Replacement for GeForce 9800gt

Jonny2time

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Jun 16, 2015
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I am Looking for some advice for the best upgrade for a crashed geforce9800 gt(http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-9800gt/specifications). I only have the budget to replace the card. The rest of my rig includes:

Motherboard: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A88TM/
CPU: amd athlon II x2 245 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
PSU: 430 W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023)

I was thinking about this: EVGA GeForce GT 730 1GB GDDR5 64bit DVI/HDMI/VGA Low Profile Graphics Card 01G-P3-3731-KR

Thoughts? Suggestions?

thanks!
 
Solution


Since the TR2 survived with the 96W 9800 GT, that would be the gauge to go by if you keep it. And with a $100/150 budget, you can stay in that price range. But if you ever want to put in a card that, let's asy requires a 6 pin connector, I'd replace the PSU, yes.

Your 2.9 GHz dual core Ath II should be able to keep up (mostly) with a GT 740 or even a GTX 750/750 Ti...

Jonny2time

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Jun 16, 2015
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Good to know, thanks!
Well I would like to repair it quickly so I could do $100 maybe upwards of $150. But 70 was a nice price....

Maybe I should replace the psu too....


 

clutchc

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Since the TR2 survived with the 96W 9800 GT, that would be the gauge to go by if you keep it. And with a $100/150 budget, you can stay in that price range. But if you ever want to put in a card that, let's asy requires a 6 pin connector, I'd replace the PSU, yes.

Your 2.9 GHz dual core Ath II should be able to keep up (mostly) with a GT 740 or even a GTX 750/750 Ti.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600453362%20600487565%20600515071&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=30
A few of those cards require a 6 pin connector, but the load is small enough as to not to be as much as even the old 9800 GT.
 
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Jonny2time

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Jun 16, 2015
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Cool thanks! Couple of other questions...
What if I were to upgrade the psu? How much added performance would I have without upgrading the cpu?
 
Upgrading the Power Supply won't matter. The main bottleneck will be your CPU.

My advice is:
1) Get the GTX750Ti 2GB http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp43751kr
2) Choose games carefully, then learn how to TWEAK to optimize your experience if you aren't knowledgeable.

also,
3) If you have Windows 7 or 8 then upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit (make sure it's 64-bit. If you have 32-bit then you'll have to do a "Clean Install" so plan accordingly since you'd lose all your programs.

Other:
About "cpu bottlenecks" in gaming..
The CPU sends data to the GPU which processes and sends it out to the monitor. If the CPU is too slow the GPU ends up WAITING. This is known as having a CPU bottleneck.

What many people fail to understand is that how much CPU bottleneck you get VARIES A LOT between games. Now for you it's likely any game would be CPU bottlenecked with your CPU and a GTX750Ti but don't get too hung up on the bottleneck issue.

I wouldn't spend $300 on a graphics card, but I do think for the price this is the right way to go (and 2GB of VRAM). If you have 32-bit Windows then normally I'd recommend a 1GB card however W10 is a free upgrade (again, get 64-bit). If you have 32-bit XP and aren't upgrading then definitely get a 1GB GTX750 instead.
 

clutchc

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AS explained above, your CPU is your weak link at present. So upgrading the PSU in order to use a faster card, won't make much performance difference. Go with the GTX 750 Ti for the best performance you can have with the present platform. What kind of case do you have... slimline, mid tower...?
 
The GT730 is pretty much a direct replacement, neither an upgrade nor a downgrade, although it'll probably have 512Mb more memory, so if you were OK with the 9800GT the GT730 will be the way to go.
I don't think the current CPU will run a GTX750 to its full potential and if you are gaming the modern stuff is going to really suffer with only a dual core part in the driving seat but a GTX750 WILL be a nice little upgrade-don't go for the 'Ti' version, though you're just paying for performance you'll never see.
As a side not that motherboard is AM3 so you should be able to pick up a CPU upgrade fairly cheaply if you're prepared to take a little risk and spend a little time hunting through E-bay or Craiglist, the 955 or 965 quads should make a sizable difference to gaming if you're playing new stuff.