Graphics card bewilderment

Hi all,

I'm afraid I've searched, checked and double-searched but cannot find an answer to the question that's been plaguing me for months as I choose a new PC. I was going to buy a PC and just fit it with my own graphics card but I was told recently that you invalidate your warranty if you put in a graphics card yourself...but how do you get a PC with a decent graphics card these days that's not going to cost the earth?

I was looking for a PC that was good enough by today's standards but which wasn't any worse when it comes to gaming. However, all PC packages that were previously within my price range (decent ones always seemed to be around £400) seem to come with integrated graphics only...which are crap, or so I repeatedly hear.

I originally had a Radeon 9550 (256MB) but currently have a Geforce 6800 GS/XT with 512MB memory which didn't set me back much at all. The problem is that I think my crappy PC has somehow contrived to screw it up so that there are very distracting (albeit still playable) graphics glitches. I installed it on my PC which is now five years old and originally cost around £400. It's an Intel Celeron (single core) 2.8Ghz with SDRAM upgraded to 1.5GB. I'd be better off with a new graphics card but I have no real desire to get a better one as I'm not a hardcore gamer.

I'd be happy with a half-decent dual core that has graphics about the same as my own (it's my PC itself that is too glitchy to tolerate anymore) but all graphics cards that come in the packages seem to be utter crap! However, after extensive shopping around, I've found bundles that contain some dedicated graphics cards.

Could someone please let me know if any of these match up to my Geforce 6800 GS/XT 512MB because I can't find reliable information that matches these up anywhere:

NVIDIA® GeForce 9200 (as advertised here: http://www.dixons.co.uk/gbuk/acer-a...c-20-monitor-04820891-pdt.html#tab-tech-specs )
NVIDIA® GeForce® 6150 SE (as advertised here: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-g5120uk-06318540-pdt.html )
Alternatively, PCSpecialist seem to have the likes of ATI RADEON HD4350 up to HD5770 and Geforce 210 and GT220 up to GTS250 although many of these are stretching my budget.

I've searched through PC Advisor, graphics card hierarchies, articles and reviews but can either not find them or can't make sense of the data. Please help!

 

The Nvidia 9200 and 6150 are both onboard chips. The 6150 would be a step backwards from your current dedicated 6800, and the 9200 would likely be equivalent if for only that it is considerably more modern despite being integrated.

Of the two systems you linked, the Acer is without a doubt the better of the 2 systems for the price.

What you need out of your PC depends on what you use it for. I gather from your post that you do play games but you're not a "hardcore gamer"- what kind of games do you like to play? If you are playing older games that are easily handled by your current card, the Acer would offer you a faster cpu and a healthy memory upgrade while still being able to play those games. If you want to play anything that's come out in the last few years with decent settings, I would strongly recommend you choose a machine with a dedicated graphics card.

You say your current system is acting buggy. Have you formatted, defragged, or cleaned your system recently? Also, find your motherboard specs (or post the info you see about it with Everest here). It's very possible that you could cheaply get the performance you want out of your current machine with a little bit of maintenance and upgrading, assuming you are not looking to play modern games on high settings without a hitch.

As to the ATI series 5000 and Nvidia series 200 cards you listed, since neither of the systems you linked offer any information as to the power supply unit offered with the machine, there's no telling whether they could run them or not, but I'd err on the skeptical side there and say probably not without an upgraded psu.

The Acer would not be a bad system for the price, and capable of handling modern games on decent settings if you added something like a 9800GT aftermarket, if that is what you're looking for.

 

Thanks ScoobySnack!

I still don't see how it's so expensive to get a new PC when the one I'm running now isn't so bad in terms of the specs (and certainly appears to have a better graphics card) and cost less than this over five years ago!

What is it with these PC companies? Have they just decided to charge what they like? If you need a good power pack to run a good graphics card then how is it that my own cranky old PC is able to run a graphics card that's actually better? Why can't they package a decent one in there without calling it a 'gaming PC' and boosting the price towards the thousands?

Anyway, I don't expect I'll get a decent answer to that one but I smell something distinctly fishy...and putrid!

As for my PC issue, I've long since given up trying to solve it. It comes up time and again and baffles everyone I ask and every piece of advice I follow. Basically, it's a bluescreen error resulting from a device or driver and it causes the PC to shut down and reboot itself at random moments. This is coupled with moments of freezing or shutting down programs for no apparent reason due to some seemingly invented fault. Sometimes when I boot it up, it takes about four or five attempts before I get to a functioning desktop. It's quirky though because I sometimes get a full day's continuous work done on it. Now it might well be that it is indeed my graphics card that is causing it but, having run recommended diagnostics, nothing ever seems to be found to be at fault. Believe me, it's consumed many days of my life trying to find it!

As a response, I've formatted, defragged, cleaned, gone back to factory settings, rebooted from discs and generally given the whole system a complete overhaul. Whenever I have done a complete reformat (which took at least two days of intensive file-shifting and whatnot to do and then to get back to normal) it has been back to normal for about a week before kicking in again...and I've done that three times! So no. I'm sick of it and want something new even though I get the impression that Microsoft have done me over a barrel!

The power supply for the PCSpecialist kit is listed as '350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan'. Is that any good?

I'd go with Mesh (whose complete systems have great specs) but I get put off every time by people utterly condemning their customer service.

 

Didn't see the specs for that machine so couldn't say for certain, and aside from that it also depends on who makes the supply, efficiency, and output amperage on the rails. The 9800GT I linked earlier has a minimum recommended 350W psu, so if you were going to be putting that or an equivalent card in the system, you would need to upgrade the psu as well.