Help Choosing Graphics Card

[Rooster Cogburn]

Hey there, I am having trouble with my Dell XPS 600. I get freezing or crashing in certain games, usually about 20-40 minutes in. It is very consistent. I bought a Geforce 9500 GT a while back, and I believe this is when the problems started. I am now being told this is a poor card for gaming and I am thinking about replacing it.

I told the guy at Micro Center I could spend less than two hundred dollars, and he recommended a GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.0 x16 for $189.00. Is this a good card? Is the price too high?

And also, will my computer actually be able to take advantage of such a good card? Any advice on fixing my current setup? Specs below.

Spoiler

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.101209-1647)
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC

 

[Agayek]

Hey there, I am having trouble with my Dell XPS 600. I get freezing or crashing in certain games, usually about 20-40 minutes in. It is very consistent. I bought a Geforce 9500 GT a while back, and I believe this is when the problems started. I am now being told this is a poor card for gaming and I am thinking about replacing it.

I told the guy at Micro Center I could spend less than two hundred dollars, and he recommended a GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.0 x16 for $189.00. Is this a good card? Is the price too high?

And also, will my computer actually be able to take advantage of such a good card? Any advice on fixing my current setup? Specs below.

Spoiler

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.101209-1647)
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC

The price is fine for that card. What you'll need to check though is a couple of things. First, does your power supply output enough wattage to use the 460. I can't remember the specs on it off the top of my head, but you will definitely need to check that. Second, make sure your motherboard has the appropriate slots to use it.

If both of those check out, then you'll be fine to pick that up.

On the other hand, I'd recommend checking if they have a GTX295 and getting that over the 460. It should be a good bit cheaper (120-140 last I heard), and it's performance is about equal.

 

[Astalano]

The 460 is a good mid level high end card and you can easily install it yourself, which will cut back on needless costs. I installed my first graphics card (6870) about a month ago with no issues (apart from not realizing my motherboard had a hook that kept my old 9800 GT in place and frantically trying to pull it out).

Also, I would suggest upgrading your RAM to at least 3 GB, 4 GB being even better and getting Windows 7.

Check if your motherboard has the slots necessary for the card. Just open up your computer and there should be a few empty slots, with 1 taken up by your existing GPU. Since it's not an ancient card, I would think the slot you're already using would be fine for a 460.

Plus, check your power supply and ventilation. An inadequate power supply can cause major problems and lack of proper ventilation, especially considering that it's an Nvidia card can easily cause overheating, although I think the 460 specifically doesn't have this problem. At the very least try to clean your computer up a bit and get rid of dust and such.

I was also considering the same card, but I rejected it on the basis of wanting something relatively cheap, but with more oomph and staying power.

http://www.techspot.com/review/325-amd-radeon-6870/

http://www.techspot.com/review/299-palit-inno3d-geforce-gtx-460/


Example image:

What you'll notice in many benchmarks is that generally, the 6870 is better, sometimes by a substantial quantity than the 460, but mostly they're quite close. However, you have to decide if you want that extra bit of power or if it's not worth it at the moment. Of course, there are other GPU's to choose from, but the 6870 is what I've decided to run with at the moment and it's been great. When I get Windows 7 I'll see just how capable it really is, but for now, it's just fine.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

Thank you guys, this is very helpful. I'm thinking of upgrading RAM and getting Windows 7. Will keep you posted. I'm learning how very little I know but it doesn't seem that hard to grasp.

My power supply is 650 Watts, so I think I'm in good shape there. Plus, you could bludgeon an ox to death with it. I am worried about overheating though. Any advice? A fan you recommend?

 

[Mr.Amakir]

I would recommend a GTX 560, they are cheap and they are powerful. A great bang for the buck card in other words.

 

[Requx]

Thank you guys, this is very helpful. I'm thinking of upgrading RAM and getting Windows 7. Will keep you posted. I'm learning how very little I know but it doesn't seem that hard to grasp.

My power supply is 650 Watts, so I think I'm in good shape there. Plus, you could bludgeon an ox to death with it. I am worried about overheating though. Any advice? A fan you recommend?

I'm running the 460 on a windows 7 computer and with the chasis I have and the ammount of ocing I will do I don't think I'll ever burn out. What really matters is the chassis, fans won't fix too much, If you are going hardcore and willing to spend a few hundred dollars liquid cooling is the way to go. That said with a pre-built computer its almost imbossible. Also make sure when choosing your os you get the right ammount of bits for your ram, so if its over 4 gigs go with 64 bit system.

 

[Wolfram23]

Problems... CPU is old and slow. RAM is only 2gb... Win Xp... And probably a poor Dell PSU.

The 1gb GTX460 is a solid card for sure but probably more than your system can really keep up with.

Also, for the most part, what GPU to get depends on what resolution your monitor is. If we're talking 720p or something, a 5770 would do the trick no problem. If we're talking 1080p, a 460 is the lowest end card I'd consider looking at.

Can you find what PSU you have, and what motherboard (possible CPU upgrade)? I would probably recommend a full overhaul but to get by for now, at the very least Win 7 64bit, 4gb RAM, and a new GPU should get you by.

Just my thoughts, anyway.