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Due to the announcement of SC2, i have decided to upg my graphics card.
Here's my specs
OPERATING SYSTEM:WINDOWS 2.6.0.6000 ()
CPU TYPE:AMD ATHLON(TM) 64 X2 DUAL CORE PROCESSOR 5000
CPU SPEED (GHZ):2.62
SYSTEM MEMORY (GB):1.873GRAPHICS
CARD MODEL:NVIDIA GEFORCE 6150SE NFORCE 430
GRAPHICS CARD DRIVER:NVD3DUM.DLL
DESKTOP RESOLUTION:1680X1050HARD
DISK SIZE (GB):455.94HARD
DISK FREE SPACE (GB):273.487
And with further research i was able to find more information about my graphics card
Its an integrated RAMDAC
with an adpator ram of 128mb.
I'm thinking of buying the card here
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Galaxy - NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 1GB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card/9182859.p?id=1218049410617&skuId=9182859&st=graphics card
Due to its function/pricing, but how would i know it would fit into my slot? And/or if my computer is fast enough to run it?
I'm pretty noob on this stuff thanks t.t
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Well, first thing you need to do is make sure your motherboard has a pci-e x16 slot for the card. If it was made in the past 4-5 years chances are it does. Thats really the only thing you need to worry about. If you are going to install it yourself, make sure you disable your onboard graphics in bios setup before you put in the new card.
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yah its definitly bought in the past 4-5 years.
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video cards are really easy to install, just follow the instructions that comes with the card and make sure to disable your onboard video in bios setup before you install.
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Well, what you really need to know about is your motherboard. You could open up your computer and look, but it might be easier to download this program that will give you the make and model of your motherboard:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
Google the mobo's make and model and see if you can find the specs - you want to make sure it has a PCI express x16 (or PCIe) 2.0 slot (or I heard someone else say it's okay if it's PCIe 1.x since newer cards are backwards-compatable. Might wanna make sure.)
If you were set on that particular graphics card, you could get it cheaper from a more reputable brand at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130501&cm_re=9500gt-_-14-130-501-_-Product
But you might want to shop around a little bit more, use a site that does benchmarks to compare quality of cards, such as this chart:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1920x1200,1700.html
For example, here's a much better card that looks pretty decent for about the same price of the one you linked:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500113&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-500-113-_-Product
Do some comparisons with that chart, though, and see if you'd want to invest more for more power.
(edit: oh this one might be even better for that price, if you're okay with mail-in rebates: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134094&cm_re=gts250-_-14-134-094-_-Product )
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You do not want to buy anything from best buy. The best place to find computer parts is www.tigerdirect.com
It also gives a lot of information about what you are buying and what type of mobos support it.
Hopefully you have at least pcie 1.0 because then you can equip some decent cards.
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You would not really want to put a pcie 2.0 in a 1.0 slot. It has to do with transfer rates and its far far slower and not worth doing unless you already had the part lying around. I say go with a graphics card from a reputable company like EVGA because the drivers are actually pretty important.
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i checked and it does have pcie x16, the only thing you need to decide now is what card to get!
ati HD4670
is imo the cheapest you want to go and still get some decent performance, but do your own checking around at benchmarks and stuff like someone else said!
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I've got an ati r4890 that runs SC2 on all ultra settings, so 4870 would probably be fine.
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On February 21 2010 06:46 cmos543 wrote:
You would not really want to put a pcie 2.0 in a 1.0 slot. It has to do with transfer rates and its far far slower and not worth doing unless you already had the part lying around. I say go with a graphics card from a reputable company like EVGA because the drivers are actually pretty important.
You may be right about the 2.0 -> 1.0, but you can't really buy PCIe 1.0 cards now anyway, can you? Or at least for a price that would make it worthwhile? I figure if it technically WORKS, maybe it's not ideal, but it's not bad either if he's only looking to upgrade his graphics card and not his mobo.
Also, I dunno if I'm misinterpreting what you're saying, but aren't drivers are the same amongst all cards of the same chipset, regardless of the brand? They're made by ATI or NVidia. I think the main difference between manufacturers of cards is the quality of the cooling components, which would only be an issue if he's trying to overclock or if it's REALLY shitty and not keeping the card from overheating normally.
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Can't you push to it about 100$? Anything below HD4850/HD4770 don't make much sense now. You must also know if your PSU can handle it, and motherboard as was said.
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Yeah here is my mother board MCP61PM-AM Motherboard it is PCl x16
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On February 21 2010 07:16 Polis wrote:
Can't you push to it about 100$? Anything below HD4850/HD4770 don't make much sense now. You must also know if your PSU can handle it, and motherboard as was said.
Meh i can push it to 100$, but i'm moving out in september this year, and im not sure how compatible the graphics card i get now will be for my future computer.
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On February 21 2010 07:20 YPang wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2010 07:16 Polis wrote:
Can't you push to it about 100$? Anything below HD4850/HD4770 don't make much sense now. You must also know if your PSU can handle it, and motherboard as was said. Meh i can push it to 100$, but i'm moving out in september this year, and im not sure how compatible the graphics card i get now will be for my future computer.
so if i get this right you are planning to get a powerful computer in the not so far future? maybe you should consider getting a pretty expensive card and when you buy your new computer you can get another one and run SLI/CROSSFIRE. anyway i stand by my opinion of the HD4670 :p
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BTW: Does anyone know if a grahpics card of too high quality can cause my CPU to heat too much which result in the fan constantly turning?
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YPang, it's possible in border cases where your inside-the-case temperature is high enough, and your CPU cooler is working barely well enough, that a new heat source will fuck it up.
Also possible if your power supply sucks and the video card sucks a bunch of power, then your whole computer will become unstable.
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dont get the 9500gt. it stinks.
too weak to run sc2 well
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4850 for $100
or
4670 for $80
or if you want DX11, 5570 for $85
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EPT
