Video Card Question / Best video card

[tezdoll]

A good friend of mine gave me a ATI 1600 series (512) is what speccy said it was. Is that a good card to place counter strike source? What would be good upgrade from that, or any needed?

the games that i play (don't laugh)

starcraft (not often)
homeworld 1 and 2 (not often)
counter strike soruce (daily)
Half Life 2 episodes when they come out
Left 4 dead 1 / 2 (want to try)
Bioshock (Want to try)

My Cousin gave me Modern Warefare 1 which i will try to play now with this new card.

Starcraft 2 and Diable 3 when they come out.


The motherboard is a d945pva Intel board, and it has a 930 intel processor (3.0 2x2 cache) if you need any additional information please let me know.

 

[jyjjy]

It'll do ok with the older games you are listing but it's definitely not a good card for current or future games.
If you want a cheap card that's pretty nice at lower resolutions get an HD4670.

 

[tezdoll]

to digest what you just said. The x1600 is good for the games im listing but for a good , great, awesome replacment for a pcie 16x card i should look into the HD4670?

 

[jyjjy]

No, it will be pretty good for the old games you are listing like starcraft, homeworld, CS:S, HL2, maybe Modern Warfare 1 at lower settings.
For a card that is capable for the others you want at least an HD4670. That motherboard does have a PCIE x16 slot right?

 

[tezdoll]

It has one 16x slot. No sli or crossfire that im aware of (for 16x). i believe it has two pcie 1 slots.

 

[jyjjy]

Then it should be fine for the HD4670.

 

[tezdoll]

i have been reading about the 4670 and found it has a younger brother. the 4770, but im just getting started on researching that. Is there any reason i couldn't get the 4770 over the 4670?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150369&cm_re=4770-_-14-150-369-_-Product

 

[jyjjy]

Well, what are the specifications of your power supply? I recommended the HD4670 as it is cheap and low power and any non-terrible PSU should handle it. If you have a capable PSU and are going to spend that much you might as well get this for $130 as it is a much better card;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131328
What is the native resolution of your monitor? What cards you should be considering is highly dependent on resolution.

 

[tezdoll]

i have an AOC flat panel...i do know its 19" or bigger. But since im not at home i cant give you specific part numbers. I remember that i have at 350 power supply (round about). One hard drive (sata) one DVD burner (sata) and a video card is all that is in the machine.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, with a 350w PSU you will want to stick with the HD4670. You could replace the PSU but honestly that computer is old and the processor is pretty weak by today's standards. If you are going to start replacing multiple components you should just build a new system entirely.

 

[tezdoll]

this is my new system

 

[jyjjy]

lol
Maybe YOUR new system but certainly not new in general I imagine

 

[tezdoll]

I was poken around and found pcie 2.1 cards are backwards compatable with 2.0 cards. so with my logic 2.1 is backwards compatable with 1.0 cards, correct?

i was looking at the 5750. for 130 bucks. and a 630 watt power supply (new egg also) for like 29 dollars (good reviews).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102859&cm_re=5750-_-14-102-859-_-Product