Well I want nice looking games

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:19 am

So I've recently started using my PC for gaming more than usual and am liking it soooo much more than my xbox. But I am tired of having to scale down games becuase of my graphics card. I would consider my computer pretty nice (specs at bottom). So I'm in the market for a new graphics card. Im thinking a max of about $300. Some features that would be nice but not needed is tv-out and dual monitior support.
Ok here are the specs.
2gb Ram
2.6ghz dual core intel processor
300gb harddrive
a terrible onboard graphics card

lifeisbetterwithketchup · Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:48 am

You can pick up an 8800GTS (G92) on newegg for $200 after rebates.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130325

Harshboy · Post by **Harshboy** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:40 am

How good is your PSU. Can you give us the Watts?

A crappy PSU limits your graphics upgrades (My 350W limits me to a 8600 GT)

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:50 pm

Well mine seems to be only 300watts. But I'm interested enough to get a new psu and fans. Here is it on tiger direct with all of the specifications. I'd probably be willing to spend another $100 on psu and fan upgrades. Would this work in my case. I'm thinking of getting fans that cool my system and it would be nice if they weren't loud.

Ben Cebhrem · Post by **Ben Cebhrem** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:29 pm

I'm currently using the 300w version of this to power my 7900 GS (just one, and the PSU is a SLI version), and just kept my stock case PSU myself. It's held up for a year now, and is probably the quietest part of my case, despite the fact that it holds a 40mm fan.

For quiet cooling in general, see if you can use a fan adapter duct to attach 120mm fans to places meant for 80mm. Placing them on the outside of the case usually works, unless you care for aesthetics or it makes panel removal tricky. If I do that myself (and I do on one computer, a Shuttle), I route the wires in through the fan duct adapter. By upgrading to a larger fan, you can substitute for a slower fan, thereby lowering noise while pushing about the same amount of air as a smaller one.

Post by **bicostp** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:22 pm

I've got a Radeon HD 2600 Pro running on a 450 watt PSU with 2 hard drives, a DVD burner, several fans, and a Celery, with no problems.

The 2600 isn't a bad card considering it was only $60 after rebates. (After that the price went back up because Visiontek more or less fixed their drivers.) It's taken anything I've thrown at it. Look into one, or the new Radeon HD series. Apparently the newest one (4000-something?) is competitive with nVidia cards that go for twice as much.

Dr. KillGood · Post by **Dr. KillGood** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:31 pm

Get the 8000GT it is the best cad for the price as of now.

It will play ANYTHING!

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:12 am

So do I need a new PSU? Also I can't seem to find the fan adapters that CFC Fodder mentioned can someone help me?

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:00 pm

Ben Cebhrem · Post by **Ben Cebhrem** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:15 pm

I would reccomend a new PSU, if only to allow for a cooler PSU; likely a mostly top end PSU won't be able to operate within peak efficiency, and so use tons of power and output a lot of heat in the process (not to mention making supplied power unstable in the process).

I couldn't find any adapters on Newegg, but there's a page on FrozenCPU that show what I was talking about at least. Odd that Newegg doesn't have it, but hey, whatever.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:31 am

I'd have to agree, you don't want the draw on the PSU to cause either a black-out of a brown-out on your system. Better to spend the extra money and be safe.