What graphics card would be best for my computer?

Question

Hello, I have a Windows Vista computer (Specs down below) and I want to upgrade my graphics card currently have a Nvidia Geforce 8400 gs series and it does poorly on the new computer games. My computer is not a super gaming computer so I'm not sure if a Nvidia GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD 6870 would be compatible with my computer. Please help I'm not really a computer genius but I'm wishing to upgrade to a newer graphics card to run games like (Elder Scrolls Skyrim, Assassins Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction etc)

Computer specs:
Windows Vista Service Pack 2
Intel Quad Core CPU Q6600 2.40GHZ
Memory/Ram: 3.00 GB
System type: 32-Bit

Answer 1

If your motherboard has PCI-E x16 slot and your case is big enough get GTX 560, GTX 560 Ti, 6870, 6950 or if you can afford it then 6990 or GTX 590.

EDIT: Upgrade RAM to 4-6 GB, get at least 650W (800W+ would be best for SLI/CFX). Get a branded and known PSU, like OCZ etc. It should be 80+ Gold (power effisiency).

Answer 2

The short answer is yes. Assuming you have the aforementioned PCI-E x16 slot available and don't mind losing the slot next to it. Make sure the length of the card will fit as well. Your quad core will be enough to keep up with most gaming graphic cards on the market. Below is a good site for gaming video card comparison. Depending on your monitor's resolution, you should be fine with anything from a HD 5770 1GB/460 (fermi) GTX 768M upward. I put a HD 5770 1GB in a simple 4GB dual core system I built for my grandson, and he has yet to find a FPS game he can't play @ 1680x1050 with all or most eye candy and stay well above 30FPS.



As for the 3GB RAM the other person suggested you may not have running in dual-channel mode... I think he was assuming you had a 3 x 1G configuration. If you instead have a 2 x 1G plus 2 x 512M configuration, it will indeed run in dual channel mode. The key is having both like-colored slots populated with the same size/speed sticks.



There's really not much benefit in getting more RAM until you move to a 64bit O.S.

Answer 3

Get a GTX 550 Ti or GTX 560 to be on the safe side because it seems you'll have a limited amount of power from your power supply. And check your motherboard compatibility 'cos that's also important. All listed graphics cards would run those games brilliantly so don't worry about them being too slow.



Hope this helped :)



Edit: Try getting a power supply unit from 450W to a 800W depending on whether you'll be upgrading your computer in the future or whether you're just wanting a new graphics card. A suitable, affordable solution of 550W would be greatly recommended. Get one with a fan as your new card will need more cooling. Coolermaster, OCZ and Corsair are all trustworthy manufacturers of PSUs so look them up. Upgrading your RAM and OS would be helpful like the others stated to get the best out of your new graphics card because it can be bottle necked by the rest of your components.

Answer 4

upgrade your ram to 4 gigs, upgrade your OS to 64 bit, and stick a amd 6850 hd in (performs just below the gtx 560) (not 560ti) and you have a very good gaming setup and will max out the graphics of all the games you have talked about, you may be able to ax them out with a 5770 hd and stick with 3 gigs of ram and 32 bit os tbh.



be aware that with a quad core processor 64 bit OS makes much better use of them.

Answer 5

1. You have vista

2. 3GB of RAM so I'm assuming it's not running in dual channel mode

3. You have a 32-bit OS



Those things really need to be changed. And either graphics card will work much better than what you have now.

Answer 6

Usally all GPUs can fit whatever specs you have, it mostly matters if your motherboard is compatibale with the selected GPU.