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upgrading my graphics card question...

Post Date: 2008-07-05
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mitc1111 View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote mitc1111 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: upgrading my graphics card question...
    Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 4:29am
I'm a happy owner of a DS PC.  I purchased my system about eight months ago.  I've had no major problems and it's the best PC i've ever owned.  And the customer service was great!

Here's the major parts inside:

CPU:  DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, 3000 MHz (9 x 333)
Motherboard:  EVGA 122-CK-NF68 (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 3 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Chipset:  nVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
Memory:  2048 MB  (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS:  Award (09/28/07)
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Basic (6.0, Build 6000)
Video Adapter:  NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT  (512 MB) (Only one)
Audio Adapter:  Creative CA20K1 X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio Processor

My question:  I want to get the new GTX 280 video card to replace my 8800 GT.    Will that be a problem?  I dont think I can use both of them in a SLI config because they are different cards ... but that's ok.  Will I have any trouble just swaping them?  I heard that the GTX 280 uses two different pin types of power cords.  Is this, or anything else, something I need to be concerned about?

Does anyone feel that the benifit of this upgrade will be too minimal for the price?  Any input is welcomed.  Thanks.
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 4:41am

You will definately see a tremndous improvement in performance, no doubt of that. As to whether or not it's worth the price, that's an individual judgement call. You did not mention your case, nor your power supply, and both of these items may indeed be limiting factors.

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mitc1111 View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote mitc1111 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 5:02am
Thanks for the quick reply.  I think it will be worth the price.  I guess I just want to make sure there's nothing about my setup preventing me from doing this.
Let's see,

Power Supply:  600W Thermaltake (SLI Compatible) (Silent PurePower Edition)
Case: Digital Storm Twister LITE (Black Aluminum Edition)
Cooling:  Air Cooled Stage One (certified DS heat sink)

and a recap of the other

CPU:  DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, 3000 MHz (9 x 333)
Motherboard:  EVGA NF68  (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 3 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Chipset:  nVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
Memory:  2048 MB  (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS:  Award (09/28/07)
Video Adapter:  NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT  (512 MB) (only one)
Audio Adapter:  Creative CA20K1 X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio Processor

Or maybe my money would be better spent going towards a quad CPU...

My PC is mostly for gaming.  (FPS like Crysis, Driving like GRID etc)
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!ender_ View Drop Down
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Posts: 4219 		  Quote !ender_ Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 9:35am
i dont know that they would fit unless you moved/removed your HDD cage, you may look into a 9800gtx with that setup.
8800 gt = 9 inches (W) X 4.736 inches (H)  
260 = 10.5" (L) x 3.75" (W) x 1.5" (H)
to be completely honest though, i dont think you should change either one, both the processor and gpu you listed are slightly dated, but i dont think the performance difference would be worth upgrading so soon. if you must, definately take the GPU over the quad core
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mitc1111 View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote mitc1111 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 11:07am
Yeah, I guess I should wait awhile.  My system isn't running slow -- it's actually quite speedy.  I play Vegas 2 on mostly high settings without a problem.  But the 260 is very alluring. 

Maybe  I'll wait and see how my system does with Far Cry 2 before I start spending money.

Thanks for your help.
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!ender_ View Drop Down
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Posts: 4219 		  Quote !ender_ Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 11:16am
keep this in mind and i know that ive said it before but still,
regaurdless of when you buy or how much you spend, by the time you get it out of the box, there will be something newer, faster, and more expensive RIGHT around the corner. What you have to ask yourself is what is lacking on the system you have, for me, i didnt spend too much on this computer, i picked the parts very carefully, but that was almost a year ago now (believe it or not). I've since saved the money to completely upgrade/overhaul the system, but whats faster than instant? whats more visually appealing than 100% smooth on full settings with topped out FPS?
I feel like the average gamer/computer geek is much better off buying 1 system for 3 years and then starting completely over. if you add one thing it will only be a matter of time and budget until you've swapped everything out and bought a new completely new computer in pieces
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mitc1111 View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote mitc1111 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 12:28pm
Right now my system plays most games very smoothly on medium settings/ high resolution.  And many games (example, Orange Box) I can max out.  Others, like Turok and Lost Planet have trouble with the highest resolution, but that's ok, I dont need the very highest.  More memory might help that.

But I wonder how long I have before I start failing to meet the minimum system requirments on new high-end games.  How long before I'm struggling to play at a decent framerate?

If I could get three years (I've already had it almost a year), it probably would be cheaper to wait and get a whole new system rather than buying new parts.  But I have a feeling I can't get two more years out of it.

CPU:  DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, 3000 MHz (9 x 333)
Motherboard:  EVGA NF68  (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 3 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Chipset:  nVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
Memory:  2048 MB  (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS:  Award (09/28/07)
Video Adapter:  NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT  (512 MB) (only one)
Audio Adapter:  Creative CA20K1 X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio Processor
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Jul 2008 at 12:35pm
I had a 6800 on my old system, Crysis was the only game i knew of that had a min requirement higher then that. A few new games might of topped that, but I dont see min requirements topping 8800 levels for a LONG time....years+
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor
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