Need new GFX card, don't know what to choose

[UK31337]

Hi folks,

I just got BF2 today (off the shelf for £29.99 - surprised it wasn't sold out completely), and I've only got one thing to say.

Yes, that GeForce FX5200 (256Mb, AGP 8x) of mine is going in the bin. I've had enough, I can't get decent graphics out of MS Paint with it. Playing games with the graphics turned up to anything like good just kills my system and makes it choppy as hell.

My rig is 18 months old, with a 3.2 Ghz P4 HTT and 512 Mb DDR, so it's pretty good really. But I can't get sustained good performance out of Rome Total War, BF1942 on Max graphics, BF Vietnam on medium, and playing my newly bought BF2 on anything above Low on 800x600 causes it to be unplayably choppy or crash completely to the desktop. It runs smoothly at that, but the graphics blow - they're embarrasing.

So I'm looking into replacing it (and maybe upping my RAM to 1024Mb whilst I'm at it). I don't know what to look for in a GFX card, or what ones to go for. I want to stick with nVidia though, because my system's already set up to use nVidia cards and drivers, and I trust them.

I saw the 6600GT, which looks pretty good. I hear the price is going down when the 7800 comes out. But there's also the 6800, and this and that and I'm not too sure what to go for.

http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/sbs/111601/14091636.html looks alright, but as I say, I don't know what to look for.

Does memory size make any difference, or what? I'm clueless. Could somebody please make a few recommendations and clear this up for me, perhaps explaining a little bit about what I should be looking for?

Thanks in advance.

 

[combatc87]

Hey, at least you can play BF2. My 4200 ti card isn't even supported, although my rig is 4 years old, so it's past its prime. That 6800 is a good card. It's still on the high end of cards. I would wait to see if the price goes down, because I wouldn't be surprised if it did. If you have the money, get a 7800. It'll last you for a long time (like my 4200 ti has, still plays Half-Life 2 with respectale quality). Memory size is an important thing, but the 7800 and Radeon's x850 are both 256mb cards, so it's more the processor clock speed and the technology of the graphics programs that make the biggest difference. A lot of the top end cards have hit a point where they are being CPU limited in some games. Go with the best you can afford, but I doubt you'll be disappointed with the 6800gt or even the ultra.

 

[Kage]

Yeah, i'd say go with the 6800GT or Ultra if you can afford it, or if not, get the 6600GT which should still last you a pretty long time at standard settings (dont try shoving the res's right up with this card), and any of these will definietly speed games up over that poor 5200 card you have now which has trouble playing Direct X-9 games at the best of times

So it depends which you can afford. If you can afford the 6800 Ultra without breaking the bank, go for it, as you know its going to last you a long time, and probably longer (if you play at standard settings) than a couple of years or maybe even 3 until you start getting choppy frame rates.

I'm not sure though, but I think malbuc87uk would have an AGP motherboard, am I right, and not PCI-E? In that case, I don't even think its possible to get the 7800 in any form, though i'd wait until the prices drop anyway to tell the truth, and get yourself a nice 6800 Ultra instead if you could afford this card

And that card in teh link is a 6600GT so is a good card if this is the amount you can afford, and will still last you quite a bit of time

I hope this helps

 

[lurkswithin]

That 6800gt is the way to go for AGP graphics. Nvidia interfaced the PCI-e to agp on this card and it screams.
read all about it:
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1755/

 

[rdcmmnst]

if you have the money and you want to nvidia then the 6800gt is the way or you can go with ati graphics one of these Radeon X700PRO, X800XL, X850XT, X850XT PE

 

[Kage]

Yeah I agree.
If you have the money, defineitly go with the 6800 series in some shape or form.

Ultra is better than GT for example, with Ultra being the highest spec of the card

 

[winterfreshpwnz]

Well obviously go for the 6800 GT or Ultra if you can afford it, but if not the 6600 GT will get you great frames and last you awhile.

 

[Kage]

Yeah, that is definietly true. I only play games at standard settings, and that would be a perfect card for me.

 

[alvino]

if you have the money and you want to nvidia then the 6800gt is the way or you can go with ati graphics one of these Radeon X700PRO, X800XL, X850XT, X850XT PE

For nVIDIA the best for your money is the 6800 GT because it's fast and you can easily overclock it past 6800 Ultra speeds. For ATI, go with the X800XL. It's ATI's version of the 6800 GT. NEVER, EVER go with the X700 Pro. It's a P.O.S. that gets it's sorry a$$ owned by the 6600 GT.

 

[ExGamer]

lol 6600gt...XFX works great SCREAMZ! lol let me put it this was...got 500 03 marks with my 5200 and with ym 6600gt i GOT 8000 lol(close to it 7000 sumtin sumtin) good enuff and with the money i saved...illl get a new one ina few years