Need Suggestions on My Current Setup

Hi,

I would just like to know your opinions with regards to my current setup.

I Have this:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.0 GHZ Processor

Gigabyte EP35-DS3R Motherboard

NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 1GB (Which i am really regretful of...)

2 GB of Memory (Budget RAM only)

160 GB SATA Seagate HDD

Thing is I'm planning on doing an upgrade by replacing the graphics card and putting in more RAM, although I've recently heard that 4 GB of RAM is useless unless I'm going to install a 64 bit Windows XP, so I'm putting that at the bottom of the list. I've been reading a lot about which graphics card pays well for its price.

Well, in the end i eventually planned on going with the NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 1GB DDR3. But I have seen some reviews that the 8800GTS performs better, but I don't have the extra budget for that card now.

So what do you think? should I go for the 9600GT or should I wait for another month's worth of salary to buy the 8800GTS?

BTW, I don't play Crysis or Fallout 3 or any game of that kind (the graphic intensive ones). The most graphically intensive game I played (in my opinion at least) is Devil May Cry 4 and NBA 2k9 (Oh i forgot, NFS Carbon too). Other than those, I only play Audition Online.

Any other suggestions for this setup (like future upgrades) are welcome.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Yeah!! If you throw an 8800gt at what you have got ,,with XP,, it will go just fine,I am running Fallout 3 on my 8800gt and it is flawless,,as for upgrading your ram to 4g or even more expen$ive $tuff,,well that is of course your choice,but from what I have read around the web it will make no difference if you have cheap but good ram or not,,the only real benefit from co$tly ram is it's higher voltage tolerances,basically speaking..

Hi,

Thanks for that wonderful advice. Having second thoughts now. Thinking of just restraining myself to buy a 9600GT.

BTW, I looked at a game called Mirror's Edge a few months ago. I never tried it out, though I would like to. But like I said, I am not really that into those games, i want to play them of course, but not really often like audition.

I hope you're getting my drift.

Thanks

You might look through this article, and the table at the end:

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 296-2.html

Hmm...I guess that the price of that 8800GTS is inflated as they are not in production now...
So get the price of the other cards that I had given...they are in production and those would have somewhat correct pricing...

Then the best options are the 9800GT and the 4830...
They perform very much the same but you can expect 8800GTS performance with that 4830...
And the 4850 would totally outperform all the cards including the 8800GTS by a good margin...

And totally forget about the 8800GTS...Totally not worth that price...

And btw, if i'm gonna put in a new card like the 9800GT, would i need to install a new power supply as well? (Given my current setup)

I currently have that raptor 500w something. (Can't remember the complete name)

Thanks again

Hi,

Well, thing is never tried ATI graphics cards in the past. (Maybe I should) Although they actually did a demo of their Powercolor cards at the place where i'm working a few months ago, and pretty impressive in DMC4. I wasn't able to observe much to see whether the machine was using xfire (I liked the Glass enclosed PC though).

What I'm worried about is, compatibility. Would these cards be compatible with everything I have mentioned in my first post? (execpt dmc4) or will I be expecting any issues from it?

Yeah, maybe I won't ask for that extra money.

Thanks

Can I ask a basic question? It sounds like you have some money to spend, and your not sure where to spend it. RAM? Video card? My question to people who ask what to upgrade is what do you want your computer to do that it doesn't? (or what does it do poorly/takes to much time?) You listed budget, you listed options, but you didn't list what is driving you crazy while you use your computer. Perhaps your gaming needs aren't high enough to warrant upgrading your 8600GT. By letting us know what you wish your computer would do we'd have a better idea of where you should spend your money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130325

EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB

$89 after $20 rebate, lifetime warranty, free shipping! Runs about 15% faster than 9800 GT.

64bit os is much faster
4gb ram and 64bit is the only way to go

if you need 32bit for a printer or program and vista emulatiuon for 64bit to 32bit fails dual boot

video card is key as always - 260 is the cheap sweet spot

Wow, those are great prices. Do you think Newegg ships to the Philippines however? That is where the OP lives. If they do thats great, if they don't, you shouldn't have dangled things in front of him that he couldn't buy.

wtf u talking about? XFX has the best warranties. They are tied with EVGA for being the best Nvidia card manufacturer.

It sounds like your just trying to keep up with your friends. Thats great, if you have enough money to do that. If you don't, your going to go broke trying. Better video card will provide better frame rates, so if you TRUELY aren't happy with what you have, you should get another one. (did you ever list system specs? You might have a different bottleneck then the GPU)

If the 4380 is in your price range, get it. Its better then the other cards you've listed. Yes the 4870/4890 are great cards, but they cost to much. (for you)

my vote goes for the 4830...seems like it hits your sweet spot...right in your price range and will definitely handle the games you play at 1280x1024...you might want to check if your current PSU meets the requirements for the 4830...

The 4770 is a better card then the 4830. If you can afford it, the 4770 is a better buy. Other options to consider are the 9800GT, and the 9800GTX. Personally I would buy whichever is the cheaper of these options.