Graphics card replacement

[nlc757]

Hi,

I'm after a pretty simple answer, I just need a suggestion as to a reasonably priced (I guess sub £100ish) graphics cards suitable for running something like Oblivion. I have just changed my pc and obviously have discovered that the onboard graphics is fine for anything but gaming!! (Its a Packard Bell with the NVIDIA GeForce 7050 / nForce 610i)

I havent got round to looking in the box yet but I'm assuming its a PCI-E card I will need so if anything its compatability issues I guess I'm asking about as much as a card recommendation - I have already had a browse through the best card post and will review it again following any adivce.

For info the rest of the PC is (to my knowledge)

Intel Core (TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
32bit on Vista
3.0 GB ram

As I said I think something that will handle Oblivion at 1024x768 on reasonable settings should do me so I doubt I need to go too "high-end". My old pc ran it reasonably well and that card was about 3 years old (a Winfast PX6600GT TDH 128mb I think)

Many thanks for any advice

Nath

 

[cjl]

Well, an 8800GT should be well within that budget, and should run most current stuff quite well, including Oblivion. If you can find one for cheap enough, an ATI HD4850 would also be a good choice, though slightly more expensive. They go for $160-$170 over here though, so under 100 pounds is a distinct possibility.

 

[dirtmountain]

What power supply do you have ? It may limit what graphic card you install without upgrading the power supply also.

 

[homerdog]

What power supply do you have ? It may limit what graphic card you install without upgrading the power supply also.

Yes, this is important to know.

Like cjl said, a 512MB 8800GT would do the trick for Oblivion at max settings and much higher resolutions than 1024x768. An HD4850 would be a good buy as well if you're not afraid to spend a little more.

 

[gaiden]

ya customize a commercial pc is troublesome, most only put enough psu to support the advertised configuration... i agree w/ above, get the 8800gt and use the rest to get a better psu... and unless you find out the exact spec on the power supply, i dont suggest you to do the "ok well lets plug it in anyway and see if it runs" routine... it's not safe IMO...


gl

 

[Kari]

you'd better take a look inside to make sure you actually have 16x pci-e slot in there.... there are some that dont have full lenght slots available

 

[nlc757]

Fantastic, thanks for the quick replies, its exactly why I asked here! I'm more concerned with compatability etc than the actual card!

I'll have the case open and check out the power supply and PCI card slot size tomorrow.

Nath