Should I upgrade my Video Card?

Mez

Mez

Active Member
Hey guys, I just recieved my paycheck yesterday, and I am thinking if I should buy a new card or not...

The main reason I don't want to buy a new card is because I am only running games @ 1280x720 (Max is 1366x768, 18.5in monitor).

I'm thinking I probably won't need to upgrade.

The only thing im worried about is my card being a little outdated...

Your opinions?
 
I think it could be time to invest in a new monitor i know samsung has brought out some really nice LED widescreen monitors and Asus LCD widescreen monitors are great if you purchase a new monitor you will at least be able to play games at 1920x1080 which is full HD and possibly go higher with a really good monitor
 
There is nothing wrong with the card you have, i am not going to lie, it is deffinately outdated, but you need to factor in costs of your own, if you buy a new beaut card are you going to have money for the games which come with that power :p but also you need a new monitor if you intend to get a new card as HSV said ^^^.BUT you can get some very good monitors very cheap
 
+1 get a 1680x1050 at least. That probably going to be my next upgrade... 1280x1024 is annoying sometimes.
 
yea, i am stuck at 1440x900 and kinda dont like it, but i cant afford much more right now, 12x10 is kinda eh... but yes the 9800gtx is a solid card, you wont complain about it until stuff starts really wanting dx11
 
I would also like to say, a SSD would be better as this will give you the biggest improvement in terms or speed.
 
Loading times for games are improved significantly, trust me I have seen the difference myself. The humble mechanical harddrive is by far the biggest bottleneck in a modern computer, meaning if you had to spend money on something, based on his system, that would be the smartest investment.
 
i just don't see the point in spending $150 for 60gb and faster loading times. he wants a better gaming experience and a better monitor would do that before an ssd would.
 
Acually, I was sort of looking into an SSD, my loading times are PRETTY slow, im running a "Green" 5400RPM
 
DV83R said:
There is nothing wrong with the card you have, i am not going to lie, it is deffinately outdated, but you need to factor in costs of your own, if you buy a new beaut card are you going to have money for the games which come with that power :p but also you need a new monitor if you intend to get a new card as HSV said ^^^.BUT you can get some very good monitors very cheap
Click to expand...

I am not arguing but they still sell his card new in the store. Whatever he buys will be outdated next year also...

I would probably sell his card and get a GTX460 1GB if I wanted to upgrade.

Dont waste money on an SSD if you want better gaming. Fast load times are nothing if you are looking at a small computer screen. Upgrade from your 18.5 to a 22-23 inch screen. You could also look for a 16x10 monitor like the HP2207 used that wont need as much GPU power compared to a 1080p monitor.
 
Last edited:
Alien, it comes down to this really,

I don't see the point of buying a new monitor if you only want to play at that resolution anyway. You said you didn't want a new card, and to be honest at that resolution or even a 22" monitor, that card should be sufficient (more than), for most modern games at medium to high settings. In fact as shown here, it really should be getting at least 40+ FPS on most modern games at your resolution. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-9800gtx-review,1800-15.html

However, if you want to increase overall PC experience significantly inlcuding lower game loading times, that HD needs updating. Your current HD is similar to a laptop HD that runs at lower rpms (i.e. 5400 rpm) to save electricity (thus the green branding). A hard drive in a modern computer, and in particularly yours, is a major bottleneck.

If you want a noticable upgrade (huge) and as you said, don't want to upgrade your GPU or play at higher resolutions (even though you could with that 9 series card), then imo, the ssd is a great buy.
 
Last edited:
I know I'm only regurgitating what everyone else has said, but the 9800 GTX is still a good card! I, as well, thought about upgrading my video cards to 5850s, but seeing how I'm able to play all games right now (Battlefield: BC2, SC2, etc.) at maxed out settings, there's no real point in putting the money in. Besides, I figured by the new cards are out by nVIDIA/ATI, their hot-shot cards right now will significantly drop down in price. (Example: the 8800 GTX was like $600 brand new and now is selling for like $120 on eBAY/Craigslist! Likewise for all other cards.)

People always seem to hate playing the upgrade game, but that's why you need to understand that unless you're going for DX11 or something, if you're getting decent frame rates/graphic quality right now, it's better to wait and/or invest in something you can really utilize, like, say, a new monitor :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top