New to graphics cards, need help please.

[len173]

Hello everyone. I am new here, and also very new to graphics cards, and I need some serious help. Forgive my ignorance please.

So, I want a better graphics card, so I can run some better games. But specifically I want to run Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I have been wanting to play this game forever, but I just don't have the juice. Now I know nothing about graphics cards but the recommended card is: "ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card". So I proceeded to look on Ebay, because it seems like a good place to get a good deal. I am also finding out I may need a better power supply to run a new video card. I have no idea what kind of power supply I have, is there any way to find out? I also don't know if my computer can run certain video cards, or power supplies. Im basically hopeless, haha. So I will give you the rundown on my system, and leave it to your wisdom. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and thanks for your help!

My system:

Acer AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
2.01 Ghz
768MB RAM
NVIDA GeForce 6100 nForce 430

[hse180]

We will need to know what make and model your motherboard is too, so that we can give you the appropiate advice. If you download this CPUID (does not need to be installed) and give it a few seconds to open, then click on mainboard , the info will be there. As for your PSU, there should be a sticker on it somewhere that will tell you what make and power output. But i think you will have top take of the side panel of your case to see it.

[len173]

Okay, I got the program. It says I have:

manufacturer: Acer
Model: EM61SM/EM61PM
Chipset: NVIDIA MCP61
Rev: A2
Southbridge: NVIDIA MCP61
LPCIO: ITE

[ACiD303]

If you head to VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware, there is an Oblivion section that compares different graphics cards, at different resolutions and quality settings - although you might be able to scale down the GFX cards (i.e. go down a few notches on the desired card) because they take things like anti-aliasing and maximum quality settings into account, things which you can customise yourself in the video settings so that you can run it at a quality you are happy with.

To give you a rough indication of speed, 30 frames per second is what I'd consider minimal enjoyable quality, 60+ fps is a luxury . . . other people have different standards, but thats what I would consider the bare minimum.

Other considerations to take into account is your monitor - if you are using a LCD monitor, what is its native resolution, and if the card you are looking at isn't capable of running Oblivion at native resolution, then is the LCD monitor capable of scaling down without image quality loss.

[RoBe]

I have no idea what kind of power supply I have, is there any way to find out?

you'll need to open up your pc, and on the side of the psu there'll probably be a sticker telling you the specification of it

[vinnyT]

According to google the Acer EM61SM/EM61PM sports PCI-e (though it is locked at 8X, so any card you buy will not run as fast as a 16X slot board), so really any new nvidea or amd/ati card will do.

You don't mention what size monitor you have, 17" - 22" a 8800GT or GTS from nvidea, or a HD3850 from ati would be ideal. For a larger 24" screen, then an nvidea 8800GTX would be my bet.

Hope this helps.

[len173]

I don't need to play the game on max settings, I don't mind having low settings, I just want to be able to play it without it being choppy, or slow, thats my big thing. I'd like to save as much as possible, but I know I will have to spend a descent amount.

one website says this is the recommended card: ATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card. And here is a list of supported chip sets. Will any of the following work well, and work with my computer, for a descent price?

ATI X1900 series
ATI X1800 series
ATI X1600 series
ATI X1300 series
ATI X850 series
ATI x800 series
ATI x700 series
ATI x600 series
ATI Radeon 9800 series
ATI Radeon 9700 series
ATI Radeon 9600 series
ATI Radeon 9500 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 series
NVIDIA GeForce FX series

[crazyfool]

if you aint lookin for high setting i would say a 7600...pretty good card and 60ish quid