Hey, I'm pretty much a PC game n00b. I'm well versed in pc's, but not in new gaming tech. I recently got a new pc, it's very impressive for me, here are the specs: Intel Dual Core (5.71 Ghz), 500GB HDD, 2GB memory, dual dvd writers, 22" lcd monitor, media center, built in wireless router, and all the goodies. Only problem is that my video card is garbage. it's a geforce 7300LE. Basically, it lets me run halflife 2 at about 30fps, single digits with high activity. So, I got about $500-$600 to spend on a card, and was looking deep into the Geforce 8800 GTX. This seemed like an awesome idea to me, but my buddy told me that dual SLI cards would work better for me, even if I spent the same amount on the pair. So, can anyone give me any good advice on cards to buy? I'd really appreciate that!
Buy 1 880GTX, it's all you'll need for A LONG time, SLI setup of these cards offer more problems if anything with few games utilising it and the drivers being pretty crap for the SLI setup. ANyway thats a great rig and i'd recommend getting an 8800GTX (i have one, specs in sig) but.. you say your intel core duo is 5.71ghz.. not even sure thats possible lol.
Yep you could go for dual 7900 GTX's or something (keep forgetting the "G's" and "X's" at the end of the names) Also you could go for a 7950, which is basically two graphics cards stacked on top of each other. Then you could SLI that with another 7950 and have 4 massive cards in your system! You'll probably be sucking the power from your neighbor's house though :)
Buy 1 880GTX, it's all you'll need for A LONG time, SLI setup of these cards offer more problems if anything with few games utilising it and the drivers being pretty crap for the SLI setup. ANyway thats a great rig and i'd recommend getting an 8800GTX (i have one, specs in sig) but.. you say your intel core duo is 5.71ghz.. not even sure thats possible lol.GenTom
yes go out and buy a $600 video card especially since there are so many DX10 games out. You will then be able to play Far Cry and Unreal Tournament  max settings. Sweet
If you looking for something worth the money get the 7950GT OC from EVGA. It will basically max everything out gives you more bang for the buck. There is also a cheaper 8800 gts for less than $300 that is suppose to be really good. Don't bother with SLI it's one of the biggest hoax in PC gaming.
[QUOTE="GenTom"]Buy 1 880GTX, it's all you'll need for A LONG time, SLI setup of these cards offer more problems if anything with few games utilising it and the drivers being pretty crap for the SLI setup. ANyway thats a great rig and i'd recommend getting an 8800GTX (i have one, specs in sig) but.. you say your intel core duo is 5.71ghz.. not even sure thats possible lol.Deihmos
yes go out and buy a $600 video card especially since there are so many DX10 games out. You will then be able to play Far Cry and Unreal Tournament  max settings. Sweet
If you looking for something worth the money get the 7950GT OC from EVGA. It will basically max everything out gives you more bang for the buck. There is also a cheaper 8800 gts for less than $300 that is suppose to be really good. Don't bother with SLI it's one of the biggest hoax in PC gaming.
Can you tell me what is your Processor? (You can check it under Device Manager or My Computer > Properties)
With nVidia 8800 you can even play Test Drive Unlimited with all maxed out, and now that's something ... the graphics are same/better than Xbox 360 version ;o
Can you tell me what is your Processor? (You can check it under Device Manager or My Computer > Properties)
With nVidia 8800 you can even play Test Drive Unlimited with all maxed out, and now that's something ... the graphics are same/better than Xbox 360 version ;o
Helpomer
I am sure most cards would be able to max test drive out.
Can you tell me what is your Processor? (You can check it under Device Manager or My Computer > Properties)
With nVidia 8800 you can even play Test Drive Unlimited with all maxed out, and now that's something ... the graphics are same/better than Xbox 360 version ;o
Deihmos
I am sure most cards would be able to max test drive out. ROFL. Do you even know what game is Test Drive Unlimited?! It's one of the most power-hungry PC games yet, it's in its own class. People without a good gpu can only dream about maxing out this game, ****
Are you sure your CPU is at 5.71 GHZ?? That would be nice... but I think your in error there :) You can't just add each cores speed and calculate it as one big number. Go for a 8800 GTX, I've got one and easily run every game maxed out at 1920x1200. Doesn't matter there are no DX10 games out, it's still easily the fastest card on the market. Don't waste your time with SLI. Also what PSU do you have..
lol my mate has a single core 5ghz beast, although it is custom built, and needs liquid nitrogen cooling, Thanks tomshardware :) i would personally HOLD off getting a new gfx card, because the 8800 while being good are not that great, i read quite alot saying that ingame performance of a GeForce 7950 GX2 outdoes that of a 8800, and being the FIRST DX10 card to hit the shelves it may have a few problems when the first DX10 game comes out, my advice is wait untill DX10 has more time to prove itself and when it comes get the new Ati card coming out shortly that supports DX10.
Oh and BTW if you want a new video card NOW, and you want one that will last you a long time (1 - 2 years) i would have to recommend a Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX2 1.2Ghz or if you can find one a 1.3Ghz version, the reason i wouldnt recommend SLi is because too many people have too many problems with it, too many things can go wrong, just check that you have enough space around your PCI-E slot to install it, while the 7950 isnt MUCH bigger than the radeon 1950 series it is quite tall or high (two GPUs sandwiched together :) ).
Can you tell me what is your Processor? (You can check it under Device Manager or My Computer > Properties)
With nVidia 8800 you can even play Test Drive Unlimited with all maxed out, and now that's something ... the graphics are same/better than Xbox 360 version ;o
Helpomer
I am sure most cards would be able to max test drive out. ROFL. Do you even know what game is Test Drive Unlimited?! It's one of the most power-hungry PC games yet, it's in its own class. People without a good gpu can only dream about maxing out this game, ****
Have you played the game? Why would you want to :P
Can you tell me what is your Processor? (You can check it under Device Manager or My Computer > Properties)
With nVidia 8800 you can even play Test Drive Unlimited with all maxed out, and now that's something ... the graphics are same/better than Xbox 360 version ;o
Helpomer
I am sure most cards would be able to max test drive out. ROFL. Do you even know what game is Test Drive Unlimited?! It's one of the most power-hungry PC games yet, it's in its own class. People without a good gpu can only dream about maxing out this game, ****
lol, i havent played or seen the game but i reckon most of the GeForce 7 series could max it out, except the LE of them, LE graphics cards are a mockery to GPUs everywhere.
with that budget I'd say you have two options: the already suggested 8800gtx (no sense in picking up a dx9 card imo) or the soon to be released ati/amd r600 card (which is expected to outperform the 8800 gtx but consume a lot of power too..). Like's been said, don't bother with sli. Any of those cards will last you a long time. I assume that 7300LE came in a pre-built pc, so first make sure your psu is strong enough to handle an upgrade like that.
[QUOTE="GenTom"]Buy 1 880GTX, it's all you'll need for A LONG time, SLI setup of these cards offer more problems if anything with few games utilising it and the drivers being pretty crap for the SLI setup. ANyway thats a great rig and i'd recommend getting an 8800GTX (i have one, specs in sig) but.. you say your intel core duo is 5.71ghz.. not even sure thats possible lol.Deihmos
yes go out and buy a $600 video card especially since there are so many DX10 games out. You will then be able to play Far Cry and Unreal Tournament max settings. Sweet
If you looking for something worth the money get the 7950GT OC from EVGA. It will basically max everything out gives you more bang for the buck. There is also a cheaper 8800 gts for less than $300 that is suppose to be really good. Don't bother with SLI it's one of the biggest hoax in PC gaming.
You don't realize that DX10 card work with DX9 games? And they own too. I get 140 FPS on DOD:S with all settings maxed and 4X AA at 1680x1080. And besides if he bought an expensive DX9 card it would be obsolete in about 2 years when most cards are DX10 standard.
[QUOTE="dyaballikl"]Hey, I'm pretty much a PC game n00b. I'm well versed in pc's, but not in new gaming tech. I recently got a new pc, it's very impressive for me, here are the specs: Intel Dual Core (5.71 Ghz), 500GB HDD, 2GB memory, dual dvd writers, 22" lcd monitor, media center, built in wireless router, and all the goodies. Only problem is that my video card is garbage. it's a geforce 7300LE. Basically, it lets me run halflife 2 at about 30fps, single digits with high activity. So, I got about $500-$600 to spend on a card, and was looking deep into the Geforce 8800 GTX. This seemed like an awesome idea to me, but my buddy told me that dual SLI cards would work better for me, even if I spent the same amount on the pair. So, can anyone give me any good advice on cards to buy? I'd really appreciate that! Sounds like a great PC. But don't spend all $600 on the PC card. Instead, *if* you are using built-in sound (a sound card built into your motherboard), then get the cheapest Audigy X-Fi PCI sound card you can find. Try newegg.com. Then purchase a GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB. Don't bother with the GTX, I think you're better off with an awesome (though not absolutely top 100%) video card, and a high quality sound card. Enjoy! And if you have any questions about this stuff, feel free to PM me. I've custom built a dozen PCs, and I've been a PC gamer for ten years; I'd be glad to help. As for the processor speeds, you don't add the speeds of the Dual Core processors. Your processor speed is 2.8GHz. Also, you can overclock the crap out of that CPU and get way more performance out of it. At a minimum, you can crank it by 10%. My 2.2 GHz Dual Core is cranked up 50% to over 3.3 GHz!!!
Yes I have played the TDU myself in about 4-5 computers with all diffrent specs, and I know quite about computer hardware.
No GeForce 7 series card could Max the TDU graphics, it will lag like **** when you turn on AA x4 or more. (Including the HDR on)
Oh and Tiki, you think anyone gonna beleive you? 5 Ghz on a single core? Naww.
Helpomer
The 7950 GX2 1.3Ghz model is exceptionally powerful and while i dont know if it could max out the gfx in TDU i know that the card kicks ass, ie playing oblivion at extremely high res with everything maxed out, oh and btw about the 5Ghz on a single core go to tomshardware, it CAN and HAS been done, its relatively easy if you know what your doing and have MAJOR cooling in place, or it will just fry itself :p .
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