on board solutions are always problematic with gaming
if you're in the US you can pick up a cheap video card that will play all but the most demanding games.
don't bother with a 9400 or a 4350... you'll want to get something with at least the 8600/9500 level of power on the toms heiarchy chart.
just as a rough idea, here is a bunch of middle of the road solutions going from fastest to slowest.
8800 GT 512MB, 8800 GTS 512MB, 9800 GT 4830
8800 GTS 640 MB, 9600 GT HD 2900 XT, 3870
8800 GS, 9600 GSO 3850 512MB, 4670
8800 GT 256MB, 8800 GTS 320MB, HD 2900 PRO, 3850 256MB, 4650
7950 GX2 X1950 XTX
7800 GTX 512, 7900 GTO, 7900 GTX X1900 XT, X1950 XT, X1900 XTX
7800 GTX, 7900 GT, 7950 GT X1800 XT, X1900 AIW, X1900 GT, X1950 PRO, HD 2900 GT
7800 GT, 7900 GS, 8600 GTS, 9500 GT (GDDR3) X1800 XL, X1950 GT, Mobility X1800 XT
6800 Ultra, 7600 GT, 7800 GS, 8600 GT (GDDR3), 9500 GT (DDR2) X800 XT (& PE), X850 XT (& PE), X1650 XT, X1800 GTO, Mobility X1900, HD 2600 XT, 3650 (DDR3), 3670
6800 GT, 6800 GS (PCIe), 8600 GT (DDR2) X800 XL, X800 GTO2/GTO16, HD 2600 PRO, 3650 (DDR2)
I see the 4650 and 9500 cards going for like $30-$40 bucks with a promotion rebate sometimes. But remember smaller bus width on cheap cards with the same chipset are a bit slower (64bit vs 128bit vs 256bit)
I have a couple machines with older cards that still game pretty well - I have a 2600pro and an old x1950 that still pull their weight at medium resolutions on newer games.
If I was to upgrade my stout old 3870 right now (which I need to badly) I'd probably be looking at the promotional $100-$150 cards - just can't afford any more really.
Some of those cards are power hogs - some are not... so plan your power supply needs accordingly
---------- Post added at 12:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:31 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by xmrb2003x
What about windows 7? xmrb2003x
---------- Post added at 08:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:10 AM ----------
Actually what about windows 7 64-bit? I heard some games can be buggy, although it's better than vista was at release.
|
I play Prey on Win7 64 bit.... flawlessly
Q6600 - X38BT MBoard - ATI 3870
but there's no hope of making Bioshock sound work on my Intel Bonetrail on-board Intel HD sound chipset - not sure how it would do with a nice sound card.