VGA Upgrade

[yabyab]

My system is 3 years old now and I am starting to notice that it's starting to get out of date and I want to give it a push by buying a good graphic card.

My Current System Spec.

N'Vidia 8800 GTS 512mb (eVGA)
4 GB Ram DDR2 800mgz
2.6 Core 2 Duo processor
Windows XP OS
GIGA Byte Motherboard (Forgot the exact model)

I was thinking the easiest way to improve my system performance (running games) is to upgrade the graphic card. So, which graphic card should I switch to?

Note: I prefer N'Vidia.

 

[coozie7]

Have a read here:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforce-gts-450-radeon-hd-4850-gpu,review-32001.html

You do not mention the monitor resolution-hint hint
With an older C2D processor and XP you should be loking for the HD4870/5770 class of card from AMD or the GTX260/460 from Nvidia, much more will not be fully utilised because the CPU cannot keep up and less will not warrant the expense.
The new DX11 cards (HD5xxx, GTX4xx and GTS4xx ) can be used under XP, but you'll not see any DX11 features used- it's Vista/Win 7 only.

 

[rolli59]

If your PSU can handle it I would go with a GTX460 1GB. From the g92 GTS card that would be a nice upgrade.

 

[jyjjy]

^+1
Overclocking that CPU is also a good idea.

 

[yabyab]

Hello Guys!

Thanks for your support. My LCD monitor resolution is 1600x1050 it is a 22" monitor. My power supply is a Corsair 620w (or 520w I have to check but I am at work now lol).

GTX260 or GTX460 1GB sound like famous cards, but not sure if my PSU can handle the GTX460?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Hello Guys!

Thanks for your support. My LCD monitor resolution is 1600x1050 it is a 22" monitor. My power supply is a Corsair 620w (or 520w I have to check but I am at work now lol).

GTX260 or GTX460 1GB sound like famous cards, but not sure if my PSU can handle the GTX460?

The recommended is a 450w so either of those are more than good to go.

 

[jyjjy]

GTX260 or GTX460 1GB sound like famous cards, but not sure if my PSU can handle the GTX460?

Your power supply is more than enough for either but I would definitely go with the GTX 460. The GTX 260 is outdated and usually overpriced.

 

[coozie7]

+1 jyjjy: The GTX260 is a more than capable card but unless you can find a new one at a very good price the GTX460 is the better option, cooler, quieter and it can be carried over into a new build later or be fully utilised if you switch to Win 7.

 

[yabyab]

Thanks guys, I will go with GTX 460 then. Is eVGA still one of the best manufacturers?

 

[coozie7]

^ Yes, but do not forget to register the card as soon as you get it to recieve the full warranty!

 

[jyjjy]

Thanks guys, I will go with GTX 460 then. Is eVGA still one of the best manufacturers?

EVGA is a good brand but specifically for the GTX 460 the best cards are the MSI Hawk followed by the Asus DirectCU and MSI Cyclone.