Ian

iTrader: (10)

My computer hasblowen up,so am going to make a fresh start.

i would lke a set up that is very good for games.

so far i have been looking a these 2 things.

both on ebuyer

AMD Phenom 9500 quad cor processor
(code 136388)

andasus m2n-esli motherbord
(code 121169)

what graphic card would be very good at around £100

i am thinking some sort of pci one.

any info much welcome

thanks
ian

Ian

iTrader: (10)

anyone know anything about what makes a good graphic card, or what to go for?

Removed.

Most important question is what's your budget? The price of a good card is significantly higher than an OK card. Also, you may want to reconsider the AMD processor route, Pound for Pound Intel chips give better performance. Get ready for the replies from the Intel haters! I used AMD for years, but until they catch up with the latest from Intel, they're in trouble. Take a look at sites such as PC PRO - IT News & Reviews for comparisons. The trouble is, PC's and gaming = wonga. You may actually find it better value for money to buy a ready made system. I gave up upgrading and bought an Xbox360!

PC Pro: Product Reviews: ATi Radeon HD 3870 X2

This is the sort of thing you're looking at for a high-end card, or an Nvidia 8800 of some sort.

Good luck!

jpor

iTrader: (1)

This may also help:

Introduction : The Best Gaming Graphics cards for the Money: December 2007

Daz34

You deffo want an Intel Core Duo 2 cpu.
No logical reason to get a Phenom in your situation.
Best graphics card for around £100 is without doubt the 512Mb ATI 3850 Pro.

Ian

iTrader: (10)

is the Phenom a bit over kill?, or is the intel core duo2 cpu better?

Ian

iTrader: (10)

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB (4MB per core pair) Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer

this one any good?, compaired to my first choice?

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

Do you plan to overclock? This will make a bit of difference. But yes, Intel over AMD at the moment.

Budget overall? And which bits does this need to cover? Just the m/b CPU and gfx? Will you need new RAM - you don't say how old the current rig is.

And a £100 gfx crd will be just about acceptable if you plan a lot of gaming - you really need £150 to play with a reasonable resolution. And I assume that you mean PCI-E, not PCI?


M

Ian

iTrader: (10)

have been looking at these intel stuff at my local shop

its from the classic series
DG33BU mother bord

and a intel E8400 cpu

these any good?

also what about the xfx geforce 8500 gt, or the 8600 gt cards

thanks
ian

Ian

iTrader: (10)

anyone?

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

8600GT is only a mid-level card at best. And you didn't answer my questions, which makes it a little hard to advise. Although I assume that if you are looking at an Intel-make motherboard then you do NOT plan on overclocking. But the budget figure and what it has to cover would be useful.

BTW, what is your local shop? 'Cos for Cambridge I'd probably advise the one in Chesterton.


M

Ian

iTrader: (10)

prob not going to over clock, as you prob can tell, i dont know much about comps, but my dad knows more than me.

just found out my dad has brought from world of computers (near milton) as a supprise for me

the intel E8400 cpu, DG33BU mother bord and 2 gig of ram.

so just need to chouse a graphic card. prob around £100 but will go higher if needed.

want it to play games like crysis well.

what would you recoment, it will be using windows xp home

thanks again
ian

Daz34

In that case you need to spend £150 on a 512Mb 8800GT.

AFAIK nothing plays crysis on maxed out settings yet though.

Ian

iTrader: (10)

any links to a card like this, looking for the best card for the £££

have seen some cards alot more money, for what seams like just a different make??

Ian

iTrader: (10)

just had a look on ebuyer, and there are alot of 8800gt cards that are around £150, but how can you tell what are the better ones?

or any other cheaper place to buy a card?


just found this, beter than a 8800gt?

Zotac 9600GT 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

No, worse than an 8800GT.


8800 Ultra > 8800GTX > 8800GT > 9600GT > 8800GTS as far as I am aware. The 9600 is the new mid-level card, with the 9800 due in about a month.


M

Ian

iTrader: (10)

what would you recomend for £150?

the shop in chesterton, does that have a lot of stock/good prices, or is it worth buying of the interweb

Ian

iTrader: (10)

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3870 / 512MB DDR4 / PCI Express 2.0 x16 / Graphics Card
any good have read some good reviews about it

Daz34

Not as good as an 8800GT or the new 9600GT once you enable anti-aliasing but they are gonna drop the price to make it more competetive.

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

Web will always be cheaper - you will save about £20-30 over that store at that sort of money. If you want to wait until the 9800GTX comes out I can sell you my 8800GTX...

As for performance, track down reviews, which usually compare a card to various others. It's what Google is for.


M

Ian

iTrader: (10)

cool, how much will you be looking for your old card? pm me if you like.

thanks
ian

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

I'd want about £150, hence the comment, but I'm not certain when 9800 hits the shelves - about another month methinks. As for the 9600, OcUK has them for about £100-120. They also have a 512MB (do not touch the 256MB memory version) 8800GT for £150, which would be better than the 9600GT.


M