Decent upgrade for a Geforce 7 series card ?

[karthik316_1999]

Hello gaming enthusiasts...

I'm looking for a graphic upgrade on my 3 year old PC. Would help if you could suggest a decent (one to hold good for the next 2-3 years atleast) graphic card "suitable" to my current system config.

Technology never stops growing & they are things like gddr3/gddr5 in the market nowadays but im more interested in a card that would go well with my current system spec. (no idea of upgrading my mobo/CPU/RAM) .. hence I dont want my mobo, for eg. to be a bottleneck after installing a high end (or not-so-high end) card onto the PC ! (like driving a ferrari on a road crunched with traffic )

All that said, my PC runs on a Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice core CPU, Asus A8N-VM CSM mobo, 1 + .5 gb PC 3200 (200 Mhz) RAM modules, XFX Geforce 7600GS 256 MB PCI-E card.

I'm surprised that when trying to play some of the HD vidoes from the Digit DVD's.. the video lags sometimes ! Is my graphic card that very poor ?!

Would appreciate if you all can suggest me a 'good' card that would suit my present PC. Looking for a 70% increase in performance atleast :d budget.. I'm sure installing a high end on this 'bottlenecked' PC would not make sense ..so the right card should be somewhere around 6-7k?

Thanks for all the opinions

 

[mithun_mrg]

If only HD video play back is the issue get a 5450@2.4K that will accerate the videos on GPU if i am right getting a 6-7K modern Gen card will be a bottleneck for ur hardware

 

[kartikoli]

this board has passed a long time span [launched in 2005]

time to upgrade else dont waste money on this setup

 

[saswat23]

Spending 7k for GPU that to on a your old rig will surely bottleneck. IMO you should spend your 7k on upgrading your Processor + Motherboard + RAM.
For 7k you get:
CPU: AMD AthlonII X3 440 @ 3k
MoBo: Asus Asus M4A78LT-M LE @ 2.5k
RAM: Corsair Valur RAM 2GB DDR3 @ 1k
Total --- 6.5k

or get:
MoBo: MSI 880GM-E35 @ 3.5k
Total ---- 7.5k


The on-board graphics with the board will surely give much better performance than your current GPU IMO. And upgrading will bring you better graphics with a faster processor and faster RAM.

 

[coderunknown]

@karthik, time to upgrade the PC, not only the GPU. go with saswat's first suggestion. try to sell your current components & save a bit more and then invest in a graphics card, if you want to play games also.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Hi.. thank you all for your replies... but.. as i said .. I'm somehow not interested to change my cpu/mobo...
How about a GTX 460 ? I come to see that.. it is the best price - performance card from this series..
will installing it in my present computer really be such a huge joke ? (I'm not worried about the few nanoseconds of processing delay... )

n btw, HD videos are not only my concerns... also looking @ playing games like latest nfs series, crysis 2, etc..

Thanks again....

bump...

 

[Skud]

Your CPU would be a huge bottleneck for almost all the modern cards, trust me, even my e7400 can't keep up with the 6950. Your CPU would be a huge limiting factor.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Your CPU would be a huge bottleneck for almost all the modern cards, trust me, even my e7400 can't keep up with the 6950. Your CPU would be a huge limiting factor.

How does one validate that ? Meaning.. how do u really know that.. Is it that you get lags on games that actually should play easily on the 6950 ?

 

[saswat23]

Yes, you have clearly mentioned that..
So, better go for a new rig instead..

Your CPU can't handle 460 efficiently. Even if it does so, it will not be able to give the best performance. So, upgrading to a newer GPU with the old CPU will surely be a loss only.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Yes, you have clearly mentioned that..
So, better go for a new rig instead..

Your CPU can't handle 460 efficiently. Even if it does so, it will not be able to give the best performance. So, upgrading to a newer GPU with the old CPU will surely be a loss only.

hmm.. just spoke with my local computer dealer and he says I should not have any problem running the GTS 250 on my current config
he says the gpu is a processor by itself and it will work and stuff's like that....
he suggests me the zotac gts 250 @ 7k ......

 

[ajai5777]

hmm.. just spoke with my local computer dealer and he says I should not have any problem running the GTS 250 on my current config
he says the gpu is a processor by itself and it will work and stuff's like that....
he suggests me the zotac gts 250 @ 7k ......

He is correct GTS 250 will work but you wont be able to play any recent games even in the lowest settings.Your rig is simply outdated man, you cant even think of playing current games with that.Spending 7k on a GPU for that rig would be the biggest joke.Get a new rig like saswat23 suggested and only then think of a GPU.

 

[karthik316_1999]

Got that right onto my head !

Okay.. now we are onto the track for an upgrade.. lets fix the budget @ 10 k (all the CPU + mobo + RAM) put together...

Suggestions please ! (I'm looking for an AMD based system)

To start with.. how is this combo as suggested by a few..

AMD Phenom II X4 840
MSI - 880GMS-E35 or GIGABYTE GA-MA78LMT-S2
1 or 2 GB DDR3

Few other points...

Will the above setup (/w on board graphics only) allow me to play the recent games atleast at a decent setting ?

Second, I hope my current PSU (Zebronics platinum 500w) is good enough for this rig

Third, can I save on the RAM cost by using my present 1.5 GB PC 3200 itself ?

Thanks !

 

[Skud]

What's your monitor size and resolution? CRT or LCD?


And no, you can't use your RAM.

 

[karthik316_1999]

If you are asking that for the resolution @ which I would be playing the games @ ,, I use a 17" CRT @ 1024x768.. nothing more nothing less

 

[guru_urug]

Spending 7k for GPU that to on a your old rig will surely bottleneck. IMO you should spend your 7k on upgrading your Processor + Motherboard + RAM.
For 7k you get:
CPU: AMD AthlonII X3 440 @ 3k
MoBo: Asus Asus M4A78LT-M LE @ 2.5k
RAM: Corsair Valur RAM 2GB DDR3 @ 1k
Total --- 6.5k

Get this and add a ati 5670

 

[karthik316_1999]

Get this and add a ati 5670

hmmm.. u mean to say I wont be needing a phenom II x4 after all ? Just thot it would be future - proof !

 

[guru_urug]

u wont get future proof in 10k, especially since u want to do gaming too. If u are ok without the graphics card....get a phenom. Else extend your budget to 15k.
The athlon x3 is good enough for your needs. If you want for gaming then get a good balance of processor and gpu. GPU is more imp for gaming, if you want a budget quad core look at the athlon II x4 635 similar to phenom x4 but without the L3 cache.
Since you are not a power-user, Id say get a athlon II x3/x4. Spend more on graphics card. Also get atleast 2GB of RAM

What do you use your PC for most?

 

[Skud]

If you are asking that for the resolution @ which I would be playing the games @ ,, I use a 17" CRT @ 1024x768.. nothing more nothing less

Get the Phenom II X4 840, a 880-based mobo, and 2 or 4 gb RAM. Enough for gaming at your resolution. I have played Crysis, Half-Life 2 etc. on a similar setup. At 13x7 resolution, in low to medium settings, gameplay is fluid. So just get this setup now. If you ever want to game at higher settings, you can easily put a mid-range graphics card later.

 

[karthik316_1999]

u wont get future proof in 10k, especially since u want to do gaming too. If u are ok without the graphics card....get a phenom. Else extend your budget to 15k.

What do you use your PC for most?

PC usage: General everyday computing + browsing + HD/Blu-ray movies + gaming (My_Most_No.1_Priority) -> The very main reason for which I'm upgrading now.. I'm not very greedy to expect gr8 gameplay at the highest setting possible with max. AA @ my budget! All I need is decent gameplay with medium settings on current (+1 ~ 2 yr) future games...

That being said.. Please help me decide if I should settle down with a good onboard graphics mobo + phenom II x4 CPU (wont be installing a GPU in this case)

Or

Settle down with a lesser Athlon II x3/x4 CPU + mobo with low onboard graphics & invest saved money on a GPU now itself.. But ! This GPU should not dis-appoint me for next 3-4 yrs atleast !! & the CPU/mobo combination should not dis-appoint me 4 yrs later when I choose to upgrade my GPU ... (Just like how my Athlon 64 3000+ CPU & Asus A8N VM CSM mobo are forcing me to change them jus cuz I need a graphic upgrade !!)

 

[guru_urug]

Please confirm your maximum stretchable budget. 10k?