[theonenj72]

Hey, i have an HP pavillion t660 with an intel 848p motherboard. the processor is 3Ghz so that's not too bad, but the graphics card is an nvidia 5200, which is pretty shocking...

i was just wondering if anybody knew the best graphics card i can get without having to upgrade my motherboard?

is the new nvidia 8800 compatible? i doubt it, but im just wondering what the best one i can get for it?

hope someone can help

NJ72

[alex]

Originally Posted by theonenj72 Hey, i have an HP pavillion t660 with an intel 848p motherboard. the processor is 3Ghz so that's not too bad, but the graphics card is an nvidia 5200, which is pretty shocking... i was just wondering if anybody knew the best graphics card i can get without having to upgrade my motherboard? is the new nvidia 8800 compatible? i doubt it, but im just wondering what the best one i can get for it? hope someone can help NJ72

Hi theone (Neo, is that you?)

Anyway, yup you can upgrade the card easy peasy. It'll have to be an AGP card though as thats the slot on the motherboard. The 8800 series of gpu's are not compatible I'm afraid as they are pci-express cards.

Your best bet would be to double the DDR ram (if you already havn't) from the stock 512mb as this will allow more bandwidth to the graphics card when gaming and it'll also help when doing other things on the pc. This increased bandwidth should also go some way to making up for the lack of speed of the processor when gaming.

If it was me i'd be going for a 7900GS, Novatech (www.novatech.co.uk) are selling an own-name branded one at under £100 at the moment. So have a look on there. Be quick though as they sell out fast of these cards when they basically give them away.

Another site, www.scan.co.uk, are also selling an overclocked version of the same card for around £120 if you want to have a look on there.

If you don't want to go that much, then i'd be looking at a 7600GS, these go for around £60-£70.

[theonenj72]

cheers, that's a great help.

i have upgraded the DDR, but it still lacks alot. so i should get the £120 card. thanks for the advice. saves me getting a completely new motherboard, processor etc.

thanks again

NJ72