IS it worth upgrading my video card?
UreshiiAkuma
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am fairly happy with my current system, but wouldn't mind getting more out of it for more recent games if a video card upgrade would provide noticeable improvement. However, if my current CPU and system RAM speeds will provide a bottleneck that severely limits any boost I get from a new video card, I'll just wait until I am ready to build a new system in a year or so.
Anyway, currently I have a GeForce 7900 GT (256 MB GDDR3, PCI-E)
My system is a mish-mash of upgrades over the last 3 - 4 years, so the potential bottlenecks are:
2 GB PC3200 (400 MHz)
Athlon 64 FX-53 (2.4GHz)
nVidia nForce4 (socket 939) Motherboard
Worth upgrading the video card? Cost isn't really a concern, if there is a noticeable increase in performance. So if $300 will give me a 50% or more FPS increase, that is fine. But if my older parts mean only a 10% boost, then I won't bother.
If it is worth upgrading, any suggestions for a card to upgrade to?
Anyway, currently I have a GeForce 7900 GT (256 MB GDDR3, PCI-E)
My system is a mish-mash of upgrades over the last 3 - 4 years, so the potential bottlenecks are:
2 GB PC3200 (400 MHz)
Athlon 64 FX-53 (2.4GHz)
nVidia nForce4 (socket 939) Motherboard
Worth upgrading the video card? Cost isn't really a concern, if there is a noticeable increase in performance. So if $300 will give me a 50% or more FPS increase, that is fine. But if my older parts mean only a 10% boost, then I won't bother.
If it is worth upgrading, any suggestions for a card to upgrade to?
UreshiiAkuma on
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aim for at least a 9600 GT, get an 8800GTS 512 if you can.
actually thats really the only 2 choices ATM. other than waiting a bit for the new architecture (9900GTX)
The 9800GTX at least isn't an upgrade at all from the 8800gtx and I'd guess the GT's are probably pretty close too.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ4MSw5LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
He'll want a 9900 GT if one comes out (or GTX which WILL come out)
I'm going to be upgrading my video card in late june/early july, so I want to hold out to see if a new product cycle comes out. if the only advantage of the 9800 series is that is uses less power, that's good, but not that good. If I had to buy now I'd probably go for an 8800GTS 512, only slightly more than a GT with performance close to the 8800GTX
You would definitely see an improvement. My system is very similar to yours, and I upgraded my 7800GT to an 8800GT 512MB when they first came out. The price/performance was a steal, and I got a nice performance boost. I had not planned on upgrading anything for at least another year, but it was worth it and I don't regret it, though I probably wouldn't have upgraded if I still had been using my 19" monitor. I had purchased a 24" Dell so the extra horsepower was nice for the increased resolution.
And you'll see a significant improvement. I have a worse CPU (x2 4200+) and the same RAM and motherboard, and I saw a huge jump from my 7800GT 256 to my 8800GT 512. At 1280x1024, I used to play Oblivion at medium-high. I play it fully maxed now with the 8800GT. Bioshock used to run at medium; it's maxed out now, too, with DX10.
an 8800 GTS 512 is better than an 8800 GT 512
e6600 dual core
3 gigs of ram
if that helps figure it out at all
yup. the GT is faster than the GTS boards that have 320MB or 640MB of memory, but the GTS with 512MB is almost on par with the 8800GTX.
Really, the GTS 512 shouldn't even be called the GTS, because it's not the same card as the earlier 8800GTS boards.
It's also good to hear of people in similar situations seeing a nice performance boost. I think I'll go ahead and order a 8800GTS 512, and plop her in this weekend :winky:
of course immediately after i receive the card, i find some not-so-favorable reviews panning the 9800GTX for its low memory and its modest-at-best performance increases. i had been using a GeForce 6800 BFG card, so while the increase is going to be dramatic for sure, i might not have the best bang for the buck card
if you're going for an 8800, you might want to look at the 768mb memory cards. they're pricer, but apparently their performance is superior and should last you a while.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
Currently, I can run Crysis on Medium at 1280x (whatever widescreen is) and get an avg of 30FPS. I'll measure how it runs on High tonight, so I have a basis for comparison once I get my new card.
@ 1280x960, all Settings HIGH
The 7900GT averaged 13 FPS
The 8800GTS 512 averaged 33 FPS
@ 1920x1200, all Settings HIGH
The 7900GT averaged 1 (one) FPS (completely unplayable slideshow)
The 8800GTS 512 averaged 24 FPS
Since anything above 20 FPS is very playable to me, I am very very happy with the results.
Thanks again for everyone's advice and suggestions.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
(and at the higher rez, there wouldn't be much point in AA even if I did like it)