New graphics card

[tp500]

Hey everyone this xmas im hoping to get a new graphics card to run HL2 CS Source and of course Left 4 Dead, but I do not know what is good. My computer itself is good enough for me, 3ghz intel celeron processor, 512 mb of ram, but a shitty hp intel random numbers and letters lol 64 mb ram vid card.i know everything else is good because when I move into a room on HL2 with not a lot of textures it runs sooooooooo fast, but once anything else comes in, it sucks.Balls. So I am DEFINITELY not a pc tech kind of guy, I enjoy gaming on consoles more than pc nowadays, but if you guys could tell me whats on and poppin with video cards that would be much appreciated. THANKS!

[Kenny]

Hate to tell you this, but you are going to get a HUGE bottleneck with any of the more powerful cards with only 512mb of ram. I suggest getting MINIMUM of 1 gig, but 2 gigs would just be that much better.

It also depends on your price range.. that might be some good info to have from you. :)

[tp500]

The price range im not that worried about because ya know its xmas and everything, prices kinda go out the window at that time lol. Everyone says HL2 is more dependent on ram and your processor than your video card. If so should I just get maybe a decent vid card and then perhaps a ram upgrade?

[A DUCK]

If money isnt a issue, i suggest an 8800GTS.

[tp500]

I will look into it thanks!

[tp500]

Looks like the 8800GTS is the winner thanks A DUCK. Its only $299 Canadian so ill hopefully be getting it and hope to see everyone on the servers.

[A DUCK]

Np. Hey and just in case you hadnt thought about this already/didnt know the answer, you need a 600W PSU.

[Deek]

Hey tp500, where are you seeing a GTS for $299 CAN? I'd almost be willing to go SLI for that price.

[A DUCK]

How much is $299 CAN in US dollars?

[Kenny]

Don't forget the ram. 512mb of ram + 8800GTS = fail.

[tp500]

yea im gonna get an upgrade to 1gb for 70 bucks so its alllllllllllll good keep cool my babies.

[Halfeatendonkey]

hm...pretty..old Comp or something ? Well, i suggest 8800 GTX and as a duck said, you need atleast 550 Watt to be Sure. also like make sure of the small things - if it even fits in your Computer O.o And you should also get more Ram. AND if you are getting a New Graphics card Only to play The Source engine..you could just go and buy like the cheapest shit O.o im buying a 8800 Gtx 768 Mb Supporting -DX 10- so i can play Etc - Crysis. i hope you get the point.

[Teknobry]

Wait wait wait wait wait.

Its all well and good everyone recommending the best graphics card available, but its pointless with your current system specs, you're wasting money.

For a start, your motherboard might only be AGP. The 8800GTX/GTS is PCI slot only, so in order for that card to work, you'll need to change the motherboard. If you do that, you might find that your RAM is not compatible, and so need DDR2 RAM (if your previous was DDR) you'll then need to buy a decent PSU in order to have the correct power plugs to connect to the graphics card and the motherboard.

SO, first things first.

Find out if your motherboard is AGP or PCI. If you need help then post the make and model number of the motherboard up and the helpful people on here will find out for you. We can then find out what kind of RAM your system uses and can recommend upgrades.

Remember, do your research first before jumping in, otherwise you'll be left with a piece of expensive hardware that requires a sh*t load more cash in order to get it to work.

[tp500]

Np. Hey and just in case you hadnt thought about this already/didnt know the answer, you need a 600W PSU.
How Do I check that?

Its all well and good everyone recommending the best graphics card available, but its pointless with your current system specs, you're wasting money.

For a start, your motherboard might only be AGP. The 8800GTX/GTS is PCI slot only, so in order for that card to work, you'll need to change the motherboard. If you do that, you might find that your RAM is not compatible, and so need DDR2 RAM (if your previous was DDR) you'll then need to buy a decent PSU in order to have the correct power plugs to connect to the graphics card and the motherboard.

SO, first things first.

Find out if your motherboard is AGP or PCI. If you need help then post the make and model number of the motherboard up and the helpful people on here will find out for you. We can then find out what kind of RAM your system uses and can recommend upgrades.

Remember, do your research first before jumping in, otherwise you'll be left with a piece of expensive hardware that requires a sh*t load more cash in order to get it to work.
I would research but I've got not funking clue what any of this shit means, as I said in the beginning, I am in now way a tech guy, I'm not sure how to install a motherboard or anything like that, ive done a graphics card once or twice, but not much more. So Im guessing Teknobry knows what he's doing from other forum posts, so I'll answer your questions.

My motherboard is PCI, I already checked that out. Im not sure but I think my ram is DDR, yea it is its DDR. And lastly, what the blazes is a PSU? Im guessing it has to do with power.

[tp500]

AND if you are getting a New Graphics card Only to play The Source engine..you could just go and buy like the cheapest shit O.o im buying a 8800 Gtx 768 Mb Supporting -DX 10- so i can play Etc - Crysis. i hope you get the point.

Yea I do see your point, I play HL2 on my uncle's computer and he has a nice dell xps with like a ATi Radeon 9800 and it works really well on the highest settings. But I''m just afraid L4D will shit up when I get it, I would really love to know the requirements to run it so I can plan this out better. But I have tons of time until Xmas. SO keep the tips comin and thanks soooooooooooooooo much for the help guys!

[Big_Bubbaloola]

Yep, it's a Power Supply Unit (what you plug the power cable into). These days they're just getting more and more powerful. To future proof (as much as you can, and if you got the cash) your comp, try and get a 700w psu.

[tp500]

Sweetness well Im pretty sure my power supply it well enough right now, could you tell me how I check the wattage?

[Big_Bubbaloola]

Should have it on the back or failing that, crack open the case and check the safety labels. Should tell you there.

Sweetness?? Aww shucks, wuv you too bunnykins!

[tp500]

hahahaha totally gay haha

[Teknobry]

There are people recommending 700w psu's (power supply unit) but the corsair 620w will actually give more power and last alot longer than a cheap brand "700w" psu, which will actually output far less.

Buy quality and you won't go far wrong.

If you can, post up whats written on the stickers on your PSU (power supply unit) make and model number will suffice.

Upgrading like this, when you've got limited knowledge of pc components is a bit of a minefield. Ideally, you could do with asking a friend who knows their stuff to check that what you're buying will be compatible.

For a start, you've got 512mb of RAM, but i'm guessing thats 2 x 256mb chips? If so, you'd be better off taking those out and either buying 2 x 512mb chips, or if you can afford 2 x1gb chips.
Graphics card, something like geforce 7900, radeon x1950 will complement your system more, give good improvement and not break the bank.

The other option is to see how much cash you can scrape together, and see if you can do a full overhaul.

[tp500]

I dont think it's 2 256mb chips. But im most likely going to buy a gb of ram. I would check my PSU but it's firmly nailed to the bottom of my computer table lol ill try to get it off.

[tp500]

Ok my PSU is 1875 Watts, so Im guessing that's more than enough?

[Deek]

My motherboard is PCI
... but is it PCI-E? The "E" (stands for Express) is the important part of the equation.

All mobos will have your PCI slots, as that is where you'll slot your Soundblaster and whatnot. Then you've got your AGP slots, for previous gen graphics cards, most mobos these days that aren't PCI-Express will have an AGP slot for vid. Then, if you're mobo is any kind of recent, you'll have your PCI-E slot for a vid card, which can house anything from low end 7-series to the top o' the line Nvidia 8-series and all the Radeon goodness as well.

So the question be, AGP ... or PCI-E?

[Teknobry]

deek is right, PCIE is required, i should type my posts more carefully.

[Teknobry]

Ok my PSU is 1875 Watts, so Im guessing that's more than enough?

That doesn't sound right at all.

[Kenny]

That doesn't sound right at all.

I was thinking the same thing..

[Halfeatendonkey]

my PSU is 1875 Watts
What the ..?

[Halfeatendonkey]

By the way, how do you check if your Motherboard is PciE thingy

[tp500]

That doesn't sound right at all.

It says it right on it. Thats where all my stuff is plugged into. And I have a PCI thing, I dont think it's express, so what can I do with that?

[Teknobry]

Its an older style motherboard, which means you can only use AGP graphics cards.

A PSU of that power would cost a fortune, and is massively more than your requirements. Can you post the make and model up?

[Deek]

It says it right on it. Thats where all my stuff is plugged into. And I have a PCI thing, I dont think it's express, so what can I do with that?
Seriously top shelf PSUs these days tend to cap out around 1000W, and that's a rediculous amount of power for anyone running anything less than the most bleeding edge hardware, OC'd to the hilt w/ Quad cores and dual grafix cards, etc. Most people do just fine with 500-600w, running behind the tech wave. 1875w is way beyond anything reasonable.

Is your comp plugged into a wall socket? Or do you actually plug your machine into whatever this 1875w monster is? If so, it sounds like a generator or something. =) The power supply (PSU) is actually the little box that the power cord runs out of, inside your tower case, at the rear. It usually has a rear facing fan, and is about half the size of a Kleenex box. If you already knew this, I apologize, I'm not trying to patronize you. ;)

A PCI slot won't do you much good these days, in terms of video cards. You'll want at least an AGP slot, if not a PCI-E. I would suggest you find the model and brand of your mobo and PSU, maybe even find an online link listing the specs. It'll be much easier to know what we're dealing with, then.

[tp500]

Jesus all this crazy computer talk is killin me lol. Im thinking about getting a decent video card like a radeon 9800xt which looks like it'll work on my comp fine and a gb of ram. And now that I know what a PSU is I will tell you the details. Thanks again guys for helpin me through this you probly saved me a bit of money.

[Teknobry]

long as its an AGP card, you should be ok.

Oh, watch out though, as some cards require an extra power input straight from the PSU, as the motherboard alone doesn't provide enough. :D

[tp500]

Well most likely ill be playin with any of you who are playing ZM or CS Source tonight because I'll be on a computer that runs HL2 very well so keep the tips comin and ill read em tonight so I can be ready to receive shit on xmas that will work lol.

[tp500]

ong as its an AGP card, you should be ok.

Oh, watch out though, as some cards require an extra power input straight from the PSU, as the motherboard alone doesn't provide enough. :D
This is why I do console gaming hahaha.

[Deek]

This is why I do console gaming hahaha.
haha Yeah. It's all pretty daunting at first, but once you know the basics, it's pretty easy to bring yourself up to par on the lingo and nonsense.

[tp500]

Well im on a good computer now so if anyone wants to play ZM or anything find me on steam,same username as on here:)