midwestsmoke74

I am trying to get a video card that will play all new games and not at minimum graphic levels. Games like F.E.A.R., Battlefield 2, and so on. I have a Geforce 6200 128MB and i want something better. I have an AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 2.2Ghz, 1GB RAM. I was thinking of a Geforce 7300GS, would that do the trick?

StaticInMyHead

"You get what you pay for." That's usually the rule to go by when shopping for computer hardware, especially video cards. The 7300s are the low-end of the GeForce 7 series. That means it has most or all of the features of the newest generation of cards, but it isn't necessarily fast. You might get a few FPS increase since it is from a newer generation of cards, but nothing really noticeable.
So the question is, do you want a good, solid upgrade from your 6200 or do you want something marginal that will barely do what it advertises? The answer is in your budget. You can find some great value x800s or 6800s on sale pretty much anywhere now. They'll handle games like FEAR at max everything minus the anisoptric filtering and the anti-aliasing with pretty decent framerates. It all just depends on how much you're willing to dish out.

Indoril Nerevar

Welcome to TSF, midwestsmoke74.

StaticInMyHead has hit the nail right on the head: it's all in your budget. We need to know how much you are willing to spend on upgrading.

We also need to know your current system specs - please read "Posting System Specs" in my signature, and post them according to that.

If you want to play high-end games like FEAR at high detail settings, you will need a very high-end graphics card. The 6800's and X800's are good, but you can get a lot more performance out of a 7-series NVIDIA or an X1K-series ATI. StaticInMyHead is also correct in saying that the 7300 will not give you anywhere near the performance you are looking for.

Once we know your budget and your current specs (motherboard and power supply are major factors here), we can recommend some good cards for you.

Cellus

It is important to find out what kind of Motherboard your system uses, as that tells us what kind of form factor of video card you need to get (AGP or PCIe).

midwestsmoke74

Heres my specs:

Emachines T6420

Motherboard:MS-7207G 100
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 080012 11/15/2005

CPU:2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache

RAM:896 Megabytes Installed Memory
PC3200

Video Card:Geforce 6100 Onboard

Hard Drive:WDC WD2000BB-22GUC0 [Hard drive] (200.05 GB) -- drive 0, s/n WD-WCAL83262116, rev 08.02D08, SMART Status: Healthy

I'm hoping to keep it under $100 for the card if possible. Thanks for any help.

midwestsmoke74

I've found a 3D Fuzion Geforce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail for 88 bucks, seems like a good deal to me, is it? By the way I dont have any AGP slots.

JackEh

um if you don't have an AGP slot are are you sure u have a PCI-express slot? You can't just stick a PCI-e card into a normal PCI slot. Also personally I would stay away from a 7200/7300, try to look for a 7600,7700,7800 if you can.

midwestsmoke74

Specs say i have a PCI-Express (PCI-E x16) slot available.

midwestsmoke74

So the 7600GS will handle games like F.E.A.R with my specs? I just bought the system with the specs posted above and i really need a video card because this onboard 6100 aint cuttin it AT ALL. I AM NOT LOOKING FOR PERFECT GRAPHICS, JUST GOOD GRAPHICS WITH SMOOTH GAMEPLAY. Thanks.

Clifford

If your budget can handle it, I would look a step up or 2 from the 7600GS. If you go to www.gpureview.com they list the specs of just about every video card ever made. At newegg you can get good deals on the geforce 7600gt which is the step up of a 7600gs., Using their mail in rebates and such you can get a 7600gt for anywhere between 100 and 150 bucks. Check em out here www.newegg.com

Indoril Nerevar

I agree with Clifford - I would definitely go for the 7600GT rather than the GS. It is quite a step up in terms of performance, and is great value. You won't be happy with the GS.

Before you buy a new video card, however, we need to know what your power supply is, to make sure it can handle the new card. Open your system, and look at the side of the power supply - there should be a chart with the number of amps on each rail. Copy that chart down and post it here, along with the brand and model of the power supply.

TheMatt

You could also go for an X850XT, which will have performance very similar to that of the 7600GT. It is cheaper also.

midwestsmoke74

Is 300W power supply enough? Or do i need to post the whole chart thing to know? I read Geforce 7600s only need 300W but it would be better to have more huh?

Indoril Nerevar

300W will definitely not be enough. You'll need to look at a 550W+. Read "Important Power Supply Info" in my signature - it explains everything you need to know, and also offers recommendations for power supplies.

midwestsmoke74

Would an "equal" ATI card be cheaper than the Geforce? If so, whats about equal to the geforce 7600? Do i really need 550 watts?? Work with me man im goin broke over here.

Indoril Nerevar

You'll find that "equal" cards will have approximately "equal" prices. NVIDIA cards are a little more expensive than ATI cards, but I would go with NVIDIA anyway (personal choice).

Have a look here for some cards around the level you're looking to get. Compare prices and specs, and see what you like more.

EDIT: Yes, you do really need a quality power supply, at around 550W. Read the power supply thread I mentioned. It is very important.

midwestsmoke74

Yeah, i've always had Nvidia cards, quite a few. I really want a decent card, so i guess ill wait and hopefully that Geforce 7600GT for $145($115 after rebate) is still around. Cant find it cheaper.

midwestsmoke74

The tech at emachines told me i cant upgrade to larger than a 400W power supply, also that a 350W is enough. Not sayin i believe him, but do you disagree? I have an MicroATX 300W 20-pin now.