Depressing Day of Computer Headaches

[Lightbeard]

Today I discovered how truly horrible, outdatd and crappy my current graphics card is (which is about 3 years old).

It's a Intel(R) GMA 3100

Basically it's Stone Age by todays standards. I had always considered that I had a decent card considering I've always ran WoW fine.

So now I'm searching for some decent up to date cards under $140 that hopefully my are compatible with my current system.

[culhag]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bes ... 964-3.html
That's what I check when I'm looking for upgrades.

Unless your mother-board is like 8 years old, there shouldn't be any compatibility issue.

[Fetzie]

Just bear in mind that your PSU needs to be able to handle the extra power required by a new card.

[Lightbeard]

Just bear in mind that your PSU needs to be able to handle the extra power required by a new card.

Yeah thats what I was told

I'm happy to discover that PSU's don't cost more than like 40-50 dollars

[Lightbeard]

Know whats funny

I just realized there is a tech section.

Have Maintankadin bookmarked straight to the Asylum. I'll probably redo this thread there to ask for graphics card help

[Gorlando]

Wouldn't it be easier just to move this thread to the Tech Forum?

But yeah, the 6770 is your best bet.

[Arnock]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130573

It's what I have, It's a great card, especially for the price.

As a point of reference, I got around 50 fps in dal with maxed graphics settings when I still played wow.

[tullock]

If you are willing to skip out on the long/lifetime warranty of a video card, you cant beat the evga b stock deals. They come with 90 day warranties, and no accessories(things like dvi->vga adapters, and molex->pci express 6 pin) But the prices cant be beat, sometimes even used stuff costs more.

http://www.evga.com/products/prodlist.asp?switch=20

Right now, they have an evga gtx460fpb 1gb card for 109.99. Part number is 01G-P3-1370-RX. Its a decent jump up in performance from what Arnock linked from newegg, for 18 bucks less. Again, 90 day warranty, rather than the full warranty retail products get, but so much cheaper because of it.

[Gorlando]

According to videocardbenchmark.net, the 6770 (5770) outperforms the GTS 450.

Although if you can get a 1gb GTX 460 for $110, definitely go for that.

[VikrumthePally]

I hate to be debbie downer, and I am very shocked no one has mentioned this. But the very last thing you should skimp on in a PC is the PSU. I haven't built a pc in about 3 years, but 40 bucks on a PSU sounds extremely cheap and will probably end up causing you more headaches than you would know what to do with.

[Gorlando]

You have a point. Lightbeard, could you post the PSU you are planning to buy/already have?

[tullock]

http://www.svc.com/ocz700gxssli-b.html

Not the best power supplies on the market, but not the ones that blow up when you turn on the pc either.

[Lightbeard]

You have a point. Lightbeard, could you post the PSU you are planning to buy/already have?

I haven't settled on one yet, I was just looking at prices on some sites for a 400 Watt.

From what I saw they were between 30-50 dollars. I'll double check later to make sure I wasn't seeing things

[Daeren]

40 bucks isn't too bad for a PSU if I compare to normal norwegian prices = 400 NOK = 50 euros, but if I compare to actual exchange rate it's roughly 200 NOK = 25 euros, which is a horrid PSU.

Nothing is guaranteed, they can al break down, but some are a liability and you might end up with your house burning down in the process.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/low ... ,2862.html
A hilarious read, but also a bit worrying.

Unless you use CUDA or need 3D display, AMD offers the best bang for the buck atm, although the 460 is indeed a nice buy.

[Fivelives]

I bought a PSU for $35 from one of my local shops once. It didn't end well.

In somewhat related news, nicotine combined with dust makes a rather efficient solid rocket fuel. When my cheap-ass PSU shorted out, the exhaust vent on it turned into a flamethrower. I finally ended up having to paint over the scorch marks where they melted the top coat of paint on the wall behind where I had my computer. Also, bought a new computer.