which graphics card to upgrade too?

Hi

I currently have a nvidia geforce 9500 GS 512mb dedicated graphics card.
Its not that old, but from what i hear its not that good eaither. I couldnt find this particular one on the list of graphics cards on the forums aswell which im not sure is good.

I was wondering which graphics card i should upgrade to, as im not too sure since theres so many differant ones. I play quite a few games and i use my pc alot of the time so i would like quite a good one.

Could anyone recommend one for me if they know a good one?

Thanks

Your CPU will bottleneck any good GPU unless you take it past 3 ghz. Do you have a good power supply? What model/brand? How about a budget?

What do you mean my cpu will bottleneck any good gpu?

And my cpu is a amd phenom 8650 Triple Core 2.3ghz, so shouldnt be a problem with that.

And i think i have a good power supply, its from a HP pc i got about 6 months ago.

As for budget, not a big problem aslong as its not a really high price.

Thanks

Video cards run off the CPU, 2.3 ghz will bottleneck any good GPU, especially since you have an AMD CPU. How many wattage are on your power supply as well as the amperage on the +12v rail(s)? You're going to have to either find your exact PSU on the web or look at the sticker on the PSU (which will probably require disassembly, so look for your PSU on the web first).

I see the sticker on the side, Its a LITEON, model: PS-5301-08HF.

Okay, I've looked up that power supply and it's a 300W. That's not going to cut it with any good video card, sorry. If you want to upgrade something in your PC, make it the PSU.

What kind of wattage would i need?

Since your monitor's native resolution is 1680 x 1050 and you're a gamer (I'm not sure which games you play though), I'd recommend an EVGA GTX 260 CORE 216 (55nm). A system running this card officially requires a minimum 500W PSU and 36A on the +12v line. I'm running this card on a COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 650W PSU with 57A on the +12v line total (a little less if all three +12v rails were used).

Ok thanks for the help, il make sure i upgrade my psu before i get a gpu then.


thanks

If you're upgrading your power supplies, be sure to look into these brands only.

Antec
Chieftec
COOLER MASTER (all but the eXtreme power series, preferably Real Power/UCP)
Corsair
Enermax
FSP
OCZ
PC Power & Cooling
Seasonic
Silverstone
Thermaltake (not the cheap units)
Xion

The ones in bold are the absolute best. Personally I prefer COOLER MASTER over all the others. Since your CPU isn't efficient, and overclocking should be done to improve performance, I recommend this PSU which is also the one I have.

Real Power Pro 650W - 713002460-GP - Buy.com

what kind of games do you play?

things like cod4 and 5, battlefield, bfme2, zero hour, and some im probably going to get fear2.

well my bro uses a 9600gt oc2 which runs cod4 & 5 at 1680x1050 fine. Might not be great for fear 2 tho, but thats the lowest spec card i would choose.

ps, if u want to find out what can run on ur current psu, use this tool read instructions as it helps give an accurate reading.

eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts

Thanks for the useful tools, theyl come in handy.

I was just checking my GPU on GPU-Z.

I think it may not have enough power possibly, as it says the temperature is 54 degrees and that the fan is only at 24% speed.

54 degrees Celsius is nothing, GPU's are normally built to withstand up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Check the power draw on your PSU, I can see your system using 300w as it sits. Certainly I'd upgrade it regardless of what card you end up going with. I am a little more lax on the specs than boredgunner is (I think my 7x% extreme power coolermaster works fine for my measly system) but his recommendations are good nonetheless.

I disagree about the CPU being a bottleneck, at least with today's midrange cards. The 285 is a great card and a good suggestion, but if you're on a bit of a budget (which you might be if you need to buy a new PSU too) then I'd look at the 9800GTX or the GTS250 as well(which is basically a 9800GTX in a new frock).

Here is a good article from Tom's comparing the cards that I think would be in your desired performance range

GeForce GTS 250: Nvidia's G92 Strikes Again : The State Of Graphics - Review Tom's Hardware

Ok thanks, il check it out.

I saw a noticeable performance increase in one of my old systems when I overclocked an E6600 from 2.40 ghz to 3.0 ghz, running an 8800GTX video card (which performs worse than a 9800GTX+/GTS 250) at 1280 x 1024. Then again that is a low resolution and relies more on the CPU. 2.3 ghz is a slow speed regardless, you'll get a big jump in performance if you go to 3.2 ghz or so, even at 1680 x 1050.

The GTS 250 is just a 9800GTX+ but with a faster core clock speed (EVGA's default model is 756 mhz opposed to 738 mhz). It works in SLI only with a 9800GTX+ which must have both equal memory size and memory clock, it doesn't SLI with a 9800GTX at all. That's just silly. Of course a bios flash will most likely change this, but you'll also lose your warranty.

Hi fields999, welcome to the board.

I agreed with boardgunner that your cpu is the bottle neck. You will see only a small improvement regardless what gpu you are upgrading to. I will keep it the way it is and save up the money to build one with more up to date technology. You may update your gpu driver and be able to play most of all the games in medium settings.

If you must upgrade, try a less costing 8800 or 9800 provided that with the psu upgrade.

By the way, what mother board you have in your pc?

Please note that, as reference, my rig shown in My System Specs I took pride of is now merely a mediocre game rig which is absolute.

Hope the helps.

Bruce