Suggestions for a New Graphics Card

caesar · #1 22nd Oct 2009, 03:23

Hello
My system is 4 yrs old details as follows
Fujitsu Scaleop
Mobo P5GD1-FM
Pentium 4 3.0 ghz Hyper threaded
2.5 gb ram
radeon sapphire x1950 pro
Corsair 550w PSU
Xp Home
I play half life 2, Crysis, Race driver Grid and bio shock.
My card seems struggle a bit on grid. I know the cpu could do with an upgrade but P4 3.8 seems a bit rare nowadays. So i was wondering if I got an new card this would improve things. I dont want to change the PSU as it is only 1 month old. I was thinking Radeon 4670 or Nvidia 9600GT is their much to choose between the two?. Would either of these be ok in my sytem? Or any better cards that will do. Also the specs on the Radeon seem a lot higher than Nvidia. Is this because the 2 companies use a differnt criteria to rate their specs?

**xactly** · #2 22nd Oct 2009, 08:47

The 9600GT is much better than the 4670 in terms of gaming performance, however it does require a 6-pin power connection unlike the 4670 which runs from the power through the PCI Express lane.

There are much better cards than these specified however it all depends on what your budgest is, what resolution you play at and with what settings.

You CPU is a bottleneck for the full power of the card, however it should be an improvement over the 1950 Pro you have. Upgrading the Graphics card is the best choice to improve the performance in game, a complete system upgrade would be the next thing to do.

There is no reason to change you PSU it supplies more than enough power for the build.

The frequencies at which the 4670 operates is higher than that of the 9600GT however the latter has a wider memory interface.Both cards have the same ROP's though.

caesar · #3 22nd Oct 2009, 09:28

Thanks
The PSU dos have the 6 pin power connector in fact 2 of em. Just seen a Radeon sapphire 4470 for just a little more money, would this be better than the 9600 GT ? Will probably swap the mobo and cpu in about a years time. Just looking for a better GPU at the moment to improve the games a bit.

**xactly** · #4 22nd Oct 2009, 09:45

I belive you mean the '4770', yes this is slightly better than the 9600GT.

caesar · #5 22nd Oct 2009, 10:05

Yes thats correct. Thanks for that mate

**CodeFreakC** · #6 23rd Oct 2009, 04:35

I find that its a toss up between to 4670 and the 9600GT. nVidia fans say the 9600GT is better ATi fans say the 4670 is better. I, being an ATi supporter, have installed many 4670 cards in to many customer computers, mainly MSI. Never, ever, not once have I seen one break down, even complain. Its really up to your support, or if you have the cash, get a HD4850. great card, i have it in my PC, runs practically anything. If you want AGP, the i will say, theres not many nVidia AGP cards out anymore, i recommend the HD3850 AGP Edition.

**Carbon** · #7 23rd Oct 2009, 05:27

Whatever you throw in this is going to be bottlenecked by the CPU. There's not much reason not to buy a system now that a X2 240 and MA770-UD3 exist. It's ridiculously cheap to upgrade.

The 4770 would be the best pick, 4850 as well. Anything lower and you aren't getting what you pay for - the savings aren't worth the decrease in performance.

caesar · #8 23rd Oct 2009, 07:45

Thanks lads
Carbon. How much do you reckon cost wise. For the upgrades you suggested? and where to get em from? I am within a half hour drive from CCL computers

**xactly** · #9 23rd Oct 2009, 07:59

Gigabyte MA770-UD3 and AMD Athlon II X2 245 are available from SCAN.

Scan is a reputable shop and website from which I have ordered and purchsed from before.

Total Price is £109.78 with Delivery Included.

I have chose the AMD X2 245 instead of the 240 as it was an extra £3 for 100MHz extra.

caesar · #10 23rd Oct 2009, 08:06

Hmm Now you have me thinking wheter to go the whole hog as well as the GPU upgrade. Would you mind if I post up a couple of Mobo bundles and prices, to ask your opinion bearing in mind what I use my comp for as detailed in my first post?