Graphics Upgrade Required?

[Wyoming]

I want to play COD4 and TF2 @ 1440x900 with all settings at low and want to achieve a minimum fps of 25 and an average of around 30.

With my current system (see profile, the RAM will shortly be upgraded to 2x 1Gb Crucial Performance Series) can I achieve this? If not what would be the cheapest graphics upgrade to enable me to?

[staffsMike]

It might improve things but to be honest I would just save the money until you can afford a decent upgrade.

ATi HD3850pro's are very good for the money £85 for the 256mb in some cases.

My mobile 8400gs can play it @ 1280 x 800 (native) on low settings though but that is with a 2.2 C2D and 2GB of ram..

[Webby]

I'm with Mike on this for the price of DDR memory you would be better saving for a bit longer and getting a new system.

You would see a bigger performance jump spending money on say the following,

CPU: Celeron Duel Core E1200 £35 or Pentium Duel Core E2160 £44
MB: Abit IP-35-E £58 or Abit IP-35 £77 (often on Scan today for less)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 6400 (800MHz) of your choice £25-40
CPu Cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 £15 or Thermalright Ultima 90 with 120mm fan £23 + fan

So for £135 you could get a significantly better system than what you have currently obviously the more expensive components would put this up to more in the region of £175 but an even cheaper MB could be specced and you could use the standard HSF rather than spending the extra for after market cooling.

[Mithrandir]

Personally I wouldbn't waste the money on the ram. DDR is still well expensive. Have you Overclocked your CPU yet?
I have a 3700+ and it's Oc'd to 2.8ghz. I read that most can go up to that speed or at least 2.6ghz.
Otherwise Im with webby on seeling your parts and upgrading.

[fraps]

If you want a 3850, get 512mb version or pick up a new/ second hand x1900/ 1950 512mb card

[Wyoming]

I really can't afford to do a full upgrade at the moment. I'm saving everything for a new build in september [for uni].

I haven't tried overclocking yet, this is unchartered territory for me. Are there any good guides for K8 that are for absolute beginners?

And I'll keep an eye out for second hand X19xx cards.

[Pob255]

a 2nd hand x19xxXXX or 79xxXX would be a boost
I'd be tempted to get something better as they would carry across onto a new pc eaisly (pci-e) an HD3870 or 8800gt 512mb would be good and should last a good while.

extra memory would probably help (if you can get get it cheap) ps if you've got some free memory slots then get extra to stick in, the loss of dual channel isn't a great deal. Especally if you have 2 slots free, an extra 2x512 shouldn't be too much cash.

Overclocking should help a bit too.

How clean to you keep windows? a regular clean out combined with defrag, fixing the page file and such can do real wonders on performance.
Remember to do a full virus and spyware sweep as well

[Wyoming]

How clean to you keep windows? a regular clean out combined with defrag, fixing the page file and such can do real wonders on performance.
Remember to do a full virus and spyware sweep as well

I'm using nLited Windows Home with minimal programs installed, I defrag with the Windows Defragmenter every day and use CCleaner regularly. I don't have the internet on my PC so viruses and spyware aren't an issue.

Thanks for the advice, I'm not checking ebay regularly for bargains. I'm tempted to wait until the 9800 comes out and then buy an 8800GT (I assume they'll go sub-£100 then?)

I'm still looking for overclocking guides and tutorials - not found anything basic enough yet though.

[fraps]

2600xt?

[TooNice]

The bare minimum to meet your requirement is probably this card. But I note that this deal has now expired. Keep an eye on it and the X1950 Pro for future reference. Personally though, I agree with those who say that you might as well go for an AMD 38-series or the nVidia 88-series (even the lower end).