Which graphics card should I buy? Nvidia 9600?

I got a new HP desktop with the following:

AMD Phenom X4 9550 Quad-Core
6GB ram
NVidia GeForce 9100 on-board

This was supposed to be an upgrade from my former dual-core HP with only 2GB ram and a Geforce 8500.

But I'm having massive lag problems, rez problems, and I'm getting that awful "display driver xvl...whatever has failed and recovered" error message frequently which is crashing Sl for me. I can't run SL at anything higher than low graphics really.

So, obviously, gotta put in a new graphics card. I'm trying to shop Craigslist and the such, but I'm really not sure what would be a good purchase.

I've got a line on an Nvidia 9600 Oc2 GDDR3 512mb that I'm thinking about buying, but I don't know if it works good with SL specifically (SL is the only online game I play).

Keep in mind I'm having to buy off Craigslist or eBay or local groups, and my budget is closer to $100 than anything more, so I can't just run out and buy the "ULTIMATE" card right now.

I REALLY appreciate experienced input on this.

Thanks!

i don't know anything about that 9100. But i think the one(x1xx) in the second location means that is a lower level card than the 8500 your replacing. I could be wrong.

Have you tried updating to the latest video driver?

Someone here may know of a specific nvidia driver that works better for SL.

Also i would check around about 9600s. I think i remember people having issues with them here.

Any chance of putting the 8500 in your new puter?

The rule of thumb, the higher the second number, the better.

A 9600GT should serve you well. For a hundred dollars or so, you should be able to pick up a 9800GT.

Yes, the 9800GT seems to be getting THE best reviews for its price range.
I ended up buying that one and it's working extremely well for me.

Yes,
The second number is the more important number for Nvidia. I have an 8400 and it works great with SL... very little lag if at all. The 9600 should work much better for you. 9800 is getting some fantastic reviews though... i may have to pick one up very soon

Er I don't know. I have a 9800gt and while my FPS is fantastic. I am sometimes plagued with large flashing glowly lights and lots of screen stuttering for no apparent reason. A reboot of my computer clears it right up though for awhile. I have the latest drivers installed. Not really sure if it is graphic card problem or not ,can't imagine what else it could be though.


I also cannot save pics or textures to hard drive without crashing most days. I need to email the pics to myself.

Out of all cards on the market right now, the 9800gt has the best price/performance ratio when it comes to SL.

There are certainly better cards, but they just don't balance out in price.

The 9800gt will get you smooth fps regardless of where you are inworld, and is really a great experience overall.

you say it clears up for a little bit after a reboot? could be a heat issue. could be something running in the background eating up your processor cycles too, but that's less likely to cause graphics corruption (but very possible for stuttering). of course the stuttering could also be caused by bandwidth issues (either your end is saturated with too much traffic, or your ISP is doing some funky filtering).

my bet is on overheating, check it the next time it happens.

No matter which video card be careful that you get one that will actually fit in your case. If you have a full tower then it is no problem but most bought machines are mini towers that are very cramped inside and your card may not fit. I ran into that problem last January when I went down and treated myself to an 8800 gtx only to find when I got home that it was huge and it was impossible to put in the computer I had at the time.

HEH! That is actually quite a common problem, followed by a power supply that cant handle the card.

My 8800GTS is big, but I have a full tower case with about 4-5 inches to spare for room. Not that I'd want to push it.

I think the next video card for me will have to be an Nvidia 280. or 290?

For the OP: Anything from the 9600 & up should suffice.

A friend of mine just bought a new system with a 9600 in it. It handled well.

Had no problems with my 9600, generally run with graphics settings tweaked slightly from the Ultimate settings and fps rarely drops below 15 in very laggy places, usually over 30.

I'd echo the warnings about making sure you have enough space and power supply, I'd budgeted for the new power supply I'd need, but when I took the card out of the box and saw the size of it, I was a bit worried. Plenty of room in the end, but it was a bit tricky fitting it and my fingers in there.

have a machine with almost the same specs... runs perfect

only not clear for me if you use a 64 or 32 b system... 6 gig is useless on 32b

I bought a 9800gt it narrowly fits in my PC yea I had to make sure I put the wires around it away from it. I cant get it to run SL its a pny 9800gt 1024mb I got the upgrade because i played oblivion and needed the better card. Ok So I get my net back and its stating my graphics card is not up to date or that its hardware is unsupported. I asked customer serice and yes i updated all the drivers. Can anyone help me. If so please send me a message at [email]blessdfate@yahoo.com[/email]. Thanks in advance

Sometimes "Yes, I updated all my drivers" IS the problem for SL.

You may have to DOWNgrade them. I know someone in the depths of this forum has posted information about which driver to use, etc. but I don't remember the details.

The most current drivers are not yet good with sl however the driver 1.80 or 1.80 beta works wonders and I was able to log in. Minor glitches I noticed with the screen flickering but overall a real beauty. And steller as far as I can see best thing I ever seen. So thank you all for your help.

Sincerely
David

9600GT vs SL ? , very good


*i burned my old 7900gt, needed a new asap, 9800gt was only about $30more but they didnt have it on stock, so had to go with 9600gt, No Regrets


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