I'm thinking of upgrading my graphics card on my Dell XPS 600. I currently have a GeForce 256mb 6800. I was thinking of updating to this one: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...72&Sku=B52-8806&SRCCODE=YAHOODF&CMP=SPC-YAHOO Would this be a wise choice? Any other suggestions in that price range? I would like something that I can connect my HDTV to. My Main Specs Are: Processer: 2x 3.40Ghz Pentium 4 RAM: 1024mb Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 6800
can't go wrong with the G92 8800GTS. another choice would be the ATi HD3870. but be warned, you will need a new power supply for either card. a corsair 450VX or 520HX is recommended by many members. another upgrade you should get is memory. 1gig is thin by today's standard. you at least want 2gigs.
the corsair 450VX costs about $75 and the 520HX costs about $120, both on newegg. yes, the G92 is the one you linked. any 8800GTS 512 is the G92 (newer), and any 320 or 640 8800GTS is the G80 (older). all in all, you'll be spending around 300-350, give or take.
Alright cool! That's not too too much. What should I go with for RAM? I'll probably just add 1GB if that's possible?
go to crucial.com, and run their system scanner. it'll tell you what ram specs can go into your system. you can search newegg for new ram that in your price range. corsair xms2 seem to be the popular choice right now.
download cpu-z. it can tell you the specs of your system, to an extent, since it's a freeware program. but it can identify your graphics slot. if your system has a pci-e x16 slot, the 8800GTS will still be fine. my HD3870 is pci-e 2.0 compliant, but it still can run on pci-e x16 just fine.
It will be a bottleneck, yes. Since it's at least a dual core he should get a performance benefit, but it is a very slow CPU by modern standards so that will be a problem.
I didn't even catch the X2 part, I guess that isn't quite as bad as I thought. Nor did I catch that I said CPU instead of GPU. I must have been in a hurry.
I've been using http://systemrequiremntslab.com to see if my PC is able to run games. For Crysis and COD4 it more then just passes minimum req's. And I've just checked my Manual and my Power Supply is a 650W DC. Does this mean I'll still need a new Power Supply for the 8800 GT? And one more thing.. What makes the GTS so much better than just the GT?
Lol how can a graphics card bottleneck a graphics card? I'm pretty sure you meant CPU. As for the minimum requirements check, just because your PC passes the minimum specs doesn't mean it will run a game at all well, it just means it will run it. To get decent performance, you really need to at least meet the recommended specs if not exceed them. As for the 8800GTS vs GT it's essentially just higher clock speeds.
It doesn't say. It came stock with my PC though. All it says is: 650-W DC Power Supply: Wattage - 650W Heat dissipation - 1000BTU/hr and it's 110V at 50/60hz.
Hmm, I wouldn't trust it to be honest, your upgrade could potentially use more power than you're using now. Get something like a Corsair VX 550W to be on the safe side. I know its a lower wattage but it'll actually be a more capable unit - it's not all about watts.
The cards aren't that far apart, your CPU will remain a bottleneck regardless of which one you use...
