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Video cards

alexmakepeacealexmakepeace Member Posts: 10,633 Arc User
edited December 2013 in Ten Forward
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?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • rmxiiirmxiii Member Posts: 221 Arc User
    edited December 2013
  • matchstick606matchstick606 Member Posts: 233 Arc User
    edited December 2013
    they will cost more but imo nvidia gtx 650 or higher from evga. never had any problems with there cards and with a 650 your getting a good card but going higher helps.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130827
  • alexmakepeacealexmakepeace Member Posts: 10,633 Arc User
    edited December 2013
    Thanks, I'll check those out.

    How do you tell how good a video card is?
  • sonnikkusonnikku Member Posts: 77 Arc User
    edited December 2013
    Benchmarks. I'd suggest the 7770. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687

    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.
  • agnostic4agnostic4 Member Posts: 41 Arc User
    edited December 2013
    I've been running an Nvidia 650ti Boost. Looks great, works well and doesn't cost a fortune. I run with the 2gb version(169$) but the 1gb only runs about 129$ on Newegg.

    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.
  • steamwrightsteamwright Member Posts: 2,820
    edited December 2013
    Its been a bit since I last bought a vid card. At that time, there were problems with some of the MMOs in regards to performance from Radeon cards. Is that still an ongoing concern?
  • gfreeman98gfreeman98 Member Posts: 1,200 Arc User
    edited December 2013
    What matters most is what resolution the GPU is going to drive, which you didn't provide. More pixels requires more horsepower. After that, once an acceptable frame rate can be delivered at a given resolution, then the differentiator becomes texture size limits, the frame rates you can sustain with things like anti-aliasing, graphics effects and other eye candy turned up.

    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.
    screenshot_2015-03-01-resize4.png
  • alexmakepeacealexmakepeace Member Posts: 10,633 Arc User
    edited December 2013
    My monitor only goes up to 1600 x 900. I suppose I might eventually get a new monitor with a higher resolution, like 1920 x 1080.

    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.
  • gfreeman98gfreeman98 Member Posts: 1,200 Arc User
    edited December 2013
    Sure that'll work. If you're going for a 650, the 650ti is a lot better for only $10-20 more.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130915
    screenshot_2015-03-01-resize4.png
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