What are the benefits of a faster more powerful Vid card

J

Jamin43

banned
I'm using my first gaming vidoe card listed in my sig line. My prior video card was on a 5 year old P4 PC - and it never was intended for playing pacman - let alone 3D graphics.

My 9800GTX+ does everything I need it to do for around 109 bucks I paid for it with a free game. When people are paying 400 bucks for a video card - or for SLI - what exactly are they getting for their money?

This card moves plenty fast - in High def - and I can play it online at the same speed as other gamers. For another 300.00 - what is the visible benefit that you are experiencing - or is it simply being ready for future games that aren't out yet - pushing the cards to the max??

Thanks
 
Quality and resolution. My 9800GT plays about anything at maybe 2x AA. I've yet to try anything beyond that. But trust me, if you try something at say 16x AA, the 9800GTX will stutter.
 
Have you tired running games like Crysis and GTA4 at full resolution with full AA and AF? A 9800GTX would die trying to do it. People buy $400+ cards in SLI so they can play any game out there at maximum settings without any sort of lag.
 
Im curious to know without breaking this up.
I have a GE force 7300 GT installed. 250meg.
Maybe the grand kids would be interested.
I only have a 500 watt power supply. Reading the
post my video is to small. My question is whats the biggest
i can get into. No, i do not want to change nothing if i don't
have to. Im guessing the 7300 GT is to small.
thankyou
 
Depends on what kind of 500W Power Supply, and if you have a AGP or PCIe slot. But something like a 4850/GTS 250
 
Ok.......i'll check. the power supply is a thermaltake.
but for the info i will check and get back. its an old computer
intel duel core. its for the kids.
 
diduknowthat said:
Have you tired running games like Crysis and GTA4 at full resolution with full AA and AF? A 9800GTX would die trying to do it. People buy $400+ cards in SLI so they can play any game out there at maximum settings without any sort of lag.
Click to expand...

Gotcha,

Right now- the only game I've played is COD4. I'm not a hardcore gamer - when I build my PC - I wasn't even planning on gaming at all - but the video card came with COD4 - and I'm hooked.

I have 3 games waiting to try that came in the mail the other day - but I just went online with COD - so I'm in no hurry just yet to open em up.

I was trying to understand why people would pay 3-400 bucks for highest end - and wondering what they got for it. Same could probably be said about my Core i7 PC though - I don' treally need it - but it's nice to have when I do :D
 
my question is what is the biggest video card i can install
without changing anything. hope the helps.
No ........... i did not open the tower.
450 watt for kids. can they play games.
do i need exact info on PS.
thanks




OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name THERMALTAKE
System Manufacturer INTEL_
System Model DQ3510J_
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 6 GenuineIntel ~2989 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Intel Corp. JOQ3510J.86A.0559.2007.0726.0425, 7/26/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\windows
System Directory C:\windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name THERMALTAKE\Grandpa
Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 4,096.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 2.55 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 5.08 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
 
tremmor said:
my question is what is the biggest video card i can install
without changing anything. hope the helps.
No ........... i did not open the tower.
450 watt for kids. can they play games.
do i need exact info on PS.
thanks
Click to expand...

In order for members to answer that might want to add some info.

* What is your PC ( Dell XXX - or custom built )
* If it's custom built - list
CPU ( dual core - quad core - pentium 4 - etc )
RAM ( How many GB - what type of RAM is it )
Brand of Power supply
 
I have GTS 250 (same as 9800 GTX but smaller and more efficient) and it can crunch through cod 4 and 5 with no trouble. I put crysis on max and it drops to about 20 fps, which to some is ok, but I prefer more. 60 is ideal for most. I find I noticean improvement up to 85 if the game/monitor support it

the $400 cards will be able to play anything max graphics at really high resolutions without lag, and will be ready for future games.
 
tremmor said:
my question is what is the biggest video card i can install
without changing anything. hope the helps.
No ........... i did not open the tower.
450 watt for kids. can they play games.
do i need exact info on PS.
thanks




OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name THERMALTAKE
System Manufacturer INTEL_
System Model DQ3510J_
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 6 GenuineIntel ~2989 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Intel Corp. JOQ3510J.86A.0559.2007.0726.0425, 7/26/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\windows
System Directory C:\windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name THERMALTAKE\Grandpa
Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 4,096.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 2.55 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 5.08 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Click to expand...

the power supply is a thermotake
says TR2-430 watt
works well for this. what i have on my quad.
 
Here's what I found on your PSU - the Video card guru's can tell you what card your PSU can take.

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?S=1172&ID=1541#Tab1

- Wattage 430 Watts
- Fan Dual 80 mm
2400 RPM ± 10%
- Efficiency 65% +
- PFC N/A
- Hold-Up Time 16 ms
- Switches ATX Logic on-off additional power rocker switch
- Motherboard Connectors

20+4-pin Main Connector
4-pin Power Connector
- Power Good Signal 100-500 ms
- Form Factor

ATX 12V
- Dimension 6.3 x 5.9 x 3.3 inch
160 x 150 x 85 mm
- Warranty 5 Years
- Certifications

N/A
W0070RUC.gif
 
Your power supply could probably handle a 4850. I would probably go with a 4830 or 4770 just to be safe.
 
Your definition of Hi-Def and someones else's can differ since even a crappy 15" monitor is technically higher definition than standard TV format. Running at 1920x1200 and maxed out Anti-Aliasing (AA) and Anisotropic-Filtering (AF) will make a graphics card work very hard.
People (gamers) buy expensive graphics card so they can run current games maxed out and play future games as good as possible until they replace their card. I think paying any more than $350 on a card is inefficient though. A current $350 card has a pretty long lifespan, most gamers will replace their card long before the card actually starts to become obsolete (My definition of the minimum for gaming cards is a card that can run at Native Res with 2X AA and medium settings, if it can't do that, I need a new card)

It's like buying a $3000 laptop, in about 1 year, a $1000 laptop will be about on par with it. But buying a $1000 laptop now and then in a couple years, buying another $1000 laptop, and so on. You save money in the long run and keep a fast running computer. Same concept with graphics cards.
 
Ok, thanks. My daughter gave me her computer and gave her a laptop. Hers is noisy. its the power supply. terrible. I think i will take out this power supply and put in her's. this thermaltake is quiet.

this computer im talking about in fact all of them were put together. Intel.
 
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