As I'm getting back into gaming somewhat after a fairly long absence, I'm finding that I can't actually run a lot of games. Either they won't run at all (Dragon's Prophet) or they're so slow they're unusable. I think I have a reasonably powerful computer, so I'm guessing the hang-up is my video card. I want to get a new one, but I have no idea how to choose other than I can't afford an expensive one.
I currently have an Dell nVidia GeForce 7300 LE
Based solely on one random review, I'm eying
this card as a replacement. It's about in the price range I'm looking for.
Here's some other information about my computer:
OS Name: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
System Type: x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU: 950 @ 3.07GHz, 3068 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM): 12.0 GB
I'm tired of running STO in a little window at near-minimum graphic settings. Any suggestions?
Comments
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130827
MY FLEET:http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=498091
How do you tell how good a video card is?
One thing to bear in mind is the wattage and reliability of your power supply. If it came with your machine than it is likely a weak POS designed to barely have the power to run the parts the machine was preconfigured to operate. If so, a video card that calls for additional power connectors might be a problem, potentially requiring you to get another power supply. You might also want to look into your actual case before buying anything to make sure your machine has the room for a two slot card as well. If you don't, or you feel your power supply isn't up to the task of feeding reliable volts to a video card's additional power connectors, than a single slot 7750 might be a better fit.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131481
Unlike most video cards, it takes up only a single slot and gets all the power it needs right out of the socket.
Paired with a 6-core AMD I can run max graphics in most games. I bought my whole system for less than 800$ and get a great gaming performance out of it.
A midrange card usually has no problems driving games at lower resolutions though you may have to dial back some of the settings. Where you need maximum GPU power is for the high-end monitors (2560x1600 and up) and/or rocking dual monitors, etc.
I didn't even know monitors went to 2560x1600! Seems a bit excessive. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
At the moment I'm eying the EVGA GeForce GTX 650 that matchstick606 suggested.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130915