In need of an upgrade - Will this work ?

[excalibur55]

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Hi everyone,

This is my first posting here.

When I bought my system (specs below), I've chosen my current card as a short-term measure but after 2 years, I've finally decided to make the move and change for a new card. I've found this card : Galaxy Nvidia 8400GS available at TigerDirect.ca @ 32.00$ after rebate. Is this a good replacement for my system ?

Sorry I can't put the link here because this is my first post.

I'm only a casual gamer (RTS & RPG only). I want to play TES IV : Oblivion (and in the future Diablo III) @ 1024 x 768 at least and with medium settings or higher. Also a few notes :

1) I want to keep my current PSU; thus my interest for this card (requires 300W PSU).

2) I will also upgrade the RAM to 2GB (2 sticks of 1024MB, the maximum this sytem can handle)

3) No upgrade to Vista is planned, I'll wait in 18-24 months for a new system (Windows 7 with an i7 core or better).

4) Is my CPU too old ? Will the new card be somehowe limited with the processor?

Is this a good upgrade ? I'm also open to other suggestions.

Thanks for the help !

__________________ Desktop : Emachines T5212-T5048 hybrid Pentium D (806) 2.67Mhz 1 GB RAM DDR2 Video card ATI Radeon X550 128MB PSU : 300W Hard drive : 120 GB Windows XP Media Center Service Pack 2 Monitor KDS K717S

[Silvgearx]

From what i seen on the net, the 8400gs is just a bit better than the ati x550. If you do want a decent GPU upgrade, get the 8800gs but they do require a 400W psu. Why dont you take a look at the gigabyte ati 2400xt thats some times sells around $15 after MIR. If you do want a little better GPU for a 300w psu take a look at the ati 2600 pro.

[JD]

Personally I wouldn't bother.

An eMachines with a Pentium D? That's just got garbage written all over it (no offense).

Save up your money and do a complete custom build. No sense in dropping money into that PC.

[3 of 7]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

Personally I wouldn't bother.

An eMachines with a Pentium D? That's just got garbage written all over it (no offense).

Save up your money and do a complete custom build. No sense in dropping money into that PC.

There's a big difference in dropping less than 40 bux into a video card and building a whole new gaming rig..
First off I suspect your motherboard will have an agp slot so you're going to be limited by that.... As mentioned before I'd look at an HD 2600, they come in agp flavour and don't use much power.

[JD]

Originally Posted by 3 of 7

There's a big difference in dropping less than 40 bux into a video card and building a whole new gaming rig..
First off I suspect your motherboard will have an agp slot so you're going to be limited by that.... As mentioned before I'd look at an HD 2600, they come in agp flavour and don't use much power.

I know but:

Originally Posted by excalibur55

I'm only a casual gamer (RTS & RPG only). I want to play TES IV : Oblivion (and in the future Diablo III) @ 1024 x 768 at least and with medium settings or higher.

There's no way a 2.67GHz PD + ATI 2600 is going to run either of those games on medium settings. At least not at a playable framerate IMO.

[excalibur55]

Originally Posted by 3 of 7

There's a big difference in dropping less than 40 bux into a video card and building a whole new gaming rig..
First off I suspect your motherboard will have an agp slot so you're going to be limited by that.... As mentioned before I'd look at an HD 2600, they come in agp flavour and don't use much power.

Oups... Sorry, I forget to mention that my current card is a PCI Express 1.0 x16.

Like I said earlier, I'm open to other suggestions if I can keep the overall costs at a minimum with a maximum overall increase in performances.

My kind of games are not GPU-hungry (no FPS...) so there are no interest for me to buy the top of the line system of the moment, thus my choice for this kind of system.

The problem is; the life expectancy of a computer is now so short that there is no need for me to change every 12-18 months. I keep my computers for around 4 to 5 years. Got a house to pay you know...

Is this what you're talking about ? :

Visiontek Radeon HD 2400 Pro Video Card - 256MB DDR2, PCI Express, (Dual Link) DVI, VGA, HDMI, Video Card 900174 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

[excalibur55]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

I know but:

There's no way a 2.67GHz PD + ATI 2600 is going to run either of those games on medium settings. At least not at a playable framerate IMO.

If I read the requirements at the Elders Scrolls official website, it says the following :

3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
1 GB System RAM
ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card

I don't want all the eye candy turn on, but I tought that with an upgrade, I could have a system that could play Oblivion with a tolerable framerate.

Also, for Diablo III, normally Blizzard's games are not requiring heavy systems... look at the first version of World of Warcraft.

[Silvgearx]

I am talking about this one
This one at NCIX are all gone! but they do come on sale for $15 after MIR

Whats wrong with using Future shop bought PC?

I was able to play oblvion iv with an x1650pro AGP (1024x768) on an P4 2.6ghz a cicero bought from futureshop in the 2002
Frames per second? for casual gamers those things don't matter, as long as the game is smooth and playable thats all it matters

I think a $20-$60 is really reasonable upgrade just to play a few games Till you decided to get a new PC

And with Diablo III, we all know blizzard all too well. They always delay there games in like i dont know 5 year or so
And what ever happen to starcraft Ghost mostly Dropped
They said Starcraft II is coming out in the 2009 but when you look at there site theres so little updated data available.

But i recommend you go get a ati 2600 at here for $60 or if you can find a cheaper somewhere else. Although 8800gs is the best choice for the budget gamer and it requires 400W power on full load

[JD]

Well if you don't mind having all the eye candy off, then I guess it'll be alright.

Since you have PCI Express, get at least a HD3650. Something like this: Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE 100236L Radeon HD 3650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

[belgolas]

My brother might have his 8800 GS up for sale soon. But it might not happen. He too only plays a game from time to time.