Hello. It's been a long time since I was savvy in the GPU area. Looking for community help.
A - Need advice on IF it's worth upgrading
B - Need advice on Power
Current System:
Dell XPS 410/9200
Quad Q6600 2.4Ghz 8MB
4GB PC2 6400 (4x1 GB) - Maxed (System only Supports 4GB)
EVGA 8800GT 512MB 256-Bit GDDR3 PCI-e 2.0 x16
Win 7 64-bit Home Premium
Western Dig 320GB SATA 7200RPM
Dell DVD/CD Burner
Very Few USB periphs (Logitech Headset, occasional iPod).
Running 1600x900 max (today).
The most graphics intensive game I own is the new release of BF: Bad Company 2; bud I'd like to get the most of out it. But I'm sure more are coming. I haven't done much benchmarking, but I'm sure I can upgrade one more time before the CPU is my bottleneck, maybe not.
Caveat: I don't want to spend more than $200
Question 1:
Is it worth upgrading my Video Card?
If not today, prediction when?
Question 2:
If answer to #1 is "yes", will your recommendation require me to upgrade the stock Dell Power Supply.
Listed at 375W in the Dell manual. I'm reading conflicting reports that really that's avg, and peak is 450.
Don't want to blow up the system!
Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!
Thank you, in advance, for your time/consideration.
A - Need advice on IF it's worth upgrading
B - Need advice on Power
Current System:
Dell XPS 410/9200
Quad Q6600 2.4Ghz 8MB
4GB PC2 6400 (4x1 GB) - Maxed (System only Supports 4GB)
EVGA 8800GT 512MB 256-Bit GDDR3 PCI-e 2.0 x16
Win 7 64-bit Home Premium
Western Dig 320GB SATA 7200RPM
Dell DVD/CD Burner
Very Few USB periphs (Logitech Headset, occasional iPod).
Running 1600x900 max (today).
The most graphics intensive game I own is the new release of BF: Bad Company 2; bud I'd like to get the most of out it. But I'm sure more are coming. I haven't done much benchmarking, but I'm sure I can upgrade one more time before the CPU is my bottleneck, maybe not.
Caveat: I don't want to spend more than $200
Question 1:
Is it worth upgrading my Video Card?
If not today, prediction when?
Question 2:
If answer to #1 is "yes", will your recommendation require me to upgrade the stock Dell Power Supply.
Listed at 375W in the Dell manual. I'm reading conflicting reports that really that's avg, and peak is 450.
Don't want to blow up the system!
Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!
Thank you, in advance, for your time/consideration.