Need help with a computer upgrade

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Ransu
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Need help with a computer upgrade

Post by Ransu »

Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for so long. Anyways, my grandmother is giving me $600 next month and I plan on using it to upgrade my computer with the best possible graphics card it can handle and add 1 GB of RAM. I need help figuring out which graphics card will actually work on my PC. Right now I have 1 GB of RAM, a BFG Tech 8600 GT, an Intel Duo 2.66 GHz dual core processor, and I'm running Windows XP Media Center Edition. So, here's my computer case:

http://www.raidmax.com/specs/smilodon.htm - power supply that came with it is 500W

and here is my motherboard:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Mot ... uctID=2599

Now I need your suggestions! :D
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Slink

Not to be a dick, but...

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Post by Slink »

GRAPHICS: These video cards are of the most recent nVidia generation:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... 200+Series

EDIT: For price, you would do well to stick with the nVidia GeForce 9 series... Or do you prefer ATI products? ;-) I like nVidia, but ATI can make some stifling competition.



CPU: Your processor is decent, but I heard you'd be better off with what Intel calls a "Core 2 Duo". Supposedly they handle games better, and I think they may be more multi-threaded per core.



RAM: Whatever the case, I need to know what speed your RAM is.

This group of RAM is generally the best that you can get for your system:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... 065&name=5
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Slink

Not to be a dick, but...

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Post by Slink »

BTW, download CPU-Z. It is an excellent application--very compact, and very useful. Among other things, it will show you your CPU and RAM information, including clock speeds, timings, etc. (This will work, provided it can obtain the information from the system. Limited Windows accounts may find that some info is unavailable to the program.)

Here is the CPU-Z page:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
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Necrosis
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Post by Necrosis »

I remember hearing something about how ATi actually had a better video card in the newest generation?

I kind of don't pay attention to it until I need to buy a new computer, heh.
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Slink

Not to be a dick, but...

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Post by Slink »

All you have to do is look at the numbers. Check out some benchmarks of ATI's latest generation (Radeon HD, I think) versus nVidia's latest generation (GeForce GTX).

The price difference between the two is phenomenal, with ATI's top cards seemingly priced competitively at almost half the price of nVidia's top cards. The benefit of this is somewhat of an illusion, as the top ATI cards can only really compete with nVidia's previous generation (GeForce 9 series) (afaik). Once you see the prices of the GeForce 9 series compared to ATI's top series, you will realize that both companies' prices are comparable, and that the top-level cards of nVidia engage in price gouging. Smart (and poor) folks like you and I avoid the more expensive models, either waiting for them to come down in price, or settling for the purchase of a lower model.

For nVidia cards, generations 6 thru 9 generally followed the same naming scheme, so you can look at older generations on Newegg.com to see how certain card models were taken out of production. For instance: you can no longer buy the DOUBLE-DECKER, DUAL-CORE, POWER-EATING MONSTER card from the GeForce7 series. (7900 GTX x2? I can't remember). Buying that kind of top-o-the-line card is almost always a bad choice. If it is power-hogging, money-hogging, and doesn't provide THAT much of a performance boost over the next lower model or so, then it is a lame choice.

Also, I see you don't have an SLI capable mobo. That makes things simpler for you. You don't need to worry about getting a card that you plan on marrying with another in the future. Also, don't waste your money on any card with fewer than 512 MB of vRAM. More RAM is better.

What a lovely little essay I've written for you, my old pal. :lol:

-Slink
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