Graphics Card Upgrade

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Obsc3ne
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Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Obsc3ne » Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:19 pm

After much thought and the fact im not likely to spend any more money on my car untill I get my licence back I have decided on upgrading My system :D

The upgrade will pretty much just invlolve more RAM probably to increase it from 1GB to 2GB

The other modification I'm likely to do is a video Card

Just after any suggestions on whats good for my needs

I'm not after some flash thing only accountants can afford and can handle crysis on full settings while also playing CS, but a middle of the range card within the price range of $200-$300, looking at something like a GeForce 9600GT to look at but I dont really know what else is out there

The reason I ask is that I'm not all that computer savy so anybody with a bit of no-how and knowlage to lead me to the greener grass would be much appreciated _b

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Bold
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Bold » Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:34 pm

Fist up, give us some details about the rest of your system, Processor, current vid card and motherboard model if you can find it. Need to ensure your pc can handle the newest cards before you buy one :)

I think the choice at the moment comes down to either 8800GT or 9600GT.

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Heppy
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Heppy » Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:40 pm

9600GT is a good all round card, almost performs as good as a 8800GT and is slightly cheaper.

I've also come across some 8800GS cards, at just over $200 it seems a good deal.

Budget would be 8600GT at around $150

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Obsc3ne
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Obsc3ne » Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:41 pm

Bold wrote:Fist up, give us some details about the rest of your system, Processor, current vid card and motherboard model if you can find it. Need to ensure your pc can handle the newest cards before you buy one :)

I think the choice at the moment comes down to either 8800GT or 9600GT.
Good point :larf:

At the moment I run a 7600GT PCI-E (256mb), not bad but struggles with things like cars at night in rFactor and high settings on GTR2

Intel Pentium 3.0 GHZ Processor

1GB RAM (as above will be increased)

Asus P5VD2-MX/PDV-VM DH Motherboard (taken from my instruction book I got when I brought the comp :larf: )

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vandem
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by vandem » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:20 am

Heppy wrote:...Budget would be 8600GT at around $150
Currently around $100 for 8600GT 512MB PCIe, just picked up one last week for my son's PC (so his is now better than my own X800 ;( )

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Heppy » Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:01 pm

vandem wrote:
Heppy wrote:...Budget would be 8600GT at around $150
Currently around $100 for 8600GT 512MB PCIe, just picked up one last week for my son's PC (so his is now better than my own X800 ;( )
Yeah sorry should have said brand Gigabyte 8600GT around $150 with 3 year warranty. For $100 it must have been Palit or Eagle or similar?

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by vandem » Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:49 pm

Heppy wrote:Yeah sorry should have said brand Gigabyte 8600GT around $150 with 3 year warranty. For $100 it must have been Palit or Eagle or similar?
ASUS 8600GT $99. Not sure of manufacturer warranty but 12 month store warranty applies. Does brand really matter at the "value" end of the market (apart from avoiding no-name generics) ?

This is an interesting discussion, I'm keen for a minor upgrade when bonus arrives later this year, suspect that X800 or only 1GB RAM is currently the weak link.
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Bold
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Bold » Tue Jun 03, 2008 2:01 pm

I say yes Brand is still important, but ASUS are a good brand, so no problems there :)

I've been sticking to Gigabyte lately, they've been serving me well. I generally only consider looking at Gigabyte, Asus and maybe Leadtek or MSI.

I'd say that Athlon 3200 is holding you back as well Vandem, compared to a modern Core 2 chip, its ancient!

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panther
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by panther » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:45 pm

just checked your motherboard, and its got PCI-e 16X so you could run the newer cards.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3& ... odelmenu=1
Intel LGA775 Pentium 4 CPU
- Support Intel® Presler 65nm Dual core and Core™2 Duo CPU
- PCI Express architecture
- DDR2 533/400
- Dual SATA RAID (RAID0, RAID1 & JBOD)
- External SATA on rear
- High Definition Audio

you could even look at going to an entry level core2 duo cpu (dont think about an E8300 or later as it just wont support the 45nm processors)
Its also only got single channel DDR2 not dual channel.

upgrading the video card will give your system a boost, but looking at the rest of the system, I doubt it will give a majorly significant boost.
Possibly (am open to being told I am wrong on this) an upgrade to a core 2 cpu and video card will give you better performance than just the video card alone

Ram is pretty cheap, but you are limited as to what you can slot into that system by the look of it. I wasnt aware there was DDR2 400.
sex should be like a Honda: slow obscene and loud enough for the neighbours to hear.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.

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Obsc3ne
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Obsc3ne » Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:24 pm

panther wrote:just checked your motherboard, and its got PCI-e 16X so you could run the newer cards.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3& ... odelmenu=1
Intel LGA775 Pentium 4 CPU
- Support Intel® Presler 65nm Dual core and Core™2 Duo CPU
- PCI Express architecture
- DDR2 533/400
- Dual SATA RAID (RAID0, RAID1 & JBOD)
- External SATA on rear
- High Definition Audio

you could even look at going to an entry level core2 duo cpu (dont think about an E8300 or later as it just wont support the 45nm processors)
Its also only got single channel DDR2 not dual channel.

upgrading the video card will give your system a boost, but looking at the rest of the system, I doubt it will give a majorly significant boost.
Possibly (am open to being told I am wrong on this) an upgrade to a core 2 cpu and video card will give you better performance than just the video card alone

Ram is pretty cheap, but you are limited as to what you can slot into that system by the look of it. I wasnt aware there was DDR2 400.
Runs DDR2 553, or 533( I forget which 1) and most DDR2 800 Ram sticks have backwards Compatibly to run on it anyways _b.

I may just look into getting a new cpu as well with the RAM and video card, a purchase of a corvette from the states fell through so I've got some dough lying around :larf:

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Heppy » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:28 pm

You won't get much for $65 :larf:
Just kiddin'

IMHO Bite the bullet and go new, or at least Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Graphics, Hard Drive. Around $2,000 - $2200 will get you the Duck nuts new system, and you should be able to do a Kick ass upgrade for around $1,300-$1500

In todays systems the bottleneck (apart from the obvious hard drive.) is RAM, so if you want good performance you need 2 gig of DDR2-800 in dual channel. or better.
Eg. Good Motherboard and 2 gig of DDR2-800 in dual channel is about $225

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by worldno1 » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:40 pm

ok guys im keen to do a bit of an upgrade on my pc too, im getting a bit lost on all this computer gb mb stuff, so to cut to it where do i look to get my system stuff for you guys to look at then i can go from there

cheers

worldno1
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by panther » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:19 pm

If you dont have the manuals that came with the PC which will give you the info you need,to find the motherboard type, you will need to open the case and have a look and see. Thats the simplest way without having to install software that isnt always accurate about what you have. ie, I have found no hardware analysis software has accurately reported what my motherboard is.
Image
Circled in red is the manufacturer/brand. in blue is the model. this will be in different places on different boards.
The above picture is from ASUS website after searching their site with the info Obscene gave.

Ram, usually on a sticker on the ram will tel lyou the frequency of the ram. (for example 533, 667, 800, 1066 if its DDR2)
CPU, you can find out by mouse clicking right on my computer icon. this will bring up system properties.
Image
At the bottom you can see Computer: under is listed the type of CPU. This shows an Intel Core2 6400 and its clock speed (2.13ghz). Since I built this I know its a E6400 Core 2 Duo.
under it shows how much ram is available. I have 2 gig installed. if I was using an onboard video card which shares the ram, it would be less. Ram these days is usually 256mb, 512mb, 1GB, 2GB or multiples of those.


Now lets find out what video card you have installed.
Simplest way is to right click desktop, select properties, then press the settings tab at the top of the window.
Image
This shows I am running a Viewsonic monitor on a Geforce 7900GTX.

This will give you the basics of what you have.
sex should be like a Honda: slow obscene and loud enough for the neighbours to hear.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by worldno1 » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:07 pm

ok thanks panther for your help, i dont have the book for my computer but i will see tomo if can get into it, but here is the other stuff on my computer


[img]
[/img]
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by panther » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:11 pm

nothing there world. just type in what yours says. pics arent needed so long as you give the info that i pointed out.
I only put the pics up so you could see what i was referring to.
Another option you could try which is even simpler:
go to start/run and type in dxdiag
when it has loaded up it will give an overview of your system at the bottom of the main page is a button where you can save all information. this will save as a text file. you can then post that txt file here.
sex should be like a Honda: slow obscene and loud enough for the neighbours to hear.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by worldno1 » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:19 pm

sorry lol ok

aspire t60xph mhd12045
intel(r)
pentium(r)4cpu 3.00ghz
2.99ghz, 512mb of ram

and

plug and play monitor on radeon x300 pixels
highest (32 bit)

cheers
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Heppy
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Heppy » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:35 pm

Is that a laptop?

Another stick of RAM would give you a good cheap boost, $20-$30
Graphics card could do with replacing. Take it it's AGP?
Albatron 7600GS 256MB AGP $150 ish
If you desire anything more then motherboard aswell.

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Bold » Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:39 pm

panther wrote:If you dont have the manuals that came with the PC which will give you the info you need,to find the motherboard type, you will need to open the case and have a look and see. Thats the simplest way without having to install software that isnt always accurate about what you have. ie, I have found no hardware analysis software has accurately reported what my motherboard is.
Tried CPU-Z?
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by panther » Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:00 am

yeah it doesnt recognise the X38 motherboard
sex should be like a Honda: slow obscene and loud enough for the neighbours to hear.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Obsc3ne » Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:48 am

Sorry to be a pain, but if i were to get something like this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/Comp ... 279507.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Would that be a worth while upgrade. (not saying im going to get it off trade me, just saves a whole bunch of copy pasta material)

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by worldno1 » Wed Jun 04, 2008 4:04 pm

ok cheers guys so my next question where to get the best deal?
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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Obsc3ne » Wed Jun 04, 2008 4:06 pm

worldno1 wrote:ok cheers guys so my next question where to get the best deal?
I've always tried Price-spy, I've been looking through the last few days and they have heaps of items for anything you search

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Bold » Wed Jun 04, 2008 4:18 pm

Price spy will give you a good idea of approximate prices, but I wouldn't go near half of the stores listed..

http://www.ascent.co.nz" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; have good pricing, and are a decent reliable company
http://www.vrconcepts.co.nz" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; will all ways give you a good price and service. They don't have much on their website so email them with what you are after and they will give you a quote.

I believe Heppy might be able to give you a good price as well if you ask?

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Heppy » Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:02 pm

Obsc3ne wrote:Sorry to be a pain, but if i were to get something like this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/Comp ... 279507.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Would that be a worth while upgrade. (not saying im going to get it off trade me, just saves a whole bunch of copy pasta material)
Hard to say really, it would be faster than the 3.0GHz P4, but I'm afraid your RAM would hold you back, being single channel and 533MHz it's going to really struggle to get the gazillions of "ones and zeros" too the cpu that it wants.

The way I describe ram, is thousands of people piling into a stadium, the speed of the RAM is how fast they move, and the amount of seats is how much RAM you have. With single channel you have 64 entrance ways to enter or leave the stadium and with dual channel that changes to 128, so it doesn't really matter how many seats there are, or how fast your CPU is, if you can't get the people in fast enough to watch the game everything slows down.....Confused :D

And yep can supply most PC Products, mainly Gigabyte and Albatron, very happy to give Simracers rock bottom prices, and can easily beat Ascent for price.

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Re: Graphics Card Upgrade

Post by Obsc3ne » Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:16 pm

Heppy wrote:Hard to say really, it would be faster than the 3.0GHz P4, but I'm afraid your RAM would hold you back, being single channel and 533MHz it's going to really struggle to get the gazillions of "ones and zeros" too the cpu that it wants.

The way I describe ram, is thousands of people piling into a stadium, the speed of the RAM is how fast they move, and the amount of seats is how much RAM you have. With single channel you have 64 entrance ways to enter or leave the stadium and with dual channel that changes to 128, so it doesn't really matter how many seats there are, or how fast your CPU is, if you can't get the people in fast enough to watch the game everything slows down.....Confused :D

And yep can supply most PC Products, mainly Gigabyte and Albatron, very happy to give Simracers rock bottom prices, and can easily beat Ascent for price.
Actually that makes great sense, I have more RAM on the way but for my next rig I"ll keep the speed of the RAM in mind.

Pretty much these are just cosmetic upgrades I can do to keep this rig up to date for at least another year, the real wake up call was struggling to run at the Old Ring race during the night at some stages.

I may also have a look at some rigs I can get and use the gear I already have ie: DDR2 800 RAM I now have

P.S Pm sent Heppy _b

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