Buying new video card? Which one to get?

Hi..so I have a brand new computer, what I could afford, not top of the line, but these are the specs.

- Windows Vista Home Premium
- AMD Athlon™ X2 4450e+ Dual-Core Processor
- 3GB DDR2 SDRAM
- Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
- 1MB L2 cache
- 250GB SATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
- NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE graphics
- 6 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
- Available Expansion Slots1 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-Ex16

I also have a high speed DSL (upgraded from the basic) connection.

Anyway, I am so not technical and cannot figure out the graphics cards and their numbers, etc. The card I have is not a card, but apparently built into the motherboard.

I keep getting dropped from SL every 1/2 hour about, and our DSL connection is strong. I have been told that it's probably the graphics card, although I'm not sure. In any case, I want to replace it. I have looked at a few...

Nvidia GE Force 8800GTX
Nvidia GE Force 9800 GTX
Nvidia GE Force 9800 GT
Nvidia GE Force GTS 250

I have no idea if these are the one to get or if there are any other recommendations. I'd like to keep the cost under $200. Any and all recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I forgot to mention that I am able to run graphics in the medium mode and it's fine, but the FPS is always below 11 and the bandwidth always drops to zero after about 1/2 hour or so, so that is why I think there is a problem with the graphics card as we have had the DSL checked out and even upgraded and it is fine and fast.

Even if low mode on the preferences on the graphics the bandwidth drops to zero and I am just frozen on the screen. The FPS stays low too.

So, is it the graphics card? Which one should I replace mine with?

I have the Nvidia 9800GT, and it rocks....the GTX and the GT250 are better cards from what I can gather...but I also hear you need to make sure you have enough clearance in the case for the card....might want to have that checked out before you go out and buy one of these cards.

The 9800GT is probably the best bang for your buck. And it has a proven track record with SL.

Considering the 8800 GTX is nearly impossible to find these days, and the 9800 GTX is almost as scarce, I'd say those two are probably out of the question. For what it's worth, though, the 8800 GTX was one of the most rock solid performers nVidia has ever made.

The GTS 250 is simply a rebranded 9800 GTX+, so if it's between those two, get whichever one has a better price. They're identical in every way but name, give or take manufacture-added bells and whistles, of course. Compared with the 9800 GTX, the 9800 GTX+/GTS 250 uses less power, has a physically smaller core, and has a slightly faster core clock.

The 9800 GT has slower clock speeds across the board than the GTX+. Considering it's so close in price, and is available with the same amounts of memory, I probably wouldn't go for the GT, myself. The 9800 GT ranges from around $125-$189, while the 9800 GTX+ goes from about $115-$165. That's an average difference of about 12 bucks. For that, I'd rather have the higher clock speeds, all other things being equal.

Either way, though, you won't really go wrong. They're all good cards.

So, I found out that this new computer has only 250 watts of power, and these cards take at minimum 400 watts. So, do I get a 400 watt power supply (which I hear aren't that great) or go for higher, and will it run in the specific computer I am buying? I called Best Buy where I bought the computer, hoping they may swap it out for me, but no such luck. They said that SL is so intense that even if I had spent more on a computer, if it wasn't a gaming computer, I probably would have had to buy a new graphics card. Anyway, I am not sure what to do about the power supply now. Any suggestions?

Thank you all for the wonderful recommendations though. I am going to search out the cards you mentioned, but I think someone said the 9800GTX was double wide and I am not sure it will fit in the computer.

To answer your questions as asked:

1. It's always best to get the most powerful PSU you can afford, since you never know what else you might want to add on later. I'd recommend going well above 400W, if you can.

2. Yes, whatever you get should be able to run the computer you have. For the video card, just make to sure the amperage on at least one 12V rail meets or exceeds whatever the card requires. After that, powering all your other devices should be simple enough, as long as you get a PSU with the right connectors for everything you've got.


That said, the best thing to do may well be just to return the machine, and buy a better one elsewhere. BestBuy's selection is pretty limited. You'll get a much better deal from an online retailer like NewEgg.

From the specs you listed, I'm guessing the machine you bought was probably what, around $400 at BestBuy? By the time you add the larger power supply and the new video card, you will have increased the total cost to at least $600-700 or more. You could get a decent gaming machine from NewEgg for that, which would blow away what you've got now. Here are a few examples:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227134
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227105R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227097R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227123R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229086





First, I have to say I'm somewhat impressed that your local Best Buy clerk even knew what SL was, let alone what kind of hardware it might require. In the one near me, they're good with TV's (depending on who you talk to), but they don't know jack about computers.

If you want to stick with Best Buy, they've got a bunch of cheap power supplies on their website. But (unsurprisingly) they don't list any detailed specs. You'd need to go to the store and read the specs on on the boxes.

But again, you'd be better off with NewEgg. You can easily search through their site to find a PSU that meets or exceeds the requirements of your specific hardware.

(And no, I don't own any stock in NewEgg. I just really love how their site is laid out, and their customer service is top notch. I've had nothing but positive experiences with them.)



If you need a small form factor card, then the 9800GT is your best bet. The 9800GTX is quite large, and I think the GTS250/9800GTX+ is even larger.

going back to the power supply here is what I would buy

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8774267&st=power+supply&lp=5&type=product&cp=1&id=1204331807576

but I got one identical to it for 69.99 + shipping online (tigerdirect.com), actually it has a larger fan

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276573&CatId=1483

I have bought a new pc a few days ago, it will be delivered soon. Specifically I checked the graphics card and power supply. Although the GTS250 is supposed to be a rebranded 9800GTX, it performs a little bit better in benchmarks. It needs a 450W power supply, but I've chosen a 600W to be able to upgrade in the near future. So if the price for a 9800GTX and GST250 is (almost) the same, I'd go for the 250. It performs well with SL. But as Chosen said: you might consider a complete new pc.

Just to clarify, the GTS 250 is a rebranded 9800 GTX+, not just a rebranded 9800 GTX. There's a significant difference there. That little plus sign stands for some important changes.

Thanks for all the great info. I should have gone to new egg first, and realize that now. I did talk to the store manager at Best Buy and they said they would make an "exception" and let me get a new computer, but I'm finding that even with a new one, I'd be spending a fortune to get the video card and power I need. They won't give me a refund, so I' leaning toward buying a new video card and power supply from new egg.com.

I really do apprecite the help. I should have posted on these boards before I purchased anything, but I was anxious to get SL and another application we have going, and I jumped the gun. Now I'm paying for it, literally!

Thanks again!

dont give up yet, there is a possibility of buying a cheap shell of a computer, buy its maxed out parts and still end up not spending a ton

ask about PCI (2.0 if available) express slots, cpu socket, how much ram it will hold (some are bios limited regardless of the OS)

AND NO MATTER WHAT get the brand name and the exact model number, it makes life so much easier for us that want to look it up

Bummer that they won't give you a refund.

If it makes you feel any better, I jump the gun like that all the time when I want something NOW. I've learned my lesson with computer stuff, but for other things I still do it. I love getting new toys, and I hate waiting for things. Like you, I don't always end up with the best deal as a result.

I actually have the opposite problem a lot of times as well. The "hate waiting" part actually trumps the "love new toys" part a bit more than it should in many cases. I haven't yet figured out if that's actually a bad thing or not, though, since it does end up saving me money sometimes. But either way I know it's extremely silly behavior, yet I keep doing it.

For example, I've been procrastinating for months now about buying a new set of office furniture that I really want. The only reason I don't own it right now is that the store doesn't stock it, and would have to order it in. That would take all of just two business days, but I'm so nonsensically impatient, I don't want to do that. So I don't place the order, which means I'm in effect waiting FOREVER. But somehow that feels more right than waiting two days. Like I said, silly, right?

The good news is I still have the thousand dollars I would have spent on the set. The bad news is I spend all freakin' day in my office every day, and I'm really, really sick of the furniture I have. I'm pretty sure it's affecting the efficiency of my work by now. I spend so much time in that room, I pretty much have to shake it up with new furniture every couple years, or I go stir crazy. I reckon I've got another good 3-4 months with the current set before I simply must go all Office Space on its ass with the baseball bat.




Anyway, to get back on topic, Osgeld's right. You can usually turn a low end computer into a pretty decent one without too much trouble. While it would have been simpler to have gotten a better one from the start, not to mention cheaper had you bought it from the right place, you still have plenty of opportunity to improve what you've got.

I'm taking all the information you all gave me and I'm either going to buy a new power supply and a new video card or get a new computer. I wish I could get my money back and go to new egg because they have some great set ups for around what it will cost me to upgrade, but I waited more than 14 days and that's BB's policy. I'll see what Best Buy comes up with. They are going to "work with me" whatever that means, but I have a feeling it's going to cost me either way. If SL works and all my other programs work well it will be worth it, I guess. I'm going tomorrow, so I'll post what I eventually decided when I get home. Thanks again!

I was able to give the computer back, but had to use a store credit toward another computer. So here's what I have now, and I replaced the video card with the 9800 one, so this is what I have and it is still LOGGING ME OUT after about 25 to 30 minutes. I AM GOING CRAZY! I am now able to put it up to High resolution and get very high FPS (as high as 48 or so where I had 10 to 11 before at the low resolution), but for some reason the bandwidth goes down to 0 after about 20 to 30 minutes and I just get frozen and it drops me.

New machine specs:

Intel Core 2 Quad processor, 1333 MHZ frontside bus, 2.33 GHz
8 GB DDR2 memory
640 GB Serial ATA II Hard Drive
Nvidia GEForce 9800 GTX video card (which I had put in)
Windows Vista 64 bit

and..as I said before, we have very fast DSL which we had upgraded and it works fine with everything else, sooooooooo...there must be some settings in Second Life that I don't know how to adjust or what to adjust them to. Could someone possibly help me with SL settings that could have something to do with this now. If this doesn't work I will just give me!!! It's sooooooooooooooooo frustrating!

Thanks!

Sounds like you've got a nice machine now. I'm glad they were able to work something out with you.

As for the logout after 25-30 minutes, is it possible your ISP is throttling you? SL does use a whole lot more bandwidth than just about anything else.

Hi again...the machine is nice, yes, but I'm still baffled. We live in California, in a big city, use the major phone company as our DSL provider and the DSL line works great, high speed, so something is wrong somewhere, but I don't know where. It's very annoying to say the least, but thanks again for all the info you provided me.

Are you wirelessly connected to your DSL modem? If so, many here have had similar connection problems. If you are wireless, as a test, try a direct (wired) connection to your DSL modem.

Nope, not wireless, connected through the ethernet connection. We have a wireless network in the house, but the desktops are not wireless. ARGGGG, it's so frustrating!

I found an article on the SL support site talking about how if you crash you may need to change your port settings on your fireall, and since I've done about everything else I can with the new computer, higher speed DSL, etc, I thought I'd try that. I added the ports they said to add, and last night, for the first time I was able to stay on SL for 1 1/2 hours, but then it logged me off and the bandwidth had gone to zero. I was able to do that twice, stay on for an hour and a half, so I'm making progress, but what I want to know is how some people park their avatar in one spot (camping) and it stays there for days on end. What is the trick? Also, I should be able to stay on for more than an hour and a half without being shut down, correct? I am not away from SL, I am active, playing games, roaming around, etc, and I get knocked off. I am still so frustratedl. Any more ideas?

** Note: Signed on this AM and was just logged off after 36 minutes, so I am back to square one. What is going on????

You don't have another DSL modem you can try, do you? I had similar problems with SL right after I installed a new cable modem/router which turned out to be defective. It would run most things just fine, but SL regularly made it barf up a lung and freeze up like you're describing.

Milla, we have the old DSL modem so I think I'll ask hubby to put it back to see if that makes any difference. I also called our cable provider (AT&T) again today to speak to them about doing more to check to see why this isn't working, but I know they will say that their end is fine, which it seems to be, but we shall see. Other than increasing the DSL speed there isn't really anymore I can do at this point except give up, and I refuse! Thanks for the suggestion.