Upgrading graphic card for and e510

[wowgamer88]

I am planning on upgrading my current graphics card (Radeon x300 SE 128mb hyper memory) to an EVGA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB. (I've decided to purchase this card based on similar threads regarding e510's and cards, and it's in my price range.)

As you can tell by my name, I play warcraft. I am wondering how much of an upgrade I will get with this card, and if I will notice it while playing wow. (I'm looking for more fps and better terrain distance/detail.)

I know wow isn't really a graphic intense game, but currently my computer can only play it on almost 100% low settings, and with the release of the new expansion pack right around the corner, I'm afraid that I'm going to face extremely low fps I will get with the slightly improved graphics in the expansion. (that and I would like to actually play the game and enjoy its "max" graphics at the same time.)

I also only have 512mb of in my computer at the moment, but I am purchasing 4gigs along with the card. (This should also help significantly, no?)

Thanks in advance.

Edit:

I just saw http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814145153 and HD 4670 in another thread, if anyone has any information on those cards being better than the one stated above, that'd be great. OR, if anyone knows of a better card than these two, that has the same power supply requirments, and is within a $50-100+ range, please share.

 

[runswindows95]

The HD4670 will be a huge improvement over the X300 and a way better card than the 8600GT. Also, the RAM upgrade will help as well.

 

[DavidOrr]

The HD 4670 would be a much wiser investment with the future in mind. Even when the 8600 GT came out it struggled with many games, and now it's facing extinction. I'd go for the HD 4670 for a good balance of performance, price, and power requirements.

If you're talking about the Dell Dimension e510, however, you might find that your CPU causes a hefty bottleneck with gaming performance. You may want to start saving up for a more substantial computer overhaul ($200 can get you a decent entry-level mobo and processor combo).

 

[wowgamer88]

Thank you both very much for the replies.

I think I will look into buying a new mobo. If you could recommend one, that'd be great.

And as you probably already know, I'm not looking to buff up this 3 year old computer to go out and play crysis or something like that, I'm just rather fond of warcraft and would like to see it at its somewhat best. So anything that can help me reach this without having to dish out money to buy a new pc, only to have to upgrade it aswell, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[dirtmountain]

Agree on the HD4670. A good card for your application, i would really avoid the 8600GT.

 

[wowgamer88]

LAST question. Does the manufacturer matter?

And does the ram on the card (ddr2 or 3) have anything to do with the ram on my PC? Because I know mine supports ddr2, and I see most of the graphic cards saying ddr3 (HIS HD4670

 

[wowgamer88]

Bump, looking for a decent mobo aswell, if anyone can recommend one thats not to expensive.

 

[rolli59]

The memory on the GPU has nothing to do with the system ram. DDR3 equipped cards are faster than DDR2 cards.