Which graphics card should i get?

[Kratenser]

Ok at the moment my computer is using a Nvidia 8500 GT graphics card. Its alright for most things, but randomly fails every now or then. Sometimes my screen turns purple for a few seconds (tested with multiple monitors to check. Recently, games im playing will suddenly drop the framerate, a LOT. While im sure this is the drivers failing, im now feeling inclined to get a new graphics card.

I play a lot of games with amazing graphics (oblivion, sacred 2 etc) and i want to play them using standard graphic settings, instead of having to set everything to low because my card wont power it or whatever.

So erm, any suggestions?
I cant afford anything expensive, £100 is my budget really.

 

[fullbleed]

Aria tech is your friend, they do daily special offers on all sorts of tech. But what are the rest of your machine's specs? You might need to upgrade more than just your Graphics card if you want to play more games.

http://www.aria.co.uk/

To be honest it's been ages since I upgraded my card so I'm not sure what's good these days, if it's around £100 you ussually know it'll be alright.

I think as a rule though only buy an ATI card if it goes *870 or *850.

 

[deadxero]

For a budget card, go with the ATI 5670 HD. Cheep solid performance ( I run Starcraft 2 on high and never drop below 35-40 fps). It's also an efficient card. The best ATI card you can get without dedicated power. It also supports Direct X 11.

 

[1blackone]

Im no computer whiz, but if i had only 100£, id go with the Nvidia GT220

Its like 120 US dollars and it runs Source games on max settings...


A rig is only as fast as the ram and chip. so you shouldn't expect a huge increase in fps if all you're doing is changing your card.

EDIT Wow they dropped the price again its only 79.99. the only thing negative about it is that it only supports up to directx 10.1

 

[Kratenser]

erm, where can i find my system speccs?

 

[1blackone]

erm, where can i find my system speccs?

People need to know what OS you're running. if its Windows, in general you go to Start>Settings then/or Control Panel>System

 

[Uncreation]

For a budget card, go with the ATI 5670 HD. Cheep solid performance ( I run Starcraft 2 on high and never drop below 35-40 fps). It's also an efficient card. The best ATI card you can get without dedicated power. It also supports Direct X 11.

Hey, i just got this very card for my pc about a week or so ago. I haven't gotten to put it to some serios tests yet (like running some more demanding games, or other such), but, yes, it looks to be ok. And yes, it was not very expensive. I think it was about 100£, or maybe a bit less, in my country's currency.

 

[fullbleed]

This is a great website for finding your machine's specs and what it's capabale of.

http://cyri.systemrequirementslab.com/CYRI/

 

[Kratenser]

found em!
Time of this report: 9/30/2010, 18:00:21
Operating System: Windows Vista? Ultimate (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.100608-0458)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Packard Bell BV
System Model: IMEDIA MC 2770
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 2279MB used, 2057MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode

 

[EmoDan]

id pick up a 5770 if you have a cex nearby they sell for for 85quid and if you have any issues theyll swap it or refund it

5770 is a beast of a card for the price

and while your at cex see if you can grab some ddr2 as 2gb is abit low for windows vista youll see a massive improvement upgrading your ram if your using 2x 1gb sticks atm and have 4 ram slots aim for 4x1gb so you can have dual chan still if you have only 1 2gb stick grab another

 

[SpAc3man]

Absolute best bang for your buck card atm is nVidia GTX 460. Performance wise its between ATIs 5850 and 5870 and its cheaper than a 5850 too. If you cant afford that then an ATI 5770 is the next best bang for buck.