Acutally an 8600gt is leaps and bounds better then a 7300gt. Like you can play crysis with an 8600gt at 1000x700 res on all med settings. A 7300gt would most likely implode if you tried
$69 after $15 mail in rebate and promo code EMCAJBCAG
Craziness. $70 for a card that nice.
I meh at that. the 8800GT is a much better card and can be found for $100 on sales.
8800GT is a slightly better card(Up to 20% at most, but usually less), and I've yet to see it for less than $120.
Still, the 3850 looks like an incredible budget card. $70 gets you playing just about every game out at high settings(except crysis, but thats crysis).
the 3850 might be able to play games at high settings but only at low resolutions... my guess is 800x600 or 1280x1024. anything higher and it will probably crap itself.
The 3850 is better than my card(an X1950 pro), and I play games like TF2, CoD4, etc, at high or highest settings at 1680x1050.
It's a pretty shitty one, I know. Right now I have a GeForce Nvidia 6600, and I used the computer to play mostly Half-Life mods (1.6, DoD, etc), and nothing really graphic intense. I played TF2 for a few months, and I get about 10-20 fps. It's time I upgrade my computer (more ram, fan is going dead, etc), and I think if I can find a cheap video card that will fit in my computer, I'll go for it.
Can anyone recommend anything? I don't think I'm going to be buying a new computer very soon, and if I do, it's going to be a laptop, so I might as well upgrade this one and keep it going. I really don't play any other games that much, if I can get a stable 40-50 fps in TF2 I'd be happy.
It's a pretty shitty one, I know. Right now I have a GeForce Nvidia 6600, and I used the computer to play mostly Half-Life mods (1.6, DoD, etc), and nothing really graphic intense. I played TF2 for a few months, and I get about 10-20 fps. It's time I upgrade my computer (more ram, fan is going dead, etc), and I think if I can find a cheap video card that will fit in my computer, I'll go for it.
Can anyone recommend anything? I don't think I'm going to be buying a new computer very soon, and if I do, it's going to be a laptop, so I might as well upgrade this one and keep it going. I really don't play any other games that much, if I can get a stable 40-50 fps in TF2 I'd be happy.
Thanks.
TL;DR on that system for anyone here is that it's a single-core Sempron 2GHz with 512MB of regular DDR.
Your motherboard can only take DDR1 - which is expensive, hard to find, and slow.
Your CPU is slow, short on L2 cache, and single-core.
Your video card is probably nearing the limits of what the PSU in that Compaq can handle.
If you can find a cheap way to get to 1GB of RAM, you might be able to hit 20-30fps in TF2 by reducing your graphical detail to "Utter Shit" - but my honest suggestion is "Don't upgrade; replace it entirely."
PeregrineFalcon on
Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Edit: Also, this is my "last" computer. I'm moving far far away in a year, so if I buy anything, it's going to be a laptop. If I do buy another computer, it's going to be sometime 5-7 years in the future.
Edit: Also, this is my "last" computer. I'm moving far far away in a year, so if I buy anything, it's going to be a laptop. If I do buy another computer, it's going to be sometime 5-7 years in the future.
I'm not that computer savvy, so let me see what you're trying to say:
"My computer is too shitty to even get a better video card because my computer won't be able to to use it to it's full potential."
Pretty much, yeah. With a side serving of "You'll be wasting money."
Edit: Also, this is my "last" computer. I'm moving far far away in a year, so if I buy anything, it's going to be a laptop. If I do buy another computer, it's going to be sometime 5-7 years in the future.
I differentiate on desktop/laptop, not "computer"/laptop - so I didn't mean get a new desktop machine. Get a new laptop - and as long as you pick something with an 8400M/HD3450 or better, you'll likely have a far better gaming experience than on your desktop.
PeregrineFalcon on
Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I'm not that computer savvy, so let me see what you're trying to say:
"My computer is too shitty to even get a better video card because my computer won't be able to to use it to it's full potential."
Pretty much, yeah. With a side serving of "You'll be wasting money."
Edit: Also, this is my "last" computer. I'm moving far far away in a year, so if I buy anything, it's going to be a laptop. If I do buy another computer, it's going to be sometime 5-7 years in the future.
I differentiate on desktop/laptop, not "computer"/laptop - so I didn't mean get a new desktop machine. Get a new laptop - and as long as you pick something with an 8400M/HD3450 or better, you'll likely have a far better gaming experience than on your desktop.
Mmmm. I see. My next laptop is going to be a Macbook though, and I'm not sure how well Macs can handle TF2.
Mmmm. I see. My next laptop is going to be a Macbook though, and I'm not sure how well Macs can handle TF2.
My questions have been answered. Thank you.
Regular Macbook, poorly - they've got the Intel X3100, and even if they use the X4500 in the next-gen Macbook Intel GPUs are still shit.
Macbook Pro - quite well, the current model has an 8600GT and the next will probably have either a 9-series iteration or a Radeon HD3650.
That requires using BootCamp of course, because "gaming" + "OSX" = "epic lulz"
PeregrineFalcon on
Looking for a DX:HR OnLive code for my kid brother.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Mmmm. I see. My next laptop is going to be a Macbook though, and I'm not sure how well Macs can handle TF2.
My questions have been answered. Thank you.
Regular Macbook, poorly - they've got the Intel X3100, and even if they use the X4500 in the next-gen Macbook Intel GPUs are still shit.
Macbook Pro - quite well, the current model has an 8600GT and the next will probably have either a 9-series iteration or a Radeon HD3650.
That requires using BootCamp of course, because "gaming" + "OSX" = "epic lulz"
Mmmm. I see. My next laptop is going to be a Macbook though, and I'm not sure how well Macs can handle TF2.
My questions have been answered. Thank you.
Regular Macbook, poorly - they've got the Intel X3100, and even if they use the X4500 in the next-gen Macbook Intel GPUs are still shit.
Macbook Pro - quite well, the current model has an 8600GT and the next will probably have either a 9-series iteration or a Radeon HD3650.
That requires using BootCamp of course, because "gaming" + "OSX" = "epic lulz"
epic lulz indeed
Bungiethefutureofmacgamingteeshirt.jpg
Just an FYI, for those of you who don't know, that's a picture of a vintage shirt with about 8 or so game developer's company logos on a shirt, and in the middle was Oni and a Bungie logo and on the top it said "The future of Mac Gaming!"
Quite ironic.
Lucky Cynic on
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
I may be coming into 2-4 hundred bucks fairly soon and am thinking of upgrading from my 8800GTS. I'm thinking of getting a GeForce GTX 260. PC Gamer just reviewed it and gave it a 94%, they also reviewed the Radeon HD 4870 and gave it a 92%. It was really a tossup performance wise, the 260 did better in some games and the 4870 did better in others. The edge came for the 260 with the CUDA support.
Any recommendations or comments? As of now I'm eying that GTX 260.
What do you guys think? Question though, are all the 260s the same? I mean I know tons of different manufacturers make their own versions, and some are way more expensive or way cheaper than others. Is that their own pricing or is there significantly different features on some of them?
Also has anyone tried those PhysX drivers for the the nvidia drivers?
I just played those UT3 PhysX maps with both sets of drivers and the newer drivers helped a shit ton. It was pretty impressive, it didn't make much difference in regular maps. I'm going to try crysis to as I got dips in FPS when a lot of shit was happening on screen, expecially that part with the mountain breaking down. That whole section of the game wasn't pre-rendered either so it was a real strain on the computer. It would be interesting to see what difference it makes.
Will the new PhysX drivers need a second card to do physics processing or can it just use unused resources from a single card?
victor_c26 on
It's been so long since I've posted here, I've removed my signature since most of what I had here were broken links. Shows over, you can carry on to the next post.
Will the new PhysX drivers need a second card to do physics processing or can it just use unused resources from a single card?
No, nvidia has absorbed PhysX and is applying the technology to it's drivers to retroactively boost its released cards. The physical technology should be applied to newer gen cards, as well.
Will the new PhysX drivers need a second card to do physics processing or can it just use unused resources from a single card?
No, nvidia has absorbed PhysX and is applying the technology to it's drivers to restroactively boost its released cards. The physical technology should be applied to newer gen cards, as well.
Oh, yes, I know that.
To further explain my point: I meant do you need a second video card in order to use the PhysX function of the drivers, or will unused resources from one card (I only have one 8800GT in my system) be used to calculate physics code?
victor_c26 on
It's been so long since I've posted here, I've removed my signature since most of what I had here were broken links. Shows over, you can carry on to the next post.
Will the new PhysX drivers need a second card to do physics processing or can it just use unused resources from a single card?
No, nvidia has absorbed PhysX and is applying the technology to it's drivers to restroactively boost its released cards. The physical technology should be applied to newer gen cards, as well.
Oh, yes, I know that.
To further explain my point: I meant do you need a second video card in order to use the PhysX function of the drivers, or will unused resources from one card (I only have one 8800GT in my system) be used to calculate physics code?
What do you guys think? Question though, are all the 260s the same? I mean I know tons of different manufacturers make their own versions, and some are way more expensive or way cheaper than others. Is that their own pricing or is there significantly different features on some of them?
Some of them have different return policies, different warranties (BFG tech has the best, with a true lifetime (yours) warranty), and some may even opt to overclock the clock speeds and offer different goodies in the boxes. In addition to having sexy cover art.
What do you guys think? Question though, are all the 260s the same? I mean I know tons of different manufacturers make their own versions, and some are way more expensive or way cheaper than others. Is that their own pricing or is there significantly different features on some of them?
Some of them have different return policies, different warranties (BFG tech has the best, with a true lifetime (yours) warranty), and some may even opt to overclock the clock speeds and offer different goodies in the boxes. In addition to having sexy cover art.
Actually, EVGA has a far superior warranty. Like BFG, it supports overclocking, promotes any modifications done (yes, they'll do an RMA for YOU messing up on your installation of a custom heatsink), and has a DOUBLE life-time warranty - meaning its really for life, and if you ever sell it, the warranty transfers over to the new owner as well...something not many 3rd party companies can account for.
Yeah the PhysX runs off of a single card, it is pretty sick. Not to sure how it works but it is a pretty neat feature. Yeah and EVGA has a far superior warranty
Dixon on
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
Well I just lucked my way into a Superclocked 260 from EVGA. I found someone to buy my old PC and he'll give me a straight up trade of my old PC for a brand new sealed 260.
Posts
The 3850 is better than my card(an X1950 pro), and I play games like TF2, CoD4, etc, at high or highest settings at 1680x1050.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/call_of_duty_4_demo_performance/page4.asp
says you should be getting about 27 fps... and btw the 8600GT is WORSE than the 1950 pro. i think you are thinking of the 8800GT
btw the 4870x2 apparantly snuck in while i wasnt looking and is available at newegg.
And I didn't mention any nvidia cards, so :P
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
oops lol, i got caught up making dinner while i had my reply half typed so i got my posts messed up.
sorry bought that one
It's a pretty shitty one, I know. Right now I have a GeForce Nvidia 6600, and I used the computer to play mostly Half-Life mods (1.6, DoD, etc), and nothing really graphic intense. I played TF2 for a few months, and I get about 10-20 fps. It's time I upgrade my computer (more ram, fan is going dead, etc), and I think if I can find a cheap video card that will fit in my computer, I'll go for it.
Can anyone recommend anything? I don't think I'm going to be buying a new computer very soon, and if I do, it's going to be a laptop, so I might as well upgrade this one and keep it going. I really don't play any other games that much, if I can get a stable 40-50 fps in TF2 I'd be happy.
Thanks.
TL;DR on that system for anyone here is that it's a single-core Sempron 2GHz with 512MB of regular DDR.
Your motherboard can only take DDR1 - which is expensive, hard to find, and slow.
Your CPU is slow, short on L2 cache, and single-core.
Your video card is probably nearing the limits of what the PSU in that Compaq can handle.
If you can find a cheap way to get to 1GB of RAM, you might be able to hit 20-30fps in TF2 by reducing your graphical detail to "Utter Shit" - but my honest suggestion is "Don't upgrade; replace it entirely."
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I'm not that computer savvy, so let me see what you're trying to say:
"My computer is too shitty to even get a better video card because my computer won't be able to to use it to it's full potential."
That makes me sad but oh well.
Will this work with my computer? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130313
The price is all right, and it seems like my computer can take it. Again, I'm not that smart on computers.
Thanks.
Edit: Also, this is my "last" computer. I'm moving far far away in a year, so if I buy anything, it's going to be a laptop. If I do buy another computer, it's going to be sometime 5-7 years in the future.
technically yes that will probably work
I differentiate on desktop/laptop, not "computer"/laptop - so I didn't mean get a new desktop machine. Get a new laptop - and as long as you pick something with an 8400M/HD3450 or better, you'll likely have a far better gaming experience than on your desktop.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Mmmm. I see. My next laptop is going to be a Macbook though, and I'm not sure how well Macs can handle TF2.
My questions have been answered. Thank you.
Macbook Pro - quite well, the current model has an 8600GT and the next will probably have either a 9-series iteration or a Radeon HD3650.
That requires using BootCamp of course, because "gaming" + "OSX" = "epic lulz"
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
epic lulz indeed
Bungiethefutureofmacgamingteeshirt.jpg
Just an FYI, for those of you who don't know, that's a picture of a vintage shirt with about 8 or so game developer's company logos on a shirt, and in the middle was Oni and a Bungie logo and on the top it said "The future of Mac Gaming!"
Quite ironic.
Any recommendations or comments? As of now I'm eying that GTX 260.
What do you guys think? Question though, are all the 260s the same? I mean I know tons of different manufacturers make their own versions, and some are way more expensive or way cheaper than others. Is that their own pricing or is there significantly different features on some of them?
Well I have an Nvidia mobo too.
I just played those UT3 PhysX maps with both sets of drivers and the newer drivers helped a shit ton. It was pretty impressive, it didn't make much difference in regular maps. I'm going to try crysis to as I got dips in FPS when a lot of shit was happening on screen, expecially that part with the mountain breaking down. That whole section of the game wasn't pre-rendered either so it was a real strain on the computer. It would be interesting to see what difference it makes.
No, nvidia has absorbed PhysX and is applying the technology to it's drivers to retroactively boost its released cards. The physical technology should be applied to newer gen cards, as well.
Oh, yes, I know that.
To further explain my point: I meant do you need a second video card in order to use the PhysX function of the drivers, or will unused resources from one card (I only have one 8800GT in my system) be used to calculate physics code?
You shouldn't need another card.
Wanna buy my BGF (24/7 free tech support, real lifetime warranty) 8800GT OC2(Factory overclocked and garunteed to run at 675mhz clock speed).
It is sublime, but I really could use an 280 GTX.
Some of them have different return policies, different warranties (BFG tech has the best, with a true lifetime (yours) warranty), and some may even opt to overclock the clock speeds and offer different goodies in the boxes. In addition to having sexy cover art.
Actually, EVGA has a far superior warranty. Like BFG, it supports overclocking, promotes any modifications done (yes, they'll do an RMA for YOU messing up on your installation of a custom heatsink), and has a DOUBLE life-time warranty - meaning its really for life, and if you ever sell it, the warranty transfers over to the new owner as well...something not many 3rd party companies can account for.
Youtube Channel!
Most likely, but post your 12V specs (amps, number of rails) anyways.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Ah no worries. It works fine
Youtube Channel!
Awesome, now you'll be able to bump the resolution up on Call of Cthoh wait :P
Unrelated news that most people initially won't care about due to lol midrange, but specs on the RV730 (HD4670 and HD4650) just got leaked.
The RV730 has 320 stream processors, but only a 128-bit memory bus. Yeah, yeah. "Boo!" and whatnot. Keep reading.
The HD4670 is going to perform about at the level of the old HD3850, and the HD4650 a little less. "So?"
The power draw of the HD4670 is 59W. That means no external PCIe power is needed. "Wait, what?"
All ye who hath poor PSUs, Dells, and store-bought systems, I give you your upgrade card.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I know almost nothing of graphics cards. Someone clear this up.
your power supply would have to have one of these(just one of the 6pin connectors, not both):
If it doesn't, you can't use an 8800GT.
A lot of pre-built machines don't have something like that, which is a PITA for people wanting to upgrade.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201004