Someone help me find compatible Video cards?

Right now im currently using a Junky Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT card, with a measly 256MB, and i cant even play games outdated from a few years ago such as "Dungeons Runners" without experiencing huge lagg. My frames instantly Drop from 60 to 30-40 whenever Anything including a group of monsters came onscreen and when i use slightly graphical demanding skills, my frames will drop as low as 20 in a matter of seconds. the Reccomended specs for this game is windows XP, 800 Hz if that gives a little insight on how easy it should be for my comp to play this game.

Heres the comp:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/e...3158-12133158-12133158-81959348-81979614.html

Here are my specs.

Processor:
2.20 gigahertz AMD Phenom 9500 Quad-Core
256 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (4 total)
Not hyper-threaded

Main Circuit Board:
Board: ECS Nettle3 2.1
Bus Clock: 201 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 5.14 03/25/2008

Display:
NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT [Display adapter]
HP w2207 [Monitor] (22.0"vis, s/n CND8082374, February 2008)

All that information comes from a program called "Belarc Advisor". If anyone can help me by telling me what graphics cards would be compatible with my system i would be very greatful. Also any other insight as to why my computer has such a hard time processing these outdated graphics would be helpful. So far after asking most people who play the game, they all state to have no issues with low/dropping FPS, and all of them have a 512MB or better card, which is what leads me to believe that the card is my problem. (that and the fact i have horrible load times on any 3D game out there)

Edit: Im running Vista Home Premium 32-Bit if that matters.

 

Hey jeremy welcome to MG

Am i missing a trick or is your ram not listed there? : D

How much has it got?

Q

 

Oh im Sorry, my ram is 3Gigs, heres the specifics.

Memory Modules:
3070 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

Slot 'A0' has 512 MB
Slot 'A2' has 512 MB
Slot 'A4' has 1024 MB
Slot 'A6' has 1024 MB

I really doubt RAM is the issue here...especialy for this particular game..

 

Yeah 3GB is plenty


And im sorry but im unable to find anything for you

Im sure somone much geekier than me will come along shortly and help you out though

For such issues i pop into my local 'puter shop with the part i wanna replace and full specs [or even the computer itself if im feeling cheeky] and pick ther brains.

Q

 

well how about this card...
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_275_us.html?startgom=1

It says under the Specifications that it supports Pci-e 2.0 and i believe my computer has Pci-e 2.0 x 16 or just Pci-e x 16, i have no idea T_T

but i THINK it would fit, and it looks like excellent quality for only 200$ish T_T

 

I dont know mate :\

But it's not just be a case of what is compatable you want to get the best you can eh?

Q

 

Yeah but still that card is great, its a lot better than mine for sure, and at 200$ its a huge improvement for little cost... i mean the next best thing up from that is 400$+... and the one after that i know i cant run, its 600$ and requires SLI-support, its a dual GFX card i think.

But yeah teh one i just sent, i dont know if it would work.. it says PCI-e 2.0 is supported... but under dimensions it says its a "Dual-Slot" in width...

Im pretty sure my computer is 100% compatible with the GeForce 9800 GT which is still pretty damn good... and only 100$...

Yeah i do wanna get whats best your right, but i dont even know what works Period.. i have no knowledge on this stuff, which is why i came to ask people who do. I mean how can i even tell which cards are compatible with my Motherboard? let alone which is the best one for my current unit...

 

Just hang tight

Somone will come in and set you straight on what can be used and what is good for your price range.

You just have to wait till one of the gamers puts the mouse down and notices your thread :lol:

 

Well... after some research i believe my computer to have 1 PCI-e x16 slot (not 2.0). I learned that PCI-e 2.0 cards are backwards compatable with PCI-e so any card i get that is compatible with PCI-e 2.0 x16 should work right?

also i read that my slot being 1.0 it will only work at the maximum capabilities of PCI-e 1.0 and not 2.0, is this true also?

Im which case what is the point of even getting a new graphics card if it cant even run at its full power? i should jsut get a new Mobo cause apparently my comp is crap..

 

the pci 2.0's are backwards compatible. my card is pci-express 2.0 but my mobo is 1.0 and I don't notice the difference, I run everything these days, im using an 8800GT 512MB card looking for a really really good solid card, for cheap enough, look towards the ATI 4XXX series.
cheap and powerful

ATI 4850

amazingly powerful, and for 100 quid, cannot go wrong.
also, the memory thing could be set up wrong. On your mobo, check that slots 1 and 3 have the 1024MB sticks , and that slots 2 and 4 have the 512MB sticks. Ram is so cheap these days taht even 2GB of ram would only set you back about 30-40 dollars, get it the same as the first 2GB that you have installed for optimum performance. hope I've helped


EDIT:
actually, how much you looking to spend on the card? roughly, say to the higehst hundred. and what kind of games are you running? if you're looking for running future games then you may want to consider buying a new mobo, with fresh ram and a fresh GFX card, but I'd keep the phenom tbh. and install it all yourself. you could do really really well for like 500 euro, whatever that is in dollars (im in ireland) if you wanted to.

 

You should check the wattage of your power supply and then report back to us so we can find a good video card for you. I don't think a GTX 275 would fit in your case as it's 10.5" long and also I don't think your PSU in the hp case could handle it.

A 9800 GT I say would be a good choice if it fits and your PSU can handle it.

Here is a 9800gt

EDIT: I did some research and your PC has a 300 Watt power supply. It wouldn't be enough to run a 9800GT Safely. You will most likely need to upgrade your PSU to 400-450 Watt.

 

Unfortunetly it looks like your right,the 275 might be too big and i only got a power supply of 300W i believe. it sais "DC Output: 300W" and "CONTINOUS TOTAL DC POWER OUTPUT SHALL NOT EXCEED 300W"

so what do i do?

 

I'm pretty sure the GTX 275 is to big. I think the 9800GT would fit but I would check to be safe.

For the power you would need to upgrade your PSU. You may have to contact HP to ask for power supplies. Sometimes they have odd power supply's that aren't a normal size.

 

my power supply i have now wont cut it for a 9800GT?

 

It may work I've herd of people running 9800 GT's on 300 watt but then a few months later there 9800gt and psu died.

It's just not a good idea you can damage your stuff by overloading your PSU.

 

so i can remove my old power supply and add a new one without changing the Mobo or anything else? and how costly are they?

 

You could But you should contact HP and ask for the size of your power supply. Like I said before they sometimes have odd shaped power supplies.

They cost around 40-60 for 400-450 watts I would say.

 

so if i fork over the cash for the power supply, what kind of GT am i looking at? i mean i wanna get the best i can thats gonna fit in there, and i heard there are some decent 9600 GTs out there too.

Some person i had messaged in a game today said she was running a 9600 GT she picked up for 70$, it had 512MB or DDR# memory and she could play fallout 3 and other such games at max settings and had no snags, max FPS.

so what kind of card can i get that will fit my dimensions? (i.e that is the same size as the 8500 GT)

also is it more worth it with my specs to get 512 DDR3 memory or 1GB of DDR2 memory?

 

I would get a 9800GT with GDDR3 for 100 as it's better then the 9600 GT.

I would get a new PSU also.

They do have a 1 GB 9800GT for 130 which is more memory but i'm not sure if it's GDDR3 or 2

Edit:

It is GDDR3

GDDR3 is faster then GDDR2 and GDDR

 

Are there even any games that i can play with my specs that would make use of 1 gig of DDR3? or would it be best to save the money and stick with the 512 mb of DDR3? Keep in mind im only going to be playing games such as Fallout 3 in quality.

If getting the 1GB of DDR3 can keep my Frames even higher ill fork the cash over (depending on the price)

And by "get a new PSU" what do you mean? what exactly is the PSU again? the Mobo? or the Processor? or what?

 

PSU = Power Supply Unit

With more graphics memory it means that games can have higher quality textures and stuff however not many games use all the memory. It's a good to have if you want to play newer games.

Here is some links

9800GT 512 MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130435
9800GT 1 GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130440

 

Newer games meaning? i dont wanna play Crysis O-O i wanna be able to play some games from the 360/PS3 like Fallout/Oblivion and games like The Witcher. Ill probably get the 1 Gig anyways.

So the 1gig 9800 GT will require how much power you think? 450w max? also where can i get a 1gig 9800 GT? im looking on Newegg right now at some models, any you reccomend?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130440

I use a Evga 9800 GT 512 MB and it works good.

You could go Evga

 

Is that beast gonna fit in my case?

 

I think it would But I would check to make sure

It's 9" long

 

where can i find the dimensions on my card? 8500 GT

 

Do you have a measuring tape?

 

man i jsut closed it after checking my PSU Watt output..
there arent dimensions online somewhere? T_T

 

my card is about 7 inches -_-

 

I don't think you can find you psu dimensions online.

The 8500 GT may be fond somewhere

 

The 9800GT is two inches longer.

 

I found the exact dimensions online. Here.

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Jaton_NVIDIA_GeForce_8500GT_PCIE/VIDEO-PX8500GT-512/p/1529845

6.8 in x 4.3 in

 

This dimension crap is really starting to tick me off. is there any way i can shift my Mobo over or get more space?

 

Here is the weird thing. I am running Dungeon Runners on similar specs with no problems. So if you can find an nVidia 7800GS on eBay you can run that game just fine in your system. Or you night need a more detailed solution...

I'm Khazandra from /noob btw. Nice to meet you

Oh, and as per your request, I have my current system in a CoolerMaster Centurion 5. Look for it on Newegg.

 

lol nice to meet you too xD i wanna upgrade for more than Dungeon runners. id like to be able to play some of the Microsoft games like Fallout3 and Oblivion on my comp. And i wanna play the Witcher for once with a FPS higher than 15 -_-. im just gonna upgrade my PSU/GFX Card/Case for now i think, and ill work my way around after that.

Please reccomend some large cases to me and directions on how to find HP PSU's!

 

IF you are going to move your pc to a new case then you should be able to use any standard power supply.

 

with the exception of the 9800GX2, the 9XXX series were pish. my 8800GT outperforms them all bar the 9800GX2. I would look at a GTX275 if you were gonna go for nvidia, but I think the best idea would be an ATI card (amd btw, im a nVidia fanboy) if you have cash to burn though, go for a GTX275

 

GTX275 is an awesome card but not everybody needs it.

What's your budget for this upgrade?

 

I may be wrong as i dont know much about graphics cards, but i read the specs on both and both the core clock speed/process clock speed on the 9800 vs the 275 are relatively the same, same with the texture fill rate. the power supply is substantialy lower in cost for the 9800 compared to the 275.

So i dont know if im wrong but if all this is corrent, doesnt that make the 1GB/DDR3 EVGA 9800 GT the better choice here, especialy for the cost of $135.00 compared to $200-$220 for the GTX 275?

 

Well my budget WAS 100-200 for a Card when i first started out, i didnt want anything top of the line, if i can play The Witcher on full specs at 60FPS ill be satisfied with my GFX card.

But it appears to me that i need to increase that budget for a new Tower and PSU.

 

The GTX 275 as it's newer and better GPU so it's faster but it costs more.

 

You said to me last night i believe that the 1GB/DDR3 EVGA 9800 GT would be more than enough to get 60 FPS on maximum settings on all the games im interested in, correct? (Stuff from windows games like Fallout3, Oblivion, The Witcher, Titan Quest, Sacred 2, Etc)

 

Yes also if you are going to move your pc to a new case that would mean you have to take out the motherboard and stuff.

New case video card and PSU would cost about $230 from what I put in a newegg cart.

 

What do you mean by take out? i need to get a NEW motherboard? o.o

 

No you have to disassemble your pc and put all the components in your new case.

 

Oh, i already knew that, dont scare me like that XDDDDDD

Btw, what Case/PSU/Card did you put in your bin?

Also i sent the post but you didnt answer, i asked wouldnt the 1gb ddr3 evga 9800 GT suffice for playing those games i want on the highest settings at 60FPS? (the witcher, fallout 3, titan quest, oblivion, etc)

 

9800 cards arent good. Full stop. The GX2 is a beast but I odnt know where to get one, and its outperformed anyway. if you're going nVidia, go for a GTX275. if not, spend 100 quid on an ATI HD4850, and be blown away

 

I think it would max in all games except fallout 3. I'm not sure sure if you could max it out in Fallout 3. And about the etc. what other games did you have in mind?

Here is what I put in the cart

NZXT Beta Series CS-NT-BETA-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

EVGA 01G-P3-N981-TR GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ400SXS 400W ATX12V Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

 

Well Fallout 3 would probably be the height of what i would use my card for. All other games i would like to play are from before Fallout 3 i would assume, such as Lineage 2, Dungeon Runners, and so on. none of the games i wanna play are after Fallout 3 i dont believe, Unless you can name of some sweet RPG's or Action games that came out since Fallout 3 that are more graphicaly demanding? (Btw what im really interested in playing at this moment is The Witcher so if i can get 60FPS of max settings for that, then thats just gravy.)

Perhaps it would be better if you reccomended the best card i could get for my single PCI-e x 16 slotted comp? an nVidia prefferably, cuse i would love to get max settings and 60FPS on fallout.

 

How much you want to spend on it?