Hey folks, new here and in need of some assistance. I am out of my depth with things in this area. I built my own system a few years back and have tinkered with it, updating here and there. However, I am not a tech, and unfortunately, calling my MoBo manufacture lead me to a mumbling fool on the other end when trying to get information out of him. Could not understand him and so, I come to you as I keep seeing threads from this site when I google for answers.
I have the following parts that are relevant:
Mobo: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97/specifications/
Graphics Card: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3853743&CatId=7005
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153116
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284
My Motherboard is ancient, and I realize this. I am limited to 1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, with another one that is designated with an extra (x4 mode black) on the end, which I have no idea what this means. My Graphics card is currently in the PCI Express 2.0 x 16 slot, and I am looking to upgrade.
This: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006OS8UM2/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3NZU4CU5W041E is the card I am looking into grabbing. It's cheap, and an upgrade without me requiring a new Mobo, PSU and OEM of Win7 to hook up.
My question: What is the difference between a 2gb card with 48 Cores and a 4 gb card with 96 cores? (info from http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3SD2S91669&cm_re=Inno3D_nVidia-_-9SIA3SD2S91669-_-Product as the amazon.com page lacks this for the latter)
I'll be using my computer for a home business running a 3d Virtual Tabletop that is in development currently being built using Unity. I've been told the demands shouldn't be *that* high, but I won't know the actual requirements for several months. I am running a dual monitor setup on the single card currently, a BenQ 27" and a AOC 21" side by side. I'll be processing text via Chrome on the smaller monitor, multiple tabs open and being cycled through, while running this new software via Steam at the same time.
For point of reference, my system keeps demanding I drop the color scheme to basic when I run Civilization 5 and have both monitors running currently with my ancient video card. I get roughly 40-50 FPS playing League of Legends on the lowest settings while I have Youtube running on the secondary monitor. To give you an idea of what I am coping with currently.
Would this be a wise investment for someone on a limited budget giving me a significant improvement? It's essentially, double the strength of my current card, looking at the math. However, I know nothing regarding this, and this could be an error in judgement on my part due to ignorance. Will I see only a like, 5% increase, instead of a 100% increase like the numbers suggest to me?
Am I better off gutting my system, replacing the motherboard going forward and getting a PCI E 3.0 card? Or waiting and making due for a couple more years until the next generation of Motherboards and cards are out? If I can make due with a 2.0 slot and a $100 card, I'd be content with that.
Thank you for your time, and if you have advice, input, anything for me, I'd love to hear it. Starting my home business and need my PC to work so looking at long term and short term options right now.
Edit: Caught some related threads. Is it true I can toss a PCI-E 3.0 x16 card into my PCI-E 2.0 X16 slot with little to no effect on performance or hardware issues? If so, suggestions for a card for my setup would be awesome. Running Win7 64 Bit with 16 gigs of RAM and 4.5 TB of hard drive space across 3 drives in addition to the info listed above, if that matters. I have a 650 watt PSU as mentioned, and my CPU only eats 125 Watts, with the Drives bumping the usage to just under 160 at max load, plus the various other stuff I have going. Wireless networking card, external USB sound card, and an external hard drive enclosure I plug in when backing up files.
I have the following parts that are relevant:
Mobo: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97/specifications/
Graphics Card: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3853743&CatId=7005
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153116
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284
My Motherboard is ancient, and I realize this. I am limited to 1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, with another one that is designated with an extra (x4 mode black) on the end, which I have no idea what this means. My Graphics card is currently in the PCI Express 2.0 x 16 slot, and I am looking to upgrade.
This: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006OS8UM2/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3NZU4CU5W041E is the card I am looking into grabbing. It's cheap, and an upgrade without me requiring a new Mobo, PSU and OEM of Win7 to hook up.
My question: What is the difference between a 2gb card with 48 Cores and a 4 gb card with 96 cores? (info from http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3SD2S91669&cm_re=Inno3D_nVidia-_-9SIA3SD2S91669-_-Product as the amazon.com page lacks this for the latter)
I'll be using my computer for a home business running a 3d Virtual Tabletop that is in development currently being built using Unity. I've been told the demands shouldn't be *that* high, but I won't know the actual requirements for several months. I am running a dual monitor setup on the single card currently, a BenQ 27" and a AOC 21" side by side. I'll be processing text via Chrome on the smaller monitor, multiple tabs open and being cycled through, while running this new software via Steam at the same time.
For point of reference, my system keeps demanding I drop the color scheme to basic when I run Civilization 5 and have both monitors running currently with my ancient video card. I get roughly 40-50 FPS playing League of Legends on the lowest settings while I have Youtube running on the secondary monitor. To give you an idea of what I am coping with currently.
Would this be a wise investment for someone on a limited budget giving me a significant improvement? It's essentially, double the strength of my current card, looking at the math. However, I know nothing regarding this, and this could be an error in judgement on my part due to ignorance. Will I see only a like, 5% increase, instead of a 100% increase like the numbers suggest to me?
Am I better off gutting my system, replacing the motherboard going forward and getting a PCI E 3.0 card? Or waiting and making due for a couple more years until the next generation of Motherboards and cards are out? If I can make due with a 2.0 slot and a $100 card, I'd be content with that.
Thank you for your time, and if you have advice, input, anything for me, I'd love to hear it. Starting my home business and need my PC to work so looking at long term and short term options right now.
Edit: Caught some related threads. Is it true I can toss a PCI-E 3.0 x16 card into my PCI-E 2.0 X16 slot with little to no effect on performance or hardware issues? If so, suggestions for a card for my setup would be awesome. Running Win7 64 Bit with 16 gigs of RAM and 4.5 TB of hard drive space across 3 drives in addition to the info listed above, if that matters. I have a 650 watt PSU as mentioned, and my CPU only eats 125 Watts, with the Drives bumping the usage to just under 160 at max load, plus the various other stuff I have going. Wireless networking card, external USB sound card, and an external hard drive enclosure I plug in when backing up files.
On the plus side, might need to hook up 3 monitors in the near future to the single card, and this one will actually support this. Has anyone had any experience with card, good or bad that I could get info on?
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