Good Graphics Card?
Simple
Join Date: 2011-12-05 Member: 136628Members
Join Date: 2011-12-05 Member: 136628Members
Can I get suggestions on a good place to purchase a graphics card & a good one to buy? I currently have a radeon amd hd 4250 and it can't run the game. I have no clue if there needs to be specific labtop compatibility or what. Pretty noob w/ computers any help would be loved <3.
Comments
Pros: You can run anything on max. What's not to like?
Cons: It costs more than a new computer, which you'll also probably have to build just to house, power, and cool it.
A radeon 4250 is also specific to integrated laptop video solutions and thus you'd need to upgrade a laptop, if I remember rightly.
If you would then like to say... oh, well that's dissapointing... hmm, what about BUILDING A DESKTOP? Then you have come to the right place.
People often freak out at the thought of building their own desktop computer, it's actually not as hard as one might think, especially if you are going to install windows 7 onto it.
You will need:
a screwdriver kit
a computer with the internet(for research and choosing parts).
about 10 hours worth of studying(including choosing parts). This is total time, can be split up over days or weeks.
Some help(from me for example).
about $1200 give or take $300.
Know someone in real life who is into computers, to the stage where they have custom built one.
Once you have fulfilled these requirements, you can begin the process of learning about what parts you need.
It's really simple(lol, I love it when people say that about things that seem daunting). All you need to remember, is that you have to keep all your hardware parts compatible with each other, then follow the instructions to plug them together correctly. It really is just that, plugging things together... like lego bricks.
The most important stage is choosing parts to a budget, I'll get you started with a basic list of specs for now, and what you would expect to pay for them at an online store.
Case: something by coolermaster, don't spend under $60 on a case. You can also try other brands, such as thermaltake, nzxt, or anything someone suggests to you, as long as the price is above $60, you should be good for quality.
Motherboard: Intel z67, or amd am3+... specific model, I can't say right now. something costing at least $135
Hard Drive: 7200rpm(rotations per minute) 1TB(1000GB). Consider a 60GB SDD if you have the cash and put your operating system on it, as well as a game or two that you regularly play.
CPU: something that fits into the motherboard, match up chipsets and you should be set( am3 goes into am3, 1155 goes into 1155). Spend at least $200 here.
RAM: Get at least 8GB, ddr3, 1600mhz. (probably a kit of 2 4GB sticks). Ensure voltages are good, match voltages with the motherboard(1.5V ram motherboard requirement, use 1.5V ram).
Graphics Card: Something costing at least $250, specific models? gtx 560 Ti, AMD 6870. Get at least 1.5GB of memory on the graphics card.
Power supply: branded, 600 watt minimum. This will ensure you can safely run pretty much any hardware, including 2 graphics cards(as long as they aren't something crazy like a gtx 580) without blowing your computer up.
Disc drive, blu ray combo. it won't cost much, and you can play blu rays hooray.
Monitor: 23" 1080P or bigger, brands to go for: samsung, benq, theyre fairly reliable brands.
Keyboard: I'm using a microsoft basic keyboard, it's nice. Get something that you like, don't spend any more than $100 on it though.
Mouse: Something good, there is a cooler master cm storm sentinel that performs well.
Mousepad: get one, just get one, make sure it's a proper gaming mouse pad, cloth, or anything that's branded as a gaming mouse pad, you won't regret it. They last ages, they stop your mouse feet getting scratched up, and they make everything so smooth.
That's all there is to it for now, think about that for a little while, reply back if you want some more advice on specifics. I'm in australia, so prices for you will likely be different(lower).
As stated above, building a desktop would be much better for hardcore games. The 4250 is great for WoW. And Minesweeper. Not so much for recent 3D games.
But as IeptBarakat said this game is very cpu based game.
Edit: Wow my grammar is epic. /sarcasm
I wouldn't attempt it on a laptop with less than a 320M, and that may be pushing it.
Desktop wise I'd go for a minimum of a Core2Duo 2.4+ and a 9800GT at a minimum. Again, pushing it.
Desktop wise I'd go for a minimum of a Core2Duo 2.4+ and a 9800GT at a minimum. Again, pushing it.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's what I have and it is indeed pushing it (+HD4850) :)
You can get this:
DVD-Burner
500W PSU
4GB DDR3 RAM
Radeon HD 6850
Intel Core i5-2500k
ASRock P67 Pro3, P67
22" Monitor
320GB HD
Case
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
For around 770€
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minus 130€ if you already have a monitor
minus 80€ if with a weaker Core i3 CPU (but thats the last thing i would try to save money on)
minus 80€ if you have windows
minus 60€ if you have a harddisk lying around
minus 30€ if you have a pc case (yes you can get good enough cases for that price)
minus 20€ if you have a dvd rom lying around
______________
so in theory you can get as low as 370€
(you cant get a notebook with the same performance, similar ones would costs at least 2000€)
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Tho even the lowest of the desktop i3 should be better in 1-2thread applications than any notebook cpu. (and most games are only 1-2 threads)
But I agree that i also wouldnt go for an i3.
They will, but yeah if you end up buying it why not just keep your copy. I bet price will go up once it goes gold in any case :)
You'd still need to get a display, keyboard, and mouse to finish it up, which would be an additional $100 new.
So, $600 total for a full, new gaming rig.
P.S. It seems some people have had problems with Radeon video cards in NS2 -- although that is hopefully temporary.
Racer1 - Wow that looks perfect for me :] I have a monitor/keyboard .. If I could do that any time soon that'd be awesome! :]
We have problems in everything new. We have to wait for drivers to catch up, always.
Spend at least $900 for everything, otherwise you will be stuck with something quickly outdated.
I recomend spending the $1200, and getting something to last 4 years or more, with only maybe a graphics card upgrade along the way.
Is it better to get two moderately priced SLI graphics cards or one expensive card?
Is it better to get two moderately priced SLI graphics cards or one expensive card?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
SLI/Crossfire doesn't scale 100%, so it won't be twice as fast as a single card. There are also many bugs in games not optimized for it, and you also get micro stuttering, sometimes having short jumps to half the usual framerate. It is very rarely worth it.
Sli/Crossfire only really makes sense if you make it with top end cards. (it does scale up to 90%, but you can get lots of problems with some games(up to a point where you have to disable one card for it to play properly), micro stutter, higher power consumption in idle and load etc.)
For lower range cards its usually better to just buy a single mid-highrange card for the money you want to spend.(or a little bit more)
Especially if you have to pay your own power bills. :P (so the money you think you save by buying 2cheaper cards, might come back hidden in this bill)
edit: right, as scardy below me says - you also dont need to buy a stronger psu, or sli capable motherboard in the first place... (which saves also quite something)
Is it better to get two moderately priced SLI graphics cards or one expensive card?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you want the best performance possible regardless of the price, then sure. Otherwise, I've found that going with a high-powered single graphics card is generally less expensive (i.e. you can get a lower wattage power supply/cheaper non-SLI/crossfire MB) for a similar level of performance.