[ZzDiety]

Hi, i'm was planning to play Street fighter 4 on my crappy computer, and it's extremely slow. Seriously it's matrix fighter 4 on my computer. My computer can't even handle the game.
My dad is willing to pay around $100-200ish but i just want to be able to get a decent 45-100 frame rate if possible on most latest games, i'll be getting a new computer in around 1-2 years.


Here are my specs.

System Model (Motherboard)

PCCHIPS A13G
Here is the link of the item at newegg, so you get the better idea.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813185093
It also has a nvidia graphics card


Processor

1.80 gigahertz AMD Sempron™Processor 3200+
256 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Not hyper-threaded

Now, i'm planning not to have such a great card just to be able to play most games on high settings or so. The thing that i'm worried about i don't know if these items are compatiable with my system, and i already have a graphics card built in with my motherboard will my new graphics card acutally replace my graphics card that's included with my mother board? And also, i'm thinking of getting a newer processor, i'm not sure if it's compatiable with the ones i'm choosing.

Here is what i want to get for my system.

Graphic Card
MSI Radeon HD 4650 600MHZ 512MB 1.0GHZ DDR2 PCIe DVI VGA Video Card

http://www.ncix.com/...e=MSI/MicroStar

Processor
AMD Athlon X2 7550 Dual Core Processor Socket AM2+ 2.5GHZ 3MB 65NM 95W OEM

http://www.ncix.com/...ucts/?sku=39938

OR
AMD Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition Dual Core Processor Socket AM2+ 2.7GHZ 3MB 65NM 95W Retail Box

http://www.ncix.com/...CustomerReviews

I don't know how to fix it in myself so my dad will get a friend of his to fix the computer parts up. I see NCIX.com the cheapest site for me and it's also in canada which is where i'm living.

I need some serious help guys, i need to be able to play games with enjoyment not games that make me frurated while i keep trying to put on low settings but despite low, my computer keeps on lagging.

Also, it'd be nice if you guys can give me the items from the site "Newegg.com" Because they seem to be way more cheaper and shipping and handling is much cheaper then www.ncix.com.





Thanks,

ZzDiety

Edited by ZzDiety, 17 July 2009 - 06:05 AM.

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Hi,
The graphics card you picked out is good and should work with your motherboard...
Here is my suggestion: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127416
Just for about $5 more, you upgrade to 1Gb of card memory. Only has an HDMI and DVI port though.

I also like Newegg better... never even heard of NCIX. You should also check on TigerDirect (not sure if they ship to Canada though) to see if you can get any cheaper deals.

I don't think PC Chips released a compatibility BIOS update that would allow you to use AM2+ CPUs on your motherboard.
This is the CPU I would recommend: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103771
I am not sure about the price in Canadian dollars.
Make sure that your mobo will be able to supply enough power for this CPU (I am sure it will)

[edge2022]

Hi,
The graphics card you picked out is good and should work with your motherboard...
Here is my suggestion: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127416
Just for about $5 more, you upgrade to 1Gb of card memory. Only has an HDMI and DVI port though.

I also like Newegg better... never even heard of NCIX. You should also check on TigerDirect (not sure if they ship to Canada though) to see if you can get any cheaper deals.

I don't think PC Chips released a compatibility BIOS update that would allow you to use AM2+ CPUs on your motherboard.
This is the CPU I would recommend: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103771
I am not sure about the price in Canadian dollars.
Make sure that your mobo will be able to supply enough power for this CPU (I am sure it will)

[shadowz187]

That AM2 will not work on that board. Go with the Athlon X2 Windsor that edge had suggested, it's a good CPU. Also, go with the 1Gb VCard... huge UG over a 512, and it looks like your into gaming, so you won't need the extra inputs.

A big question I had was how much RAM and what type are you using? A lot of older systems only allow for 2Gigs of DDR, so make sure you know before you waste the money putting in 4 Gigs. You can see what your systems RAM cap and type is at Crucial. If your Dad allows $200, then you have room to address your RAM, as well as CPU and Vcard.

[ZzDiety]

Well i bought a Sapphire radeon HD 4650 HD 1gb it really didn't turn out good i had a problem where it would be 640x480 and it was really annyoing me i decided to return it and now well i'm getting ready to return it, anyways i have a 450w power supply shocklingy my dad bought me that long time ago D: didn't even know ! Anyways, i was thinking of a nvidia graphics card i want to be able to run most of the games now with atleast of a frame rate of 30-40 fps, i need a decent price on it, 50-80. Because i'll have to be paying for shipping.

Peffered site to use, www.tigerdirect.ca
Much more easier, and it's a canadian company they have an outlet store here, i'll be talking to them on the phone and see what they reccomend, but for now i'd like to see what you guys can find! D:

Much love,
ZzDiety

[stettybet0]

Did you install any drivers?

How much RAM do you have? Street Fighter IV requires 1GB and recommends 2GB, and I'd recommend you have at least 2GB also.

Do you know what PSU make and model you have? It's important to know how much 12V amperage it has, as well as how many PCI-E power connectors it has, to know which video cards it can handle.

Also, at different times you've mentioned you prefer NCIX.com, Newegg.com, and tigerdirect.ca. Well, which is it? Do you actually have a preference, or do you just want which ever is cheapest? Also, you want to be looking at Newegg.ca if you're in Canada. All of Newegg.com's prices are in USD.

[W-Unit]

If it's not too late, I'd try troubleshooting the card before you return it. I've heard lots of good things about Sapphire's cards and am probably about to purchase one myself as a matter of fact. Besides, if you ordered it from an online store, the return process is just as tedious as the troubleshooting process. I don't know about Sapphire's support but try them first for sure and let me know how it turns out
Just my recommendation as I'm an ATI kind of guy at the moment (I'm not dogmatically loyal; I just think they are better value cards right now), but certainly if you've changed your mind and really want an nvidia card now then go for it. If you can work up an extra $20 or so for the card, I'd recommend a 9600GT for Nvidia; you had the right choice with the 4650 on the ATI side. The two cards are close in performance, so if you can't get the money for a 9600GT but really want to go Nvidia you'll probably have to sacrifice some performance.

Either of these is a mid-range card, so 30-40fps in games like Left 4 Dead and COD: WAW is a good estimate for the performance you'll get from them with reasonably high settings (you probably won't be able to max them out and still get these rates, but I'm sure you can get reasonably close).

[ZzDiety]

Did you install any drivers?

How much RAM do you have? Street Fighter IV requires 1GB and recommends 2GB, and I'd recommend you have at least 2GB also.

Do you know what PSU make and model you have? It's important to know how much 12V amperage it has, as well as how many PCI-E power connectors it has, to know which video cards it can handle.

Also, at different times you've mentioned you prefer NCIX.com, Newegg.com, and tigerdirect.ca. Well, which is it? Do you actually have a preference, or do you just want which ever is cheapest? Also, you want to be looking at Newegg.ca if you're in Canada. All of Newegg.com's prices are in USD.

Graphics card issue, + game performance.
Yes i installed all of them i installed the latest 1 first it didn't work out so well then i went back from date to date and eventually up to the first dirver update nothing worked i was stuck at a 640x480 res with lowest color i was really mad. I have 2 GB of ram, and 1GB DDR2 of vram from the sapphire radeon HD 4650, i can't go back and tell you anymore because my steam account got phished and i'm currently recovering it back. But i can tell you i get around 40-50 fps on street fighter iv all on high with 4x atilising.

More about my power supply and motherboard.
My power supply is 465w, and the model is WT-4100C ATX465W P4 company name is Safe power Here is some information on the motherboard.

Motherboard ( PC CHIPS A13G) : http://www.pcchips.c...u...=46&LanID=0

I think i pefer tigerdirect.ca now because they have a store that's near where i live, so it's pretty convinent. Also, i picked 2 graphics cards, i don't know if it'll go well with my system.

If it's not too late, I'd try troubleshooting the card before you return it. I've heard lots of good things about Sapphire's cards and am probably about to purchase one myself as a matter of fact. Besides, if you ordered it from an online store, the return process is just as tedious as the troubleshooting process. I don't know about Sapphire's support but try them first for sure and let me know how it turns out
Just my recommendation as I'm an ATI kind of guy at the moment (I'm not dogmatically loyal; I just think they are better value cards right now), but certainly if you've changed your mind and really want an nvidia card now then go for it. If you can work up an extra $20 or so for the card, I'd recommend a 9600GT for Nvidia; you had the right choice with the 4650 on the ATI side. The two cards are close in performance, so if you can't get the money for a 9600GT but really want to go Nvidia you'll probably have to sacrifice some performance.

Either of these is a mid-range card, so 30-40fps in games like Left 4 Dead and COD: WAW is a good estimate for the performance you'll get from them with reasonably high settings (you probably won't be able to max them out and still get these rates, but I'm sure you can get reasonably close).

Heh, i tried that no luck just same problems every time i think the card is defective, i rather go with stabilty and fair peformance, nvidia is your solution sure your paying a tad bit more then ati, but you have a stable card, because with ati you'll have a similar problem like mine and you'll have to buy a new one and plus i bought this one from newegg and now i'm returning it and i have to pay for shipping + i paid for tax on my item and shipping and handling for $88 bucks! And because of the 15% restocking fee i only get $40 BUCKS! While at tigerdirect.ca i can call them and ask if they have the item in stock and i just need to pay for 5% tax because i'm in canada oh! i almost forgot on newegg i have to pay a 5% canadian tax rate aswell! I end up paying less at tigerdirect.ca whilist at newegg.ca i pay more! Newegg is only good if your near their warehouses, but if not then it's not a good idea to go newegg when your canadian tigerdirect.ca is your best bet. NCIX is pretty good but it's not near my location so if anything happens i have to ship it while at tigerdirect.ca i have to take the bus to get there and return my item! D: I think it's a better deal for meh . So the peffered site will be Tigerdirect.ca i will be updating my post.
Btw, i highly suggest getting a nvidia card it will last you and you won't have to fork out another extra 60-80 bucks for another ati card, just because the other one doesn't work, what if the other one doesn't work?

Also, here is 2 of my selections let me know if it's works with my system specs.

EVGA GeForce 9500GT - 512MB DDR2
Link: http://www.tigerdire...AIN#detailspecs

XFX GeForce 9600 GSO Video Card - 768MB DDR2
Link: http://www.tigerdire...a...D&body=MAIN
^ I like the XFX life time warrenty makes it even more nice i don't have to worry about the 30 days anyways because i can just go the tigerdirect which is near my location with the bus. I won't have to pay restocking fees like newegg.ca. BTW, if you buy stuff from tigerdirect.ca they will give FULL REFUND no restocking fee

-ZzDiety

P.S keep answering guys i'm going to return my sapphire radeon HD 4650, i'm going to get around $76 canadian to spend on tigerdirect.ca but i can push 30-45 bucks more ( spamming "Please" to my dad.).

EDIT: Just noticed that i can't edit the 1st post of the topic. :/ Darn.

Edited by ZzDiety, 26 July 2009 - 01:48 PM.

[edge2022]

Get the 9600 GSO... your PSU can support it.
The problem is that your PCI-E Pro slot will only run in x1 mode, restricting performance.

You can try looking for a PCI card too.

[ZzDiety]

Get the 9600 GSO... your PSU can support it.
The problem is that your PCI-E Pro slot will only run in x1 mode, restricting performance.

You can try looking for a PCI card too.

1x mode, how low will the performance go? I want to be able to play games at decent frame rates, better then my previous Sapphire ati radeon HD 4650.

[edge2022]

Look at this bandwidth chart:

Common Buses and their Max Bandwidth
PCI 132 MB/s
AGP 8X 2,100 MB/s
PCI Express 1x 250 [500]* MB/s
PCI Express 2x 500 [1000]* MB/s
PCI Express 4x 1000 [2000]* MB/s
PCI Express 8x 2000 [4000]* MB/s
PCI Express 16x 4000 [8000]* MB/s
PCI Express 32x 8000 [16000]* MB/s
IDE (ATA100) 100 MB/s
IDE (ATA133) 133 MB/s
SATA 150 MB/s
Gigabit Ethernet 125 MB/s
IEEE1394B [Firewire] 100 MB/s

Not so sure how low the performance will go... if I were you, I might want to upgrade the mobo and cpu too. (This will require a repair of your Windows installation or a reformat and reinstall)

[ZzDiety]

Look at this bandwidth chart:

Common Buses and their Max Bandwidth
PCI 132 MB/s
AGP 8X 2,100 MB/s
PCI Express 1x 250 [500]* MB/s
PCI Express 2x 500 [1000]* MB/s
PCI Express 4x 1000 [2000]* MB/s
PCI Express 8x 2000 [4000]* MB/s
PCI Express 16x 4000 [8000]* MB/s
PCI Express 32x 8000 [16000]* MB/s
IDE (ATA100) 100 MB/s
IDE (ATA133) 133 MB/s
SATA 150 MB/s
Gigabit Ethernet 125 MB/s
IEEE1394B [Firewire] 100 MB/s

Not so sure how low the performance will go... if I were you, I might want to upgrade the mobo and cpu too. (This will require a repair of your Windows installation or a reformat and reinstall)

Well i checked out my mobo, and it says it has 1 x PCI Express Pro slot (PCI Express x16 compatible) so if it's PCI express x16 compatible i think it'll work out. And like i said i will eventually upgrade the mobo and cpu so i get the maxed out peformance later on.

[Emarian]

Comments edited. We have an anti-troll policy and won't allow comments by people who join for the express purpose of flaming.

[stettybet0]

Since it seems "fail" is a serious issue to Emarian, I don't want to leave bunches of it lying around uncorrected...

Here is my suggestion: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127416
Just for about $5 more, you upgrade to 1Gb of card memory. Only has an HDMI and DVI port though.

I suppose that will be really useful to him considering that his system is VGA. Always ask BEFORE you go about making suggestions.

Everyone hates DVI adapters.

I'm going to assume "his system is VGA" means "his monitor only has VGA input".

That card actually does have a VGA port. Even if it didn't, most, if not all, video cards with no VGA port will include a DVI to VGA adapter (and if not, the adapter is only about $5). Not sure why the adapter would be hated... It's an inch or two piece of plastic and metal attached to the back of the computer. If it's image quality you're worried about, the signal to be sent to the monitor starts out as digital... whether it's converted to analog by an adapter in the video card or an external adapter makes no difference.

It's called backwards compatibility. I have a computer from the stone age running an AM2+ system on AM2 and has never had a BIOS update.

Hmm... The meaning of system seems to keep changing. In this case, I'm going to assume "an AM2+ system on AM2" means "an AM2+ CPU on an AM2 motherboard". Anyways, unless you have the same motherboard as ZzDiety, this anecdotal information is irrelevant.. While AMD intended for AM2+ CPUs to work in all AM2 motherboards, many AM2 motherboards need a BIOS update for AM2+ CPUs to work. Some motherboard manufacturers "never got around to" releasing the necessary update. Given how cheap a manufacturer PC Chips is, it's no surprise that they never did. As you can see here, ZzDiety's motherboard will not support AM2+ CPUs.

I'd recommend a 9600GT for Nvidia... 30-40fps in games like Left 4 Dead and COD: WAW is a good estimate for the performance you'll get from them with reasonably high settings (you probably won't be able to max them out and still get these rates, but I'm sure you can get reasonably close).

I got 45 FPS from a 512MB Geforce 9800 GT with max settings (1920x1200) on L4D. Other than that, your post was actually intelligent.

As you can see, W-Unit was talking about a 9600GT, not a 9800GT. And looking here and here, the 9600GT averages 32FPS and 31FPS on Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: World at War, respectively, maxed out at 1920x1200. Turning a few settings down would probably move the FPS closer to 40, so I'd say 30-40FPS was a pretty good estimate for 1920x1200. The only fallacy in his estimate is that the performance will change with resolution. So, W-Unit should have either asked ZzDiety what resolution he would be using, or he should have at least specified what resolution he was basing his performance estimates on.

Get the 9600 GSO... your PSU can support it.

GSO cards are just rebranded GS cards with a cooler case.

Correct, the 9600GSO is a rebranded 8800GS. I don't think anyone said anything otherwise. edge2022 correctly identified the better of the two cards ZzDiety inquired about.

Also, you managed to miss the only relevant factor in your argument, and that's the different bus speeds for each version of PCI x16 (1.1, 2.0, 3.0). Nonetheless, that still renders your argument invalid as no card (except MAYBE the Geforce GTX 280) has maxed out PCI 1.1.

If edge2022 was talking about the different PCI Express versions, you might have a point. However, he was referring to how many lanes the PCI Express Pro bus in ZzDiety's motherboard had. Unfortunately, he may be a little off in saying it only has 1 lane. It certainly doesn't have all 16 lanes, but it may have 8, 4, or 1 lane. A GPU such as the 9600GSO wouldn't be too affected unless it was only 1 lane. Another important note is that some PCI Express 2.0 cards won't work with some PCI Express 1.0a buses, which is what a PCI Express Pro bus is. If upgrading the motherboard isn't an option financially, it's just a risk ZzDiety will have to take.

ZzDiety, we're glad to help you, but in the future, I'll ask that if you have a question, ask it here on the forums. Sending someone else to check on a thread who then ends up berating our members and giving little useful information of his own isn't a good option.

Edited by stettybet0, 26 July 2009 - 09:59 PM.

[Emarian]

See above.

[edge2022]

Everyone hates DVI adapters.

Why? It's a good card, and paying a little more for a DVI to VGA adapter isn't that bad.
A minor $3 expense: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814999201

It's called backwards compatibility. I have a computer from the stone age running an AM2+ system on AM2 and has never had a BIOS update.

Sometimes, in order for a CPU to work properly with a mobo, it may need a BIOS flash.
To be on the safe side, I recommended a good CPU which I am sure has native support.

Since when is IDE, SATA, Ethernet, or Firewire used for GFX cards or CPUs? Come on man...

Just for comparison of speeds...
The slot on the OP's mobo, has a physical PCI-E x16 slot, and it can take x16 cards... but it will only run at the x1 speed.
PCI-e 1.x: 250 Mbps
PCI-e 2.0: 500 Mbps
PCI-e 3.0 1000 Mbps (will release in 2010... in the works)
These bandwidths are for one lane (1x).