Video card upgrade

[lildavo87]

Hey guys, first time posting.

Im looking at upgrading my video card as I started gaming alot more and my machine isnt keeping up with the latest games. Ive been playing Mafia 2 and Battlefield - Bad company. I have to run these games on the lowest settings and Its still not smooth. I want to be able to crank the graphics up and still have it running smooth.

Im unsure what graphics card to get.

My current specs are
Gigabyte Bearlake Motherboard
Intell core 2 quad 6600 2.4ghz
3gb DDR2 Memory
Nvidia Geforce 8600 GT 512mb

I dont know where my computers specs stand at the moment, but i bought more than 2 years ago so im guessing its a bit out-dated.

From what I can tell my video card is the weakest link.

Ive been contemplating getting the 570 GTX as it is pretty much top of the field at the moment from what i can tell- but not sure if its worth forking the cash over for, when maybe something a bit cheaper might do the job.

Ive always preferred Nvidia cards.
Ive owned a TNT2, Geforce 2 Mx200, Geforce 4 mx420 and the 8600GT...So my preference is with Nvidia.

Also if I was the get the 570gtx do I need to upgrade my power supply? If so whats needed there? And how can I check if my current powersupply is good enough?

Any help is appreciated

Thanks

 

[acer0169]

You don't need a GTX 570 for them games unless you're playing on a 30" screen with full AA settings .

You'll be just fine getting a GTX 460 or GTX 280 or something like that. Even then - they might be more than what you're needing.. depends on your budget and how long you want it to be future proof.

 

[lildavo87]

I would like it to last me up to 2 years.

So a GTX 280 would cut it with my current specs playing those games on high res? I want the games to run perfectly smooth without any hiccups in the frame rate.

Thanks for your reply

 

[acer0169]

What size screen are you using?

And what do you consider a good FPS.. because for most anything over 30 FPS is perfectly fine, but some will argue 50 is what you should aim for etc etc.

 

[DigitalIP]

GTX460 1GB GTX460 SE 1GB would be your best bet for price.

to check your powersupply, remove the side panel, on the power supply there will be specs on the sticker on the side of the PSU which should be visible.

tell us how many watts it is and how many amps are on the +12v rail

Or if your on a brand name PC, goto the website for the brand and lookup your PC model, should show the PSU specs also.

 

[lildavo87]

from what I can tell its a 250w PSU
and for the 12v rail it says 12v1-8.0A and 12v2-14.0A
Does that mean its 22amps?

Im guessing I'm going to have to buy a new PSU if Im going to be upgrading the graphics card. looking at the NVIDIA website ill need a 500w+ PSU to run the newer cards.

Thanks for all the help so far guys its been really informative.

P.S - Id like to run my games above 40fps - in mafia 2 it runs around 30fps average on the lowest of settings but it slow downs a bit when ever there is alot of action going on - Id like to run around 40-50 so when there is a scene with lots of detail/stuff going on it doesnt become noticable that the machine isnt keeping up.

 

[The Black Alchemist]

GTX460 1GB GTX460 SE 1GB would be your best bet for price.

to check your powersupply, remove the side panel, on the power supply there will be specs on the sticker on the side of the PSU which should be visible.

tell us how many watts it is and how many amps are on the +12v rail

Or if your on a brand name PC, goto the website for the brand and lookup your PC model, should show the PSU specs also.

Don't buy 460 SE... at least this I know fo sure...

For what I know the order is

GTX460 SE>GTX460 768>HD6850>GTX 460 1GB>HD6870>GTX470>HD6950

The best to take in consideration are GTX460 1 gb, 6850 and 6950... They are all best buy...

 

[The Black Alchemist]

LE You need for GTX460 at least a quality PSU with 450W... If not ka-boom with your PC... I have a friend that buyed a SE 460 and he had a 500W cheap PSU and it was nice to see new year lights