The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

it should work, but down clocked

 

down clocked to 667mhz right? Since that's the max speed my motherboard supports..

 

In deed. My Pavilion 7905 (a7m266- ASUS) supposedly only supports UP TO ddr 2100, but I'm running 2700. It's max is also supposedly only 1gb, but it's supporting 2gb. Though the bios, or some memory tool I once used said that it's max is 2gb. Thats why I went with 2gb If you're lucky, a manufacturer will underrate their equipment Though Its not the Thunderbird anymore. Its a Palomino XP 2100. Which is its max I believe. Though I also accidentally ran a Thoroughbred processor :S

 

Alright, just a quick summary, I purchased this PSU ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004] ) this graphic card( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150365 ) and this ram ( http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=C13-6084 )

So guys, do you think that these components that I just added are good enough for new games? By that I mean, it won't bottleneck my games? (particulary L4D 2)

 

So you did buy the GTS250. Ah well, your loss
The rest of the stuff is of course fine.

 

nothing wrong with the GTS250. solid card.

one thing is that l4d is source based, meaning CPU bottleneck, esp the P4 you have will be very big.

 

On top of that it can also be ATI-biased for performance. This won't prove an issue for the GTS250 overall, but if L4D is the game you play most, you would have been much better off with the HD4850.
Left 4 Dead 2 isn't amazingly demanding on the CPU, but a single core CPU is likely to struggle with any modern game. L4D2 is just one example, and a relatively benign example at that.

 

yeah thats true. then again if he is gaming at a low res i guess it wont make that much difference using a p4? hell harvard games at 2560 doesnt he? and only ith a 3850 on AGP.

 

Possibly, but he's either using low settings or lagging. My HD4830 just about coped with L4D on high at 2560 but with no AA, fps around 40 average often dropping to 25-30. The HD3850's half as powerful.

 

being nice on half

 

Sam, do you measure your frames/s with fraps? I've never seen my frames go over 60. And I don't mean I'm lagging in performance. It acts as though 60 is its ceiling. What other benching options are there. GOOD ones.

 

V-sync on?

 

Omega: Yeah, you must have left VSync on. I don't use Fraps for Left 4 Dead, as the net_stats option displays the frame rate and the server latency on the screen for me. Other games I do of course use Fraps.

 

You must be referring to this here Thanks guys

 

Well, maybe, but I was actually referring to the VSync in game. If you're using Fraps passively (to monitor frame rate, not to record video) that button shouldn't do anything.

 

Hmmm. Thanks for the tidbits anyway. I actually don't have any games installed at the moment. Still rebuilding from the veloci crash. And this is NOT a permanent drive either. Though I guess I could treat it as such, then clone the data to replacement drive.

 

Now you are making me feel guilty :S

What do you mean by if I have the HD4850 instead of the gts250, that I would be better off? Tell me the difference about that. And is the difference really big?

Also, my CPU is dual core so I should be fine right?

Hey, would you consider 1024 x 768 a low resolution game setting? And does p4 really suck at games?

 

Nah well, you're just spending $50 for nothing is the main reason I mention it. That's not too much an issue if you play loads of different games, but if you primarily play Left 4 Dead, you've also spent $50 to get worse performance.
A dual core CPU should be fine for Left 4 Dead, since the stock E5200 in my server can run the game OK.
However, if you have a Pentium 4, you don't have a dual core. There were no dual core Pentium 4s by name. There were dual core versions, but they were called Pentium Ds.
You may have a Pentium 4 with hyperthreading, which will show up as 2 CPUs in Task Manager, but really it's a single core, and yes, single core P4s do suck at games.
1024x768 is also quite a low resolution for games. 1680x1050 is the typical standard these days. The good news is that at such a low resolution, even a GTS250 will have no issue with Left 4 Dead.

 

Yea, mine is pentium D. and l4d really prefers the HD4850 huh? Well, that sucks then. But oh well, I already purchased the gts250. Finally, a good news! haha, coz I only plan on playing it on a 1024x768 resolution anyway so I expect no lagging.

 

Why such a small resolution? It must look terrible...