Graphics cards

Post by **Zarathustra** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:27 am

Upgrade time. I'm thinking of getting the FXF GeForce 8800 GT 512MB for around $250. It got an extremely good review in PC Mag back in December.

Any other suggestions? What are you guys running?

Currently, I don't have a graphics card at all. I've got a two-year-old Dell 5150 with a Pentium 4 processor running at 3 GHz, a gig of RAM, and a PCIe slot just begging for a graphics card.

I'm tired of playing 8-yr-old Quake III Arena, and would like to try out some new shooters. I'm really not sure which games I'd buy, but I want a card that can handle the best.

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:44 am

Malik23 wrote:Upgrade time. I'm thinking of getting the FXF GeForce 8800 GT 512MB for around $250. It got an extremely good review in PC Mag back in December.

Any other suggestions? What are you guys running?

Currently, I don't have a graphics card at all. I've got a two-year-old Dell 5150 with a Pentium 4 processor running at 3 GHz, a gig of RAM, and a PCIe slot just begging for a graphics card.

I'm tired of playing 8-yr-old Quake III Arena, and would like to try out some new shooters. I'm really not sure which games I'd buy, but I want a card that can handle the best.

Is it a PCIe x16 slot?

Anyway, I bought two HD2900xt 512MB cards and linked them to run as one. But the 8800 GT is a rather good card!

Post by **Zarathustra** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:50 am

Is it a PCIe x16 slot?

I was looking in device manager and system information, but I can't find it. I thought it was x16, but I'm not sure. How can I find out?

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:54 am

I think you go into BIOS to find that out.

Post by **Zarathustra** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:57 am

Anyway, I bought two HD2900xt 512MB cards and linked them to run as one.

Wow, I bet that's screamin' fast. I wish I could run a SLI configuration, but my motherboard is too old. What games do you play?

Post by **Loredoctor** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:57 am

Malik23 wrote:
Anyway, I bought two HD2900xt 512MB cards and linked them to run as one.
Wow, I bet that's screamin' fast. I wish I could run a SLI configuration, but my motherboard is too old. What games do you play?

I played Crysis and managed to get it to run damn well. I also play STALKER and Gears of War.

Post by **Zarathustra** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:36 am

I've been doing a bit of shopping, and the guy at Best Buy said that Crysis was designed specifically with the 8800 gt in mind (ran in SLI). Apparently, it's the most graphic-intensive game out there, right? I'm even more impressed with your setup. What resolution are you running? Do you have the highest settings for AA/AF?

Post by **Zarathustra** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:59 am

I just won an auction for this card (over clocked version) for 242 incl. shipping! I'm pleased. Now I need a power supply that will run it.
What kind of power supply do you have?

Post by **Loredoctor** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 2:20 am

Malik23 wrote:I've been doing a bit of shopping, and the guy at Best Buy said that Crysis was designed specifically with the 8800 gt in mind (ran in SLI). Apparently, it's the most graphic-intensive game out there, right? I'm even more impressed with your setup. What resolution are you running? Do you have the highest settings for AA/AF?

The highest resolution I can get it at is 1300 by 900 (I'm not sure if that's accurate), with 4xAA / full AF. Most of the settings are high, with two (water and post processing at Ultra).

Post by **Zarathustra** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:19 pm

I'm still searching for a power supply in the 500W-600W to make sure I have enough power to run this thing (I've got a 300W PS now). Will an ATX power supply fit a BTX case?

Post by **Loredoctor** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:45 pm

Malik23 wrote:I'm still searching for a power supply in the 500W-600W to make sure I have enough power to run this thing (I've got a 300W PS now). Will an ATX power supply fit a BTX case?

I hope this helps, Malik:

hardforum.com/archive/index.php/t-833643.html

Post by **Zarathustra** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:50 pm

Woo hoo! It came in the mail today. Damn what a deal . . . although I still can't believe I spent 50% of the total cost of my computer on a graphics card! I must be crazy. Oh well, I guess I'll be able to play games from this millennium now.

Now if I could just find the right PSU. . . on that note, I'm thinking about this one (if the seller will get back to me on whether it will fit my case or not). However, it seems too cheap to be true. Maybe I'm missing something. 680W for only $30??

Post by **Zarathustra** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:11 am

Well, thank god CompUSA is going out of business. I picked up a 550W Antec Truepower Trio for $80 (40% off) and was able to install both power supply and graphics card in the same night. This is a nice PSU; it's actually a lot more advanced that my system needs. I didn't realize how important PSUs were until I started researching. But this should supply stable, clean current to my power-hungry GPU, and future-proof me for a while.

Now I just need to find some games that will show it off. My old games don't do this system justice.

Post by **Loredoctor** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:27 am

Well done, Malik! Maybe some KWatchers should organise a games night.

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Graphics cards

Graphics cards

Re: Graphics cards