What card should I get?

[imanoob93]

Hello,
Which one should i get for my system?

system specs:
4 GB ddr2
400 GB HHD
Pentium Duo 3.4 cpu
Apevia 500w psu
Rosewill Blackbone Cabinet

All I need is a good graphics card. I know I want it to be decently good for gaming and movie watching. I don't want to spend any more than like $70 on one. I can get a $30 off MIR through Newegg on a couple cards so that's nice. There are somany good cards out, I just don't really know what I want at this point.

 

[jyjjy]

This would be your best choice imo;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102870
Is that a Pentium D or a Core 2 Duo?

 

[imanoob93]

Oops, my bad. It's Pentium D. I don't knowanything about the processor other than it's dual core at 3.4 Is it a good proccesor?

 

[imanoob93]

I was actually thinking of the Nvidia GT 240. I don't know much about it, but it seems to be a good card. What do you think?

 

[jyjjy]

The HD5670 is significantly faster and DX11 compatible with a number of other superior features. If you can afford it then it is the way to go.
Your Pentium D is kind of outdated at this point. It will limit you in the more CPU intensive current games.

 

[imanoob93]

Ok, i'll try for the 5670. Is the 512mb 5670 crossfire compatable? Also, Sapphire or XFX 5670?

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, it's crossfire compatible. The card I linked is the best deal around at the moment and the one I would choose.
BTW if you would like to upgrade your processor you can do so fairly cheaply. Something like this would be good;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.455230
The processor has a much more advanced architecture than the Pentium and it is actually a quadcore with 2 cores locked. The motherboard allows you to unlock the two extra cores. It isn't guaranteed to work but the odds are good(about 80%.) It's also a DDR2 so you won't need to buy new ram.

 

[decode]

Your processor is... ok... maybe, just.

As for the graphics card, it suits your CPU, if you did upgrade your CPU it would mean you could get better cards that wouldn't bottleneck as much on your CPU however theres extra cost in this.

That CPU/Motherboard combo seems decent, although I've myself actually never seen a Biostar mobo... atleast I haven't heard anything bad about them.

 

[jyjjy]

I've used a few in the past and they've always done the job well without giving me any problems. They aren't high end but they are usually good for the price.

 

[decode]

Ok, so not a recommend OC mobo, but enough to get the job done at a good price, will keep that in mind in future.

 

[jyjjy]

Nah, they can OC just fine. They just in general focus on mid-low end segment of the motherboard market.

 

[decode]

Do they have many OC features (can you list)

~more off-topic nonsense

 

[jyjjy]

What do you mean by features exactly? Either the motherboard lets you OC or it doesn't.

 

[decode]

Yeah, but RoG include probelt etc

 

[tomate2]

Pentium D... aren't Pentium Ds socket LGA 775?
how old is your system?
if its not too old maybe you can upgrade to a Core 2 Quad or something that is not as outdated but still gives quite a performance
if your system is around 3 years old or something you may want to start thinking about saving for a whole new system...

 

[imanoob93]

Yea, it's about 3 years old. It's not really a gaming system, but i'm kinda making it one lol. I think pretty soon i'm just going to get a new mobo, cpu, and such. Just start from scratch really.

 

[imanoob93]

Best answer selected by imanoob93.