hello I have a question if someone could help me.

I have a new computer but its been crashing when it comes to gaming I play Command and conquer
I have a Nvidia geforce 8300 gs which I already know it makes people laugh but I want to upgrade to a new one according to the dealer dell I can get an upgrade to a
Verto GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card from PNY is this card any better than what I have or am I wasting money and do I need a new power supply currently 350 watts also does this run the "SLI" I think is dual card interface if yes can I get a second card and if I do will I have to upgrade the power supply
currently I have a Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
running vista
can someone please help
thank you

The 8600GT is still not a gaming card. Is Command and Conquer the only game you play? I'm assuming it's C&C Generals? that card will be fine. I mean my laptop with an ATI 9600 Mobility 64MB runs it and looks good. That card may be ok for certain lowend games but you will want something better if you play others. And with that you will need a better PSU. What is the rating on the PSU?

If you buy from Dell you will pay through the nose. Depending on where you are located, an online store will have much better prices.
An 8600GT is not too bad at the low end, or an ATI 2600. Either of those should work with your 350W PSU. Anything notably more powerful probably won't. How many amps does it supply on the 12V rail(s)?
Jay is right though, for the latest games with high settings, those cards won't cut it.

Dell is more expensive but they aren't that bad. If you think you can handle putting your own card in, you will get better prices from a microcenter, fry's or ordering online.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,1780.html

Check that out. It's a review of the 9600GT. I've got 2 PNY Verto 9600GT's in SLI and I've been pretty happy with them. They are about $200 each, they consume less power than an 8800, and they only take one slot.

If you really want to do SLI and your MoBo can handle it. I would look at a higher wattage PS. I'm running a 700 Watt at the moment it seems to be handling everything so far.

Op: Could you pop your case open and see what the rating on your PSU is? And see if there is a 6 pin video card power cord.

Also I was thinking...... Your video card may not have anything to do with that game crashing. There could be a driver or some other software causing the problem. Make sure you have the latest drivers for your card too.

alright thanks
heres some more info:
it command and conquer Kane's wrath
while in the game sudden;y the screen goes black and it throws me out and then I get an error sometimes "3d error" and a second error "driver has stop working because of the massive error this program will now close" which is most times I have check with Nvidia to update the drivers but it says all drivers up to date I really don't know the meaning of 3d error but I get quite list along.

I realy don't know what it may be

Could be the game install. Have you uninstaller and reinstalled the game. Does it happen in any other games?

o.k is a 375 watt power supply it does have a 6 pin cord theres also the matter of my monitor is a dell E228WFP 22inch wide vga plug. I have seen that most cards only have a DVI instead if I do upgrade do I have to get a different moitor or do I get a dvi to vga connector is this possible and my head hurts

oh sorry don't worry about the connector I found one on the moitor for dvi it was behind a black sticker so if you had a choice what would you do

Get an 8800 GT or GTS and enjoy the gaming.

I was going to say. I have that same exact monitor, check my signature. Just get what you can affort and be happy. I'd shoot for a 8800GS $100 after rebate. Best cheap game card you can get.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130332

8600gt wont bring you too far from 12x8.. but pair that quad with an 8800 (all variants) 16x10 will be a piece of cake even 19x12