Video Card stopgap upgrade

LSZ · 11-19-2008, 10:19 PM

So I recently received a gift card to Best Buy and I figure I'll get a cheap upgrade for my video card. I plan to buy a new PC maybe sometime early in 2010 but I'd like to just get a stop-gap card until then. I currently just have a Sapphire Radeon x1650.

Bestbuy.ca (so Canadian $$) has two cards at $99.99 that I'm looking at.

1) Zotac GeForce 9500GT 512MB DDR2 PCI-E

or

2) ATI Radeon HD 3650 1024MB PCI-E

Is either of these clearly better than the other for gaming purposes? Is upgrading to either of these two even worth it at this point?

**emosun** · 11-20-2008, 07:21 AM

Normally I would say bestbuy charges to much. But since you got the giftcard for free go with the 3650. Since your already useing ati stick with it. And the 3650 has pretty much the same power consumption as the x1650 so long as its the ddr2 model and not ddr3.

LSZ · 11-20-2008, 10:40 AM

Quote:

And the 3650 has pretty much the same power consumption as the x1650 so long as its the ddr2 model and not ddr3.

Yea I was looking at that too. It is the ddr2 and Best Buy lists the power suppy req at 300W while it's 350W for the 9500gt.

Thanks for the response.

**emosun** · 11-20-2008, 04:41 PM

Don't expect a quantim leap in graphics but it should be atleast twice the performance. I have an x1600 in one of my machines so I know the series isn't to great so should give you some decent graphics for a year or two.

Oh yeah , and make sure your x1650 is pci-e and not agp ofcourse.

11-19-2008, 10:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
LSZ Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 21 OS: Windows XP	Video Card stopgap upgrade So I recently received a gift card to Best Buy and I figure I'll get a cheap upgrade for my video card. I plan to buy a new PC maybe sometime early in 2010 but I'd like to just get a stop-gap card until then. I currently just have a Sapphire Radeon x1650. Bestbuy.ca (so Canadian $$) has two cards at $99.99 that I'm looking at. 1) Zotac GeForce 9500GT 512MB DDR2 PCI-E or 2) ATI Radeon HD 3650 1024MB PCI-E Is either of these clearly better than the other for gaming purposes? Is upgrading to either of these two even worth it at this point?

11-20-2008, 07:21 AM	#2 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 5,541 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Video Card stopgap upgrade Normally I would say bestbuy charges to much. But since you got the giftcard for free go with the 3650. Since your already useing ati stick with it. And the 3650 has pretty much the same power consumption as the x1650 so long as its the ddr2 model and not ddr3. __________________ Speedfan Everest Gpu Benchmarks How to install a power supply How to install a video card

11-20-2008, 04:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 5,541 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Video Card stopgap upgrade Don't expect a quantim leap in graphics but it should be atleast twice the performance. I have an x1600 in one of my machines so I know the series isn't to great so should give you some decent graphics for a year or two. Oh yeah , and make sure your x1650 is pci-e and not agp ofcourse. __________________ Speedfan Everest Gpu Benchmarks How to install a power supply How to install a video card