Graphics Card Upgrade

[Skycat53]

Hey Everyone

I have a Dell 9200 which I bought around 3 years ago and I want to upgrade it's graphics card so that I can keep up with today's games.

Since im pretty much a noob at hardware I need you Hardware veterans to help me

Here is my system summary:

Platform : Intel VIIV
Manufacturer : Dell Dimension DXP061
Mainboard : Dell 0WG855
Chipset : Intel P965
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 @ 1866 MHz
Physical Memory : 1024 MB (2 x 512 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE
Hard Disk : WDC (250 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H31N
DVD-Rom Drive : LSPCZS DEV4PMJ SCSI CdRom Device
Monitor Type : LG Electronics W2261 - 22 inches
Network Card : 82566DC Gigabit Network Connection
Network Card : 82566DC Gigabit Network Connection
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 2
DirectX : Version 10.00

I want something that could run Modern Warfare 2 pretty well but not too expensive also... thanks

 

[swanand]

ati hd 4670 or hd56 series if u want dx11
or nvidia gf 9600/9800gt

 

[deadlockedworld]

Hey Skycat,

First, I need to know
1. what kind of power supply do you have--is it the dell 375w model?
2. Does your motherboard have a PCIe x16 slot? (the easy way is to find out what interface your current card has)
3. What screen resolution do you game at?

There are two obvious areas in which you can cheaply upgrade to improve performance.

The first is your ram. If you have four slots--get two more 512mb ddr2 chips. (like $15 each) If you only have two slots you will just have to replace them with two 1 GB chips. You can get away without this... but the memory should be really cheap and will help a lot. (like under $40 total)

The graphics upgrade is a little more dependent on how much you want to spend. Assuming that you have a PCIe x16 slot and decent power supply you have a variety of options. Swanland is more or less right about your options--a 4670 at about $65 would be a good upgrade. There are also some deals on slightly better cards you might consider.

$65ish - ATI 4670
$75-80ish Nvidia GT 240/9600GT
$80-90ish ATI 5670/Nvidia 9800GT
$95-- ATI 4770 (4850 is in this price range too but would be a slight stretch for the 375 psu)

Ill scan for any deals and post back.

 

[hopar]

Get at least another 1GB of ram ASAP.
Your Core Duo isnt very zippy and thus will bottleneck most modern cards. For ATI 4670/5570 (DDR3 versions) is prob your best bet, for Nvidia go with a 240 GT (DDR5). Those cards will be match your system best and are very power/heat efficient.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Best: $89 4770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150369&cm_re=4770-_-14-150-369-_-Product

$89 5670:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-871-_-Product
(less powerful, but is a smaller, cooler card that doesnt need an extra power connector--the 4770 will need a plug) This also has brand new Direct X 11 support- but I dont think that should matter since you wont be keeping this computer that much longer.

$69 9600GT (older, cheaper, still decent)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133290&cm_re=9600gt-_-14-133-290-_-Product

$69 GT 240 DDR5 (slightly better than 9600GT--but a larger MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125304&cm_re=gt_240-_-14-125-304-_-Product

 

[deadlockedworld]

Get at least another 1GB of ram ASAP.
Your Core Duo isnt very zippy and thus will bottleneck most modern cards. For ATI 4670/5570 (DDR3 versions) is prob your best bet, for Nvidia go with a 240 GT (DDR5). Those cards will be match your system best and are very power/heat efficient.

If you get adventurous overclocking the older core 2 could get a little more life out of it--however this would require quite a bit more time/effort.

If you plan to purchase again soon the lower end cards are a better value, if you want to get the best possible gaming performance the 4770 is your best option. Your processor may slow it down some, but its significantly more powerful than the next tier down--so even with the processor dragging it would perform better.

 

[Skycat53]

Thanks everyone, but i'm a little bit confused... whats the difference between GTx and Geforce?

Oh and I think that my power supply is 375, but im no so sure though.

I prefer to game at around 1280 x 1280...

 

[skolpo]

The more recent GeForce cards are labeled as GeForce GTX. They are just a different series in GeForce. You shouldn't be looking at any GTX/S models since they are either too weak (e.g. GTS210) or too power demanding for an OEM power supply(e.g. GTX 260).

But like many people said, that CPU might hold you back a bit, including the RAM. You might want to consider upgrading those first.

 

[hopar]

Geforce is the bran name Nvidia uses for the their gaming cards, GTX is just a designation denoting the most powerful cards in their lines.

Basicly for your set up, your best bet is

Nvidia: 240 GT DDR5
ATI: 4670 DDR3 or 5670

4670 will be lest expansive (oldest of the cards listed), 5670 is the most powerful.

New egg has a 240 GT for sale for $70 after 15$ rebate and its probably the best deal. The cheapest 5670 is 90$ but it doesn't need a rebate, so if you dont dealing with rebates, its prov your best bet here.