May have a video card problem, not quite sure

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KookieMunzta

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I just got Gears Of War for the PC, and when I play no matter what I play I get alot of lag. The requirements for the game is Geoforce 6600+ and I only have 5600+...I know that's bad. My question is to confirm that this may be the reason for the lag. Obviously, I'm totally new to the internal parts of the PC ;)
 
5600+.. You are referring to the Geforce 5 series and not the processor? A 5600 is not a good video card, quite old. It will be the reason of poor gameplay.
 
hermeslyre said:
5600+.. You are referring to the Geforce 5 series and not the processor? A 5600 is not a good video card, quite old. It will be the reason of poor gameplay.
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I agree! If the game says it wants a 6600, then trying to run it on anything less = very poor game play, if you can even get it to run.
 
The Geforce 5 series is notorious for how poorly they performed in games. So your graphics card is just fine, but also ancient.
 
ok thanks, i kinda figured that. Like I said I just wanted a confirmation. If I upgrade my video card...would I have to upgrade anything else to go along with it?
 
We'd have to know the specs of your PC, to tell you what should be upgraded.. Most of the time, if the OP is looking to play newer games, the consensus is just to scrap the current build, and buy a new one, custom, of course.
 
diduknowthat said:
The Geforce 5 series is notorious for how poorly they performed in games. So your graphics card is just fine, but also ancient.
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*Ahem...* It's not THAT old compared to... points to sig

How's your internet connection? Playing BF2 on an 28kbps connection... ain't that good ;)
 
hermeslyre said:
We'd have to know the specs of your PC, to tell you what should be upgraded.. Most of the time, if the OP is looking to play newer games, the consensus is just to scrap the current build, and buy a new one, custom, of course.
Click to expand...

Oh, sorry! I'm running Vista with;
AMD Athalon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 5600+ 2.80 Ghz
500Gb HD
Memory 3GB

Is there anything else you would need to know?
 
Ahh, see? The 5600+ x2 Processor. Is this what you were referring to before, or do you also have a G5600 video card, they are two separate components..

Start>run>type dxdiag go to the display tab and tell us what is listed under the device box, upper left corner. This is your video card. If you knew this and you do have a 5600 video card, I apologize.. Good news is the rest of your system is fine, quite good actually! No worries there.
 
hermeslyre said:
Ahh, see? The 5600+ x2 Processor. Is this what you were referring to before, or do you also have a G5600 video card, they are two separate components..

Start>run>type dxdiag go to the display tab and tell us what is listed under the device box, upper left corner. This is your video card. If you knew this and you do have a 5600 video card, I apologize.. Good news is the rest of your system is fine, quite good actually! No worries there.
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Thanks it says the following:
NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Approx total memory: 1336 MB

Thanks alot for your help!
 
The video card is standard, probably onboard. The only thing you have to upgrade to play games exceptionally, would be your video card. I'm guessing you have a PCI-e slot? The rest of the specs of your computer would suggest so. To be sure, you can give me the model of your motherboard. An easy way to get this would be through an app called pcwizard, under the hardware tab, it should list your motherboard, or mainboard. Post it here.

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php (the 2008 version fails to identify my motherboard, but the 2007 doesn't. If it's giving trouble try a different app, like everest, sisoft sandra, )

If you do have a pcie slot, my recommendation would be a 8800gt, very good card,

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N801-A1&family=19

It's sorta expensive, but it's the best bang for your buck, hands down. If you we're looking for something alittle less expensive,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814186022

The 8600gts would be recommended. Not the best, especially compared to the value priced 8800gt, but it's no 6150se. ;) The above is just advice, no pressure.
 
hermeslyre said:
The video card is standard, probably onboard. The only thing you have to upgrade to play games exceptionally, would be your video card. I'm guessing you have a PCI-e slot? The rest of the specs of your computer would suggest so. To be sure, you can give me the model of your motherboard. An easy way to get this would be through an app called pcwizard, under the hardware tab, it should list your motherboard, or mainboard. Post it here.

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php (the 2008 version fails to identify my motherboard, but the 2007 doesn't. If it's giving trouble try a different app, like everest, sisoft sandra, )

If you do have a pcie slot, my recommendation would be a 8800gt, very good card,

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N801-A1&family=19

It's sorta expensive, but it's the best bang for your buck, hands down. If you we're looking for something alittle less expensive,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814186022

The 8600gts would be recommended. Not the best, especially compared to the value priced 8800gt, but it's no 6150se. ;) The above is just advice, no pressure.
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I downloaded the application and it says BUS PCI-express: Yes
It also says Mainboard ECS Nettle 2...is that what you need?
 
Yesh, perfect. Having a pci-e slot really opens up what you can buy and at what price.

Side note, power supply specs will need to be weighed, since you are looking for a video card. The 8800gt above, needs a 400w, 26a +12v rail unit. If you are uncertain as to what you have, the specs should be printed on the PSU itself.
 
Ok great, thanks alot! Am I limited to those brands or are those just the ones that you preffer/recommend? I'll probably sound like an idiot, but I don't care..what is PSU and where can I find this?
 
Evga, the brand I linked to for the 8800gt, is arguably the best. Lots of people here will attest to that too, they always do. :D Usually one of the cheapest as well, but it is in no way the only option.

lol, power supply unit. You know, the thing you plug the power cord into? :rolleyes: Open up the case and take a gander at the sticker on the side. It will list wattage and a little chart that shoes several voltages (+3.3, +5, +12, -3.3, -5, -12v, positive and negative voltages etc) and their respective currents or amperage. The +12 amperage is what you should look for. It'll be a number with a little a next to it.. Also, just to note, there could be dual +12 rails, post both if there is, though this is doubtful.
 
hermeslyre said:
Evga, the brand I linked to for the 8800gt, is arguably the best. Lots of people here will attest to that too, they always do. :D Usually one of the cheapest as well, but it is in no way the only option.

lol, power supply unit. You know, the thing you plug the power cord into? :rolleyes: Open up the case and take a gander at the sticker on the side. It will list wattage and a little chart that shoes several voltages (+3.3, +5, +12, -3.3, -5, -12v, positive and negative voltages etc) and their respective currents or amperage. The +12 amperage is what you should look for. It'll be a number with a little a next to it.. Also, just to note, there could be dual +12 rails, post both if there is, though this is doubtful.
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Ok I finally had the chance to do what you suggested. IT says the max Output Power is 300 watts so the 8800gt would be no good for me. Is there anything else you could suggest for me that would work great without killing my computer?
 
Okay, here's what my opinion is.

-Scrap the PSU. Pre-built rigs rarely have good PSUs, usually something designed to work with that rig most of the time and be as cheap as possible. Make a list of everything on the computer: your CPU, hard drives, CD/DVD drives, add-on cards, motherboard, memory, everything. Make a post asking for advice on a PSU for your rig with your proposed video card(s). You're probably looking at $70 or so for a *good* PSU that will power that rig reliably.

-Buy an EVGA 8800GT. SSC version is best. Price will be ~$300 USD. Register it. If you're not happy with the performance, you can always use EVGA's step-up program, mail in the GT, and pay the difference for a bigger, badder card. If you can wait until mid-December or so, the revised 8800GTS's will hit with the new G92 cores. These will probably perform better than the current 8800Ultra cards, which cost more than $600.

-Research everything. Learn! This is the fun part, learning new stuff that you'll use every time you work on your computer. And once the thought of taking your computer apart and putting it back together again is no longer intimidating, it'll become fun immediately. Swapping a PSU is very intimidating, but also very easy. Just figure out what kind of connections your motherboard needs (google your [your mobo's product code]+specifications). Once the new PSU is in, just make sure everything is plugged in! Check around, there should be a pretty good beginner's guide for swapping out your PSU.
 
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