video card question?

[Sleekgiant]

*snip*

And to respond to the fact that you want to run Crysis, go with a Sapphire 5770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102906&cm_re=5770_sapphire-_-14-102-906-_-Product

I can't seem to dig it up anywhere else, but do you know if that card supports Pixel Shaders 3.0?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units#Mobility_Radeon_HD_5xxx_Series

After some light searching I found an a forum that claims it supports up to 5.0 but offered no proof.Here is the wiki listing all of the features though.

 

[Danceofmasks]

I'll look around when i go in sometime and decide then

p.s. I'm a stubborn jackass

Well, the nVidia GTS 450 is a fine choice.
Not quite as good as the Radeon HD 5770, but is also a little cheaper.

I think it's also the cheapest "fully featured" nVidia card out there.
Just as a point of comparison to the GT220, it will benchmark approximately 3 times as fast, as well as being fully DX11 compatible.

I'm not sure what price you can get on it (where you are), but at a guess, maybe $135 or so?
I dunno about you, but I'd be happy with +50% the price for +200% performance.

 

[Tony2077]

will the cpu or anything else affect what cards i can use?

 

[Danceofmasks]

will the cpu or anything else affect what cards i can use?

Your motherboard is a primary concern.
Check what graphics slot it has.

 

[Nutcase]

will the cpu or anything else affect what cards i can use?

Power supply must be strong enough for the card you pick.
If CPU is too weak and ends up being the bottleneck, a part of the card's strength is wasted, but obviously this is not as serious. At this point having less than 4GB of memory is inadvisable as well, and would definitely bottleneck.

One more thing: if your Windows is a 32-bit version, graphics card memory cuts into your usable main memory (which is hard capped at 4GB). So unless your Windows is 64-bit, don't buy graphics cards with over 1GB memory, because you'd then have less than 3GB usable main memory.

 

[Tony2077]

cpu intel core2 cpu 6400 2.13ghz
ram 2gb
vista 32 bit

 

[Tony2077]

I'm not sure what my motherboard can handle I'm not that smart

 

[Danceofmasks]

Oh!
By that I take it you no longer have the motherboard manual ...

Hmm .. easiest way to find out is with an utility called CPU-Z
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Install it, run it, click on mainboard.
(then you can google the model number for specs)

If I have to hazard a guess, though .. since your cpu is a core 2, your motherboard probably has a PCI-express 2.0 x16 slot.
Should always check to be sure, though.

Oh, and as Nutcase says, your power supply may be inadequate.
This is trickier to check, since you'd usually have to look inside your PC.

 

[Tony2077]

Oh!
By that I take it you no longer have the motherboard manual ...

Hmm .. easiest way to find out is with an utility called CPU-Z
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Install it, run it, click on mainboard.
(then you can google the model number for specs)

If I have to hazard a guess, though .. since your cpu is a core 2, your motherboard probably has a PCI-express 2.0 x16 slot.
Should always check to be sure, though.

Oh, and as Nutcase says, your power supply may be inadequate.
This is trickier to check, since you'd usually have to look inside your PC.

where would i look in there?

 

[Danceofmasks]

The power supply is the box the power cable connects to (from the outside).
If you're really lucky, there will be a sticker on the outside of your PC.
If you're lucky, a sticker with the specs is immediately visible by removing one panel of the case.
If you're not so lucky, you may have to unscrew the power supply and rotate it.

 

[Tony2077]

dell owg855 hard to find any info and the power thing is hard to understand

 

[Tony2077]

volt watts not very helpful when you don't know what the conversion stuff is

 

[Tony2077]

cpu intel core2 cpu 6400 2.13ghz
ram 2gb
vista 32 bit

Crysis 2 minimum system requirements

* Operating system: Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, with the latest Service Pack
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo at 2Ghz, or AMD Athlon 64 x2 2Ghz, or better
* Memory: 2Gb (Vista requires 3Gb)
* Hard disk space: 9Gb
* Video: NVidia 8800GT with 512Mb RAM, ATI 3850HD with 512Mb RAM, or better
* Sound: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
* DirectX: 9.0c
* Controller support? Microsoft Xbox360 Controller for Windows
* Any special multiplayer requirements? Internet Connection Required
* Internet connection also required for a one-time authorization when the game installed/first run.

There ya go. Gonna have to upgrade your RAM and spend around $90 on a video card to run Crysis 2 on the lowest settings. And even then I can't guarantee you'll get very good frame rates...your processor will probably be screaming bloody murder.

according to the info for the card i have i won't need to upgrade anything else other then the graphics card but I'm waiting for my dad to talk to a friend from work who knows computer tech

 

[Danceofmasks]

Is that a Dell Dimension 9200?

The OWG855 motherboard can run the latest graphics cards, but bad news on the power supply.
Dell computers tend not to have chunky PSUs.

Good idea to talk to someone in person who is tech savvy, too.

Once you have a few video cards on a short list, it might be a good idea to call up Dell and ask them about an upgraded power supply.
I'm sure they replace a lot of PSUs anyway (power supply failure is one of the most common problems).

 

[Tony2077]

Is that a Dell Dimension 9200?

The OWG855 motherboard can run the latest graphics cards, but bad news on the power supply.
Dell computers tend not to have chunky PSUs.

Good idea to talk to someone in person who is tech savvy, too.

Once you have a few video cards on a short list, it might be a good idea to call up Dell and ask them about an upgraded power supply.
I'm sure they replace a lot of PSUs anyway (power supply failure is one of the most common problems).

it is a 9200 and i have to wait till Thursday to decide on anything. power supply seems easier then anything to replace and maybe cheaper. i read the info on the power supply and don't understand it

 

[Tony2077]

cpu intel core2 cpu 6400 2.13ghz
ram 2gb
vista 32 bit

Crysis 2 minimum system requirements

* Operating system: Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, with the latest Service Pack
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo at 2Ghz, or AMD Athlon 64 x2 2Ghz, or better
* Memory: 2Gb (Vista requires 3Gb)
* Hard disk space: 9Gb
* Video: NVidia 8800GT with 512Mb RAM, ATI 3850HD with 512Mb RAM, or better
* Sound: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
* DirectX: 9.0c
* Controller support? Microsoft Xbox360 Controller for Windows
* Any special multiplayer requirements? Internet Connection Required
* Internet connection also required for a one-time authorization when the game installed/first run.

There ya go. Gonna have to upgrade your RAM and spend around $90 on a video card to run Crysis 2 on the lowest settings. And even then I can't guarantee you'll get very good frame rates...your processor will probably be screaming bloody murder.

according to the info for the card i have i won't need to upgrade anything else other then the graphics card but I'm waiting for my dad to talk to a friend from work who knows computer tech

You said you have Vista, which requires 3GB of RAM to run Crysis 2, as opposed to 2GB for other OSes.

as long as it loads and can play at a decent pace i'll be fine if not ram is getting upgraded.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

If you want a reasonably dependable and comparatively cheap Nvidia card go for something like the 460.