This is the first card to use PCI-E 2.0 which is only available on X38 chipset boards. This does not mean that it is not backwards compatable.

There is a good chance you will be looking at a power supply upgrade to go along with a new video card. What is the brand, rated wattage, and 12 volt amps of your current PSU? You will most likely have to look inside to check.

Edited by Titan8990, 14 November 2007 - 03:11 AM.

[Titan8990]

The games that you have selected are the some of the most high end games available. New machines struggle with Crysis.

You would be best off building a new rig for those games. An upgrade wouldn't hurt though.

Also those are DX10 compatable games and you will not be getting the full effect without Vista. Thats not saying that you won't be able to play it and it won't be fun..

I think this will be your best bet in that range: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161071

This is not a DX10 card but will give you the most performance for your price range. If you can spend a little bit more then you can get the hot 8800 GT that everyone seems to be talking about now: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150252

This is the first card to use PCI-E 2.0 which is only available on X38 chipset boards. This does not mean that it is not backwards compatable.

There is a good chance you will be looking at a power supply upgrade to go along with a new video card. What is the brand, rated wattage, and 12 volt amps of your current PSU? You will most likely have to look inside to check.

Edited by Titan8990, 14 November 2007 - 03:11 AM.

[hero2161]

So these games are DX10, but would I be able to run it on a good DX9 card?

My PSU says Alienware on it but when I put the model number on google it comes up with HIGH POWER.
480W

I am heavily looking into the 1950 as I have been getting many many suggestions towards that card.

Hopefully my 480W is enough.

[Titan8990]

450-Watt power supply or greater, 30 Amps on 12 volt rail recommended

I doubt that your PSU has the need 12v amps. I would recommend something like this: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817371002.


Edit: It will run fine using Directx9 but it won't include certain eye candy.

Edited by Titan8990, 15 November 2007 - 03:58 AM.

[hero2161]

i looked at the model number page somehwere on google and it claimed the supply had dual 12v, would that be compatible then?

[Titan8990]

Are you refering to the PSU I recommended or the one that you have?

[jamiej]

hi
if you want a decent graphics card look at a 8500gt 512. i can run games like stalker everything maxed with no lag but the ram and the quad core also helps. the 8500gt is a very good low priced card.
if you looking for a decent quad core gaming computer look on ebay. just type in quad core. they start from around $400 dollars if i am correct as i am English. these computers are amazing as i have a more expensive version off ebay and added sum extras my self. you can even get sli computers from $700 -800.

jamie j

[starjax]

actually if I were recommending a good graphics card I would be suggesting an Nvidia 8800gt. It currently has the best price/performance value. I can't simply recommend anything less than 8800 series card from nvidia. the 8500 and 8600 cards won't stand the test of time. the 8800gt is about 260. I know its a bit outside of your range, but its well worth it. Also keep in mind that ATI is releasing their new video cards as of right now. They should push the older 2900 down in price. For ati, I don't recommend anthing less than the 2900 series.

As to your power issue. Modern graphic cards require 600 watts minimum and 30am 12v rail. For most this means a QUALITY 600 watt or greater. I actually recommend something around 700watts.

If you take a look at the chart here: http://www.tomshardw...e6.html#summary
you can see where some of the newer video cards compare with your old ones. Note how low the ati 2600/nvidia 8600 cards are. When using this chart you want to take two things into consideration. You want to move up the chard at least 3 levels. If you an stretch to go the next level up, it will return performance on your investment.

I will say this, I can run those new games on my older system that uses an nvidia 7800gt. I certainly wouldn't go with anything less. Games are only going to get more challenging on hardware.

[jamiej]

actually if I were recommending a good graphics card I would be suggesting an Nvidia 8800gt. It currently has the best price/performance value. I can't simply recommend anything less than 8800 series card from nvidia. the 8500 and 8600 cards won't stand the test of time. the 8800gt is about 260. I know its a bit outside of your range, but its well worth it. Also keep in mind that ATI is releasing their new video cards as of right now. They should push the older 2900 down in price. For ati, I don't recommend anthing less than the 2900 series.

As to your power issue. Modern graphic cards require 600 watts minimum and 30am 12v rail. For most this means a QUALITY 600 watt or greater. I actually recommend something around 700watts.

If you take a look at the chart here: http://www.tomshardw...e6.html#summary
you can see where some of the newer video cards compare with your old ones. Note how low the ati 2600/nvidia 8600 cards are. When using this chart you want to take two things into consideration. You want to move up the chard at least 3 levels. If you an stretch to go the next level up, it will return performance on your investment.

I will say this, I can run those new games on my older system that uses an nvidia 7800gt. I certainly wouldn't go with anything less. Games are only going to get more challenging on hardware.

you are correct about the 8800 range as the 512 is now coming out soon or is already out and im hoping to upgrade to 2x ultras or gts. but the only with them is the price as they are top end graphics cards and to run them you will need big power. my computer came with a 600w psu and it dosnt do the job running everything so wen i get the 8800s i am looking to get round an 800-1000 wat ocz sli psu

[Troy]

I am currently running the 8800GT 512MB (Gainward version) with an Antec True Power Trio 650w power supply, this supply is very good and is able to support the card with plenty of headroom.

As said before, if you want to play the latest games and are serious about it, do not even consider going less than an 8800 series or a HD2900 series video card.

I also must stress what starjax has said, get a quality power supply, there's a reason cheap power supplies are cheap - and you don't want to find out! (Neither do I). Adding to the specs starjax has said to look at [plenty of watts, enough amps on +12V rail(s)], also look for the efficiency rating, try and get one that's at least 80% efficiency rating. There's plenty more to look for, but this is a good start.

Lastly, it's recommended to not purchase off eBay as you could get stung with a faulty product and/or high postage rates, especially if you have to return something to be replaced, you will probably have to fork out for all the shipping. If you are looking to buy new products such as computer parts discussed in this thread, then purchase off a reputable dealer, preferably one who has a physical shop.

Recent Example:

I recently purchased a whole bunch of parts and picked them all up local, except with the graphics card being posted from some 1000km away. (This was not through eBay). I went with them because:
a) The physical address was listed, and my brother lived near it. He told me it did in fact exist. The website was full of well-written information covering everything from warranties, to returns, to contact information and more.
b) Registered, insured postage by courier was included in the listed price. Nice

So please, look up as much information as you can about products and retailers, find out information on warranties, returns and postage fees for such.