what is the best video card for my pc?

[greenberet1990]

what is the best video card for my pc.

amd 64 3700+
2gb Ram
6600gt

i want to give me old pc another life line, to play some games from 2006-2007. i am think of getting the 3850HD (512mb) , 8800gt (512mb) or the new 4850 HD (512mb) . i know it would be a bottleneck, but would i see a big improve from my current card (6600GT)

Current benchmarks

bf2: all High with 4AA and 16AA @ 1280*1024 = 5-12 frames

bf2142: all High no aa/af a @ 1280*1024 = 18-25 frames

call of duty 4: 640*480 highest possible setting (no aa/af) 15-25 frames

GRID: 800*600 med setting (no aa/af) 20-30 frames

UT3 : 640*480 high-med setting (no aa/af) 30-40 frames


4850HD = £120,
8800gt = £90,
3850 HD = £65

would a new card like the ones above increase my performance say playing these game at 1280*1024 med-high setting 25-30 frames.



thanks for your help

 

[akhilles]

The question is does your mobo support PCI-E? If not, your best option would be HD 3850 AGP. Yep, it's been out for ages.

 

[concrum]

8800GT and overclock it. will surpass 4580

 

[dokk2]

with any of those cardz the bottleneck would be your cpu ,there is an article somewhere here on tom's that suggest that one needz at least a 2.6ghz cpu to keep today's video cardz running properly,in any event you will see one hell of an increase,enjoy..:>)

 

[greenberet1990]

thanks, and yes my mb support PCI-E 16

 

[mathiasschnell]

8800GT and overclock it. will surpass 4580

In Bizarro world, yes.

Well to get a better idea of what'd be good for you, you should consider how much money you want to spend and how much your power supply is rated for (as well as the quality of it).

 

[cjl]

If you have PCI-E X16, the 4850 is the best choice.

 

[greenberet1990]

If you have PCI-E X16, the 4850 is the best choice.

thanks, but is is worth double the price of the 3850 as i might not get the full peformance as i have a single core cpu

 

[nickr336]

Exactly. That's why the only logical choice is to get 3850 for 65 pounds. It will run the games you mentioned above without a problem. I understand they are not very playable right now with your current setup. With 3850 you will be able to play them all. If you want to burn money, you can buy 4850 or 8800, which will give you a couple extra frames per second, but you won't be able to notice it while playing anyway. Good luck.