Please help me pick a graphics card for me

jasonfd3s · 05-31-2009, 08:02 AM

Hi, i am trying to upgrade my video card to play some games and im kind of getting confused with all the available specs to compare. i have a:
Gateway DX4720-03, pentium dual core 2.5 ghz, 4g ram, window vista 64bit, and a creative X-Fi Titanium sound card.

My main goal is to be able to play call of duty 4 and world at war, grand theft auto 4, and the game prototype thats coming out soon. my questions is ... if im trying to run these games above at full res 1680x1050 with no lag or choppy graphics at all, is my processor fast enough? and should i get the cheapest power supply as long as it meets the wattage my new graphics cards need, or should i get one thats more expensive but known brand?

My last questions here is that i picked out 3 different graphics card and just trying to get some idea and suggestions on which one i should get?
-(my first pick) BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 OC 1GB GDDR3
-DIAMOND ATI Radeon™ HD 4670
-VisionTek ATI RADEON HD4670 1GB DDR3(lots of complaints about there fan and over heating)
If there is any other better one around these price range please let me know too.

Sorry...i don't really understand computers that much that's why i am asking a lot of questions THX FOR READING THE POST AND REPLYING.

zman621 · 05-31-2009, 03:02 PM

Your processor should be fine. You just need to make sure that all hardware componets are getting sufficient power. I would suggest shelling out the couple extra bucks for a good brand name Power Supply Unit . Without good power your system will run like crappo and you will be kicking yourself for trying to save a couple bucks. On the question about the graphics cards, I personally am a fan of ATI so I would go with a True Authentic ATI Radeon Brand name card instead of Diamond, VisonTek or Powercolor. You might pay a little more but the real ATI cards are much much better than the subcontracted cards.

**wrench97** · 05-31-2009, 03:32 PM

Seeing that the PC has Nvidia integrated graphics I would stay with Nvidia cards to avoid Driver conflicts, The GTS250 and a Corsiar 650TX to power it.

jasonfd3s · 05-31-2009, 04:30 PM

first, thx for the replys. i have one more question. i check the minimum requirements for the game prototype thats coming out. i think the game needs a minimum of core 2 duo 2.6 GHz. I dont think my processor can handle that right? so my question here is that can i and should i upgrade my processor. or should i just try to over clock it. but than again i am not good with computers so dont know if over clocking it would be a good idea....any commons?

**wrench97** · 05-31-2009, 04:38 PM

With an OEM PC the Bios will not allow you to overclock, as for an upgrade that would also depend on what the Bios and the chipset will allow, the chipset in this case will take newer CPU's as for the Bios try Emailing Gateway support and ask if they have a CPU support list or if a E7400 or E8400 will work on your board they may or may not respond some OEM's are better then others when asking for upgrade advice.

What is the name of the Game your looking at?

**emosun** · 06-01-2009, 06:33 AM

Supposedly the machine supports the c2d and c2quad.

05-31-2009, 08:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
jasonfd3s Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Vista	Please help me pick a graphics card for me Hi, i am trying to upgrade my video card to play some games and im kind of getting confused with all the available specs to compare. i have a: Gateway DX4720-03, pentium dual core 2.5 ghz, 4g ram, window vista 64bit, and a creative X-Fi Titanium sound card. My main goal is to be able to play call of duty 4 and world at war, grand theft auto 4, and the game prototype thats coming out soon. my questions is ... if im trying to run these games above at full res 1680x1050 with no lag or choppy graphics at all, is my processor fast enough? and should i get the cheapest power supply as long as it meets the wattage my new graphics cards need, or should i get one thats more expensive but known brand? My last questions here is that i picked out 3 different graphics card and just trying to get some idea and suggestions on which one i should get? -(my first pick) BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 OC 1GB GDDR3 -DIAMOND ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 -VisionTek ATI RADEON HD4670 1GB DDR3(lots of complaints about there fan and over heating) If there is any other better one around these price range please let me know too. Sorry...i don't really understand computers that much that's why i am asking a lot of questions THX FOR READING THE POST AND REPLYING.

05-31-2009, 03:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
zman621 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 7 OS: XP Pro	Re: Please help me pick a graphics card for me Your processor should be fine. You just need to make sure that all hardware componets are getting sufficient power. I would suggest shelling out the couple extra bucks for a good brand name Power Supply Unit . Without good power your system will run like crappo and you will be kicking yourself for trying to save a couple bucks. On the question about the graphics cards, I personally am a fan of ATI so I would go with a True Authentic ATI Radeon Brand name card instead of Diamond, VisonTek or Powercolor. You might pay a little more but the real ATI cards are much much better than the subcontracted cards.

05-31-2009, 03:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,854 OS: Win7	Re: Please help me pick a graphics card for me Seeing that the PC has Nvidia integrated graphics I would stay with Nvidia cards to avoid Driver conflicts, The GTS250 and a Corsiar 650TX to power it. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

05-31-2009, 04:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
jasonfd3s Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Vista	Re: Please help me pick a graphics card for me first, thx for the replys. i have one more question. i check the minimum requirements for the game prototype thats coming out. i think the game needs a minimum of core 2 duo 2.6 GHz. I dont think my processor can handle that right? so my question here is that can i and should i upgrade my processor. or should i just try to over clock it. but than again i am not good with computers so dont know if over clocking it would be a good idea....any commons?

05-31-2009, 04:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,854 OS: Win7	Re: Please help me pick a graphics card for me With an OEM PC the Bios will not allow you to overclock, as for an upgrade that would also depend on what the Bios and the chipset will allow, the chipset in this case will take newer CPU's as for the Bios try Emailing Gateway support and ask if they have a CPU support list or if a E7400 or E8400 will work on your board they may or may not respond some OEM's are better then others when asking for upgrade advice. What is the name of the Game your looking at? __________________ Power Supply and Selection

06-01-2009, 06:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,096 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Please help me pick a graphics card for me Supposedly the machine supports the c2d and c2quad. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list