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Thread: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

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    Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    I've got a Dell Dimension E520 which has an intel Core 2 4300 @ 1.8GHz with 4GB ram, running Windows 7 64 bit edition.

    I've got a stack of games on Steam which I hardly ever play, I just purchased Shatter in the Steam sale (£1.75!) and it runs really slow, I cah hardly move the paddle.

    I could be wrong but I reckon the GeForce 7300 LE graphics card is the problem? - I reckon 4GB of RAM and the processor should be okay, so that being the case, what graphics cards would you suggest for say a budget of 30-40 quid or so max?

    The games I have on Steam are: Aquaria, Aduiosurf, Beat Hazard, Braid, Codename Gordon, Droplitz, Gish, Orange Box, Left 4 Dead 2, Lugaru HD, Machinarium, Osmosis, Peggle Extreme, World of Goo, etc so as you can see, mostly Indi stuff and casual..

    Suggestions appreciated

    Cheers!

    Oh and Happy New Year!!

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    Qualified Eye-Tician Iron Sights's Avatar
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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    To be honest graphics cards at that range will struggle when it comes to modern games, however this card should easily run the indie games listed, but games like l4d2 you will need to lower the settings.

    ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB DDR3
    http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...5450512mk3-hv2

    whats the resoulution of the monitor?

    If your up for it try a mild overclock on the cpu

    Have you considered 2nd hand? Might be a better option?


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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Maybe an 8800 2nd hand? Should be pretty cheap these days...
    Should you be interested? Here's what I've been...
    Doing, Playing and Listening to.

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Yeah your best bet is to get a 9800GTX/GTS250 or HD4850 second hand but they would cost £40+... Maybe an HD4770 second hand will be the best option for you as they are cheaper and should play modern games fine but they aren't as common.

    New cards at the £30-£40 range really would struggle with L4D2 but if you don't mind turning settings down to low then it will probably be enough, such as the HD5450 Iron Sights suggested. I would suggest considering spending around £50 as cards at that price range are an order of magnitude faster than ones at the £40 range, cards like the GTS430 or HD5550. You are also more likely to find powerful second hand cards like the HD4850 at around £50.

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Not trying to hi-jack this, I used to be on top of all the top graphic cards and other hardware but now I don't have a scoob.

    Currently got an nVidia 8400gt, I might be looking to upgrade it, any suggestions? Play games such as EVE Online/HL2/CS1.6/LFD2

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Thanks for the replies people, I'd not considered second hand cards, I'm happy with lots of second hand stuff but not sure where I could get reliable second hand cards from - I'm not sure I'd want to just buy one from a bloke on eBay! (For my 2nd hand camera gear I use decent camera shops which give guarantees for a year etc).

    How about this deal? - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ATI-Radeon-H...3887037&sr=8-5

    £40 for an ATI 1GB card? - Seems quite decent to me?

    If it's not then what places would you suggest for second hand which aren't from a random stranger!

    Thanks

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    For casual gaming I would look at the mid range cards. Stuff that is on the source engine like HL2 and L4D 2 run well on even low end cards. My lappy has a mid range 4 series Radeon Mobility in it and it runs everything (except Crysis! ). Some games in high detail but things that are a bit newer in medium detail. Playable with an average framerate above 25 FPS should do you fine, for casual gaming literally dont go spending to much.

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    That would be ideal mate, like I said if you are running shooters that are on the source engine you will be able to run them in max detail. Do you have at least 2 Gb system ram also (just noticed you have 4 Gb so its fine! ), 64 bit windows runs better with more ram, same goes for gaming.

    Quote Originally Posted by oldskooladdict View Post
    Thanks for the replies people, I'd not considered second hand cards, I'm happy with lots of second hand stuff but not sure where I could get reliable second hand cards from - I'm not sure I'd want to just buy one from a bloke on eBay! (For my 2nd hand camera gear I use decent camera shops which give guarantees for a year etc).

    How about this deal? - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ATI-Radeon-H...3887037&sr=8-5

    £40 for an ATI 1GB card? - Seems quite decent to me?

    If it's not then what places would you suggest for second hand which aren't from a random stranger!

    Thanks

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 1GB ~ £42.50

    http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...d=11140-01-20r

    This one is better.

    I might have a hd 4830, but its in storage at the moment, (bought brand new) also it still has some warranty left but I will need to check first, as I have a mate interested in it.


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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Just to confirm, you guys do think this is the main bottleneck in my gaming experience don't ya? - The 4GB RAM, Windows 7 64 bit and Intel Core 2 4300 @ 1.8GHz should be sufficient for most stuff shouldn't it?

    I don't want to put a new graphics card into the PC and find out it's still slow and rubbish basically...

    Gah, why can't these Steam games be accessed via my PS3 lol!

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    The CPU aint the greatest help but better GFX will help to some extent, can you OC it? I assume not as its a Dell? Short of a new rig its the best thing you can do. 4GB is plenty.

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Yeah you will see a decent increase in performance with a new VGA card.

    I have Dual Core T4200 (2 Ghz- Effective speed 3 Ghz), 4 Gb Ram and the mid range mobility Radeon and all my source games run in maximum detail and 1366x768 resolution. I have been playing Far Cry 2 in 1280x720 res and medium detail and it runs fine (Might try upping one or 2 of the details to high to see if it copes). Some of the newer games dont run as good admittedly but that what I use my PS3 for.

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    I've no idea whether I can OC it or not - with the sort of tasks I usually do it's not been worth looking into. I take it from your comment that Dell somehow prevent people from overclocking their PCs then?

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Quote Originally Posted by oldskooladdict View Post
    Thanks for the replies people, I'd not considered second hand cards, I'm happy with lots of second hand stuff but not sure where I could get reliable second hand cards from - I'm not sure I'd want to just buy one from a bloke on eBay! (For my 2nd hand camera gear I use decent camera shops which give guarantees for a year etc).

    How about this deal? - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ATI-Radeon-H...3887037&sr=8-5

    £40 for an ATI 1GB card? - Seems quite decent to me?

    If it's not then what places would you suggest for second hand which aren't from a random stranger!

    Thanks

    For the price, that's quite bad. It's an old card that I believe was discontinued a long time ago. I got a 4650 almost a year ago for less than £40. I might be able to sell it, but I'm not sure. It's better than a 3650 but still fairly low end.

    Whatever you get, it's worth bearing in mind that pre-built PCs tend to use low power supply ratings, so you won't be able to use high powered cards, and should probably avoid cards that need their own power cable. So you should look at bus powered cards like the 4650/4670 or newer equivalents. The 4670 is supposed to be a fairly big improvement over the 4650 for the extra price. But they're getting a bit old now. I don't know what the 5*** low end equivalents are.

    As for second hand, you could try the selling forum here on Hexus. Sellers here aren't entirely strangers like on ebay. Is a 12 month guarantee extremely important on a ~£30 card? I know it's better not to have to spend another £30 in a few months, but it's not the end of the world.

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    Usually with the Dell bios it is locked to set speeds etc so OC is usually not an option.

    Dont worry about OC, from the list of Steam games you have there you dont need to worry about it. My lappy is similar spec to what you have there and I dont have any major probs with gaming at all, it does what I want it to and they newer games look decent in medium detail.

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    Re: Graphics Card Help for a casual gamer!

    I'll ignore the OCing for now then, back to the graphics cards, this looks like a decent deal: http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/sapp...d-4650-/840678 it's one of the ones suggested above (cheers!) but a bit cheaper.

    Would I need to worry about this card being too power hungry? - As per KidChameleon's point above? - By the looks of the spec it's an efficient card which doesn't take up too much power...

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