Upgrading my video card

[Rayn]

Ok so as of the last couple of days I noticed that my video card which is a Nvidia 7300 GS 256mb has been having these random 2 second cycles where it runs normally then slows down slightly producing lag of some sort. I was thinking that I wanted to upgrade my video card before this happened but it seems that this is a sign.

My question to all of you out there with the appropriate knowledge, is if there are any great vid cards with a reasonable price range out there that you may suggest? Also what are some of the things I should know about my computer and prospective video card that I want to get as I am not as computer savvy as I would like to be at this point in time. All I know is that my vid card fits into a PCI slot lol....

Thanks in advance.

 

[RaidrX]

PCI or PCI express? I'm guessing express because I doubt they made 7 series on original PCI, in which case just about any card will work. The 8800s are way down in price now, can pick em up for around 100$ at new egg and you'll be able to play just about anything on em, like i can run crisis just fine on high. If you don't want to spend that much I'm sure you can get like an 8500 or 8600 for cheap like 50-60 bucks, but IMO if your gonna put that much into it you might as well put in the extra 40 and get some quality shit.

Just make sure your power supply can handle an 8800 because they do require power, but other than that you should be fine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133232

110 w/ free shipping is pretty damn good. Also if someone tells you to get ATi don't listen they are lying to you. Nvidia ftw.

 

[Bajaratt]

I bought a 9800GT for $120 after my mail-in rebate comes in, if you look around graphics cards are really cheap. I saw a 9600 for $80 after a rebate too.

 

[Draciot]

I don't want to hijack your thread, but I was hoping someone would answer a question for me.

I have an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 2.2ghz CPU, an ATI Radeon X1900XTX and 1gig of DDR 400 ram. I was looking at buying the EVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra and 4 gigs Corsair DDR 400 ram so I would be able to upgrade to Vista and play the newest games. But someone mentioned on the cons in the review of the 8800 Ultra that if your CPU isn't powerful enough, you'll just bottelneck yourself with this card. I was hoping someone could clarify if that was true/if it would happen to me? If it would be a waste of money for me to purchase the 8800 Ultra, would the 8600 GT be a better option?

 

[masterorion]

draciot, you really wont bottleneck in a bad sense. its not going to slow your system down, but you may not reach full potential of the video card.

 

[Tribalinius]

but the real question is, will it blend?

I recently bought an ASUS GeForce 9600GT to replace my old 8600GT and personally I find the product quite reliable. I don't play extreme video games on my system (ffxi, lolsimcity 4) but I compile few videos for my work and for entertainment purposes. No problem whatsoever and plenty of firepower. As far as I know a GF8800gs is pretty much the same thing as a 9600gt in term of horsepower and if you can get one of those 2 from a decent brand (no you don't want sparkle), you'll be all right for a while.

On a personal note whoever, I can strongly suggest you to take a fanless solution. It's true that you'll have more heat, and that the card is slightly bigger but you won't have to risk to lose a video card for a 2$ fan in the long run!

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29796&vpn=EN9600GT%20SILENT%2FHTDI%2F512M%2FA&manufacture=ASUS 9600GT Silent
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=33527&vpn=EN8800GS%2FHTDP%2F384M&manufacture=ASUS 8800GS

 

[Draciot]

Thanks for the information. I'm probably going to go with the cheaper card for now, and next time I need parts I'll just build a new PC.

 

[masterorion]

honestly, i would go for the better card now. the better card will last you longer in the long run. however, at some point, you would want to upgrade your system. not that there is any problem with it now. especially if you dont plan on playing any pc games that are to come out in the future. if you are like me, and you like games that have a legacy such as call of duty...i had to upgrade my system to be able to play cod4. if your that type of person, then yes, you would possibly want to hold off until you do a total revamp