I need help with a PC upgrade (gpu)

[Davidmfox]

Hi, my birthday is coming up and I'm really looking into a first good upgrade for my PC so i can start playing some new PC games. Ive done a good amount of research and I'm stuck right now.
Here's what I want:

AMD Athlon II x4 640 3.0 GHz quad core-$67 (CPU)

ASRock FX Socket AM3 Plus NVIDIA GeForce 7025 A V GbE Micro ATX-$44(MOBO)

Corsair (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory-$53

Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer-$22

What I'm stuck at is the GPU upgrade. At the moment I have a GEFORCE 8800 gt 512m GPU. I realize that it can not run directx11 and that most of the current games nowadays require directx11. What I'm looking for is a good upgrade for it at a low cost. I do not want to cross the 250$ line total for my upgrade (Im at $186). I would really appreciate some help here.

Thank you

PS- I might be able to ask for a better GPU from my parents if I get a job (I will be turning 16)

 

[sam_p_lay]

The parent idea is the way to go. $64 is not gonna get you a GPU that's a good upgrade from an 8800GT.

 

[Davidmfox]

I realize that, I just don't want to ask for too much ^.^

 

[sam_p_lay]

Fair enough, but just don't go any lower than GTX650-level if you want a decent improvement (and ideally something better). Maybe if you buy used you could get something faster?

 

[Davidmfox]

A gtx650 looks like a good upgrade, I will look into finding a used one on amzaon. Thanks for the help

BTW- lets say I wait and save up to buy the graphic card and stay with the 8800gt for a month. Can it handle borderlands 2, bf3, and black ops 2? Thanks.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Well it depends on settings and resolution. Assuming you play at lower settings (and assuming DX11 isn't required), Borderlands 2 should be fine, Blops 2 a bit more demanding but probably fine at very low settings. Battlefield 3 you may struggle with. Borderlands 2 should keep you occupied for a long time though. Good luck finding a good deal

 

[Davidmfox]

Cool, I cannot wait till I get these parts!

 

[sam_p_lay]

I know how you feel! I'm getting a new graphics card arriving Friday/Monday and I can't wait :-D

 

[Davidmfox]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw48V03EaVk

Do you think this is real? Its on an oced 8800gt with a dual core and 4 gigs of ram. I'm going with a quad core and 8 gigs of ram. In the video there seems to be good fps and good quality.

 

[sam_p_lay]

That's 720p - extremely low resolution. If that's what you play at though, you make it a lot easier on your hardware.

 

[Davidmfox]

I see, I guess low res will have to do it then until I get my 650. Too be honest though I don't really care about the quality, I like the gameplay. Quality is a nice thing though xD

 

[Davidmfox]

I see, I guess low res will have to do it then until I get my 650. Too be honest though I don't really care about the quality, I like the gameplay. Quality is a nice thing though xD

bf2 bad company should be good right?

 

[sam_p_lay]

Bad Company 2 is actually fairly demanding (though not compared to BF3 or Crysis 3 etc). It will need at least as much muscle as Blops 2. You'll probably be fine on very low settings though. What res is your monitor?

 

[Davidmfox]

I'm running my monitor at 1280x1024. Its native resolution is 1680x1050. It's a 22 inch LCD monitor (hp w2207)

 

[sam_p_lay]

Don't you want to maintain aspect ratio? If you used 1440x900, your image won't be horizontally stretched but you maintain the performance benefit of 1280x1024.

 

[Davidmfox]

It feels really weird at 1440x900 resolution

 

[sam_p_lay]

Haha it's because of what you've become used to. 1280x1024 is 5:4 (i.e. only a tiny bit wider than it is high) so nearly square. You're stretching that square across a widescreen display so you end up smearing the picture horizontally. 1440x900 maintains the 16:10 ratio so things look correct. Up to you of course - both are effectively equal interms of performance. 1440x900 is just more correct.