 What Makes One Better Than The Other?, psu and video card |
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 Jan 24 2007, 01:16 PM
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 Senior Member  Group: Members Posts: 490 Joined: 27-October 06 From: Illinois (the land of strange laws) Member No.: 92,392  |
which is better? and why is it better, more memory? i also will need a new power supply, any recommendations in the area of how much wattage? how do you know if it has multiple 12V rails? any help would be great. i just want something i can eventually play Oblivion on and enjoy the game. -------------------- "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." -Albert Camus
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -Louis Pasteur "If a man does his best, what else is there?" -George S. Patton |
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Jan 24 2007, 01:36 PM
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 Bleepin' Conundrum Group: Global Moderator Posts: 9,313 Joined: 26-April 04 From: 65 miles due East of the "Logic Free Zone", in Md, USA Member No.: 235 |
Would you please provide a bit more information about your system?
Details about it will help others to provide better info to you. Make and model of your system. OS? Ram? Boards? etc. The more information one provides, the easier it is for other to help out. Regards, Koan -------------------- |
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Jan 24 2007, 05:36 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 490 Joined: 27-October 06 From: Illinois (the land of strange laws) Member No.: 92,392 |
below are my specs:
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 1GB DDR400, Windows XP SP2 MSI K8NGM-V motherboard PCI-E x 16 Allied 300 Watt PSU Radeon 9200 128MB graphics card i learned recently that DDR RAM should be run in tandem. i have only 1 stick. thus i think that may be partially to blame for the sluggishness. -------------------- "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." -Albert Camus
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -Louis Pasteur "If a man does his best, what else is there?" -George S. Patton |
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Jan 25 2007, 12:09 AM
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 67 Joined: 29-November 06 Member No.: 98,390 |
i'd definitely recommend getting another 1gb of RAM. make sure you plug it into the correct slot for the DDR to work (if you have 4 slots for RAM, as far as i know slots 1/3 and 2/4 are synched).
for your gfx card i'd go with the 7950GT. more memory does not necessarily mean a better card, as sometimes manufacturers will put 512mb on a card and clock it lower than a card with 256mb. the important things to look for on a gfx card, in addition to memory size, are the core clock, memory clock, and the memory interface. higher is obviously better on all of those. as for your PSU, your machine doesn't appear to be a powerhouse so a good 400-450w PSU should be more than enough. make sure it has at least 18A (preferably 20A) on the 12V rail. you do not need dual 12V rails unless you are planning on using SLI/Crossfire. enermax and thermaltake are both good brands. this one would do you well, i think  i hope this helps. This post has been edited by dogslikeus: Jan 25 2007, 12:10 AM |
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Jan 25 2007, 04:23 PM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 490 Joined: 27-October 06 From: Illinois (the land of strange laws) Member No.: 92,392 |
thanks for the tip. i just ordered another 1GB of RAM, i really think that will make a huge difference in my computing. it may also help boost my graphics processing as well.
i also ordered a new PSU. i went bigger than advised, but i wanted it to last through future upgrades. its also modular which looks very appealing, as well as has 20A 12V rails. thanks again -------------------- "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." -Albert Camus
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -Louis Pasteur "If a man does his best, what else is there?" -George S. Patton |
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Jan 25 2007, 07:49 PM
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#6
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 82 Joined: 18-October 06 Member No.: 90,895 |
It all depends on your budget and what you want. If you plan on upgrading to a Dx10 card soon, then get the 7900 GS, it's a great mid-range card that's very well priced. But if you don't plan on going Dx10 anytime soon, and you have the money, then get the 7950 GT, which is a high-end card.
This post has been edited by Detox: Jan 25 2007, 07:49 PM |
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Jan 31 2007, 12:20 PM
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#7
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 490 Joined: 27-October 06 From: Illinois (the land of strange laws) Member No.: 92,392 |
yes the 7950GT or the X1900GT are the two i am entertaining right now. after reading a website that compared multiple mid-range cards, it appears the X1900GT gives the best bang for the buck. but adding the other stick of RAM really made a big difference in performance of the ATI9200 i have now.
i also bought a new PSU, hopefully a little more juice will help as well. cheers 
-------------------- "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." -Albert Camus
"Chance favors the prepared mind." -Louis Pasteur "If a man does his best, what else is there?" -George S. Patton |
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