Graphics card.

Tacoeaterguy

Tacoeaterguy

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Ok. I'm quite an asshole with the money. I was going to save up for a new computer, but thats just not going to happen. So I need to buy a new graphics card, again. The one I had on this computer was great, and I could play the games I wanted to fine on it. But there was one game I couldn't, so, why not. I upgraded it. When I did this, I really didn't know all that much about computers. So I went to a local computer shop, asked for a decent graphics card, and they gave me a card for media. Not gaming. So now, as an example, WoW plays at 15 fps, instead of... about 40-45. Even with all graphics settings at lowest. Is there any graphics card that I can get that would let me play, WoW? Keep in mind that the computer I have is not all that great.
 
My advice as a consumer would be to return the card you bought.

Then buy an alienware.
 
How would I go upon doing that.
Don't look upon me as an idiot, because I rarely look at my comp specs.
 
That actually depends on your OS. If you use Vista, there is no "run." Instead, you would type dxdiag in the search bar at the bottom of the start menu.
 
So I did that. How do I get all specs on screen. Theres only a few.
 
List your Operating System, Processor, Memory, then click the Display tab and list the Name/Chip Type under Device.
 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, build 2006)
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: (Holy crap, never realized my memory was this bad.) 998 MB RAM
Chip Type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor FREAKIN HD 2400 series.

Now looking at it, I have my hands on a pile of junk.
 
Ok. I am now renting my Xbox out to my brother to play, for 15 dollars a month. I'm a douchebag. Theres my subscription money, but can I actually have fun playing the game in 5-20 fps? What would happen if I replaced my new graphics card with the old one?
 
Depends what sort of graphics card you get. For that system any gaming graphics card is going to bottleneck it, you simply don't have the memory or the processing power to keep up with it. With that system you might as well save up and raise your Xbox renting cost and do a full upgrade.
You can play a game below 20FPS, i played COD4 on my old system with 18 FPS and it was playable.
 
You have got to stop getting your information from people trying to sell you stuff. You made that mistake at your local PC store, don't do it again. Although in the videos he was playing in high res what he failed to mention was the graphic settings were all on low which you could easily tell.The HD2400 is in the same league as the old ATI 9800 so it would be lagging your game. Your Graphics card has the same performance of a high end card that's 7 years old which is not good enough.
Here's a good table that shows where your card ranks. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-graphics-card,review-31635-6.html

To put it simple that card was not designed for gaming it doesn't even have a fan for gods sake. It's not even a mid range card it's entry level. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radeon_R600
 
As in the original post, I indeed said, "I am an asshole". I am aware of my mental state of stupidness. What card, would run WoW at average, and would work in my computer. I really don't want a high quality card, I just want one that will play it average. Don't ask why. I could look at the chart, and find one, but I don't know if it would be compatable with my system.
 
Pick up another 1Gb of RAM and some cheapo card like an old 8600GT or similar. It'll give you performance way better than what you have now and should handle something like WoW fine.

You could look for a better card but, as Penguin says, your processor is a bottleneck, plus the higher performance card you get, the more likely you'll have to upgrade your Power Supply Unit into the bargain. In fact you might have to do that anyway depending on what your PSU delivers atm.

The alternative is getting a better PC, but TBH there is no reason why a P4 3.2GHz/2Gb RAM PC wouldn't run the games that you want just fine, as long as you just replace that crappy HD2400 with something slightly better. Something like this, maybe, although other people might have better ideas since I'm not too clued up on mid range cards.

One more thing - the aged nature of your processor suggests that your motherboard might also be kind of old. I believe the HD2400 is a PCIe card but I'm not sure. You might want to verify whether your mobo has an AGP or PCIe slot. You can do this by downloading GPUz and checking the 'Bus Interface' info.
 
I can vouch for the 8600GT. I bought one for my old PC which is a Pentium 4 3.2GHZ and a gig of RAM similar to your system for £40, and i was surprised how good it was. The good thing is that it doesn't require additional power from your PSU so you won't have to worry about upgrading that.
 
Wait, wait, wait. It says that it's a DirectX 10. I don't have that, so I can still play DirectX 9, right?
 
Van_Halen said:
http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-geforc...orce-9800-gtx-756mhz/q/loc/101/210733302.html

Runs crysis on all the highest settings (Minus AA, which isn't a big deal) at a nice resolution, I get 60fps normally.

Though it may depend on the processor, you seem to have a fairly good one, and this is a very nice/cheap card. I've had it for about a year.
Click to expand...

That card is going to bottleneck his processor. He only has a Pentium 4 so it's no where near good enough for games like Crysis or most modern games. Putting a card like that into his system would be an expensive waste, not to mention he would more than likely have to upgrade his PSU for it. I put my HD4850 which is around the same as a 9800 in my old system which is similar to his and it's could not keep up with it.

Tacoeaterguy said:
Wait, wait, wait. It says that it's a DirectX 10. I don't have that, so I can still play DirectX 9, right?
Click to expand...

Yeah you can still play DirectX 9. All it means that it's DX10 compatible, so if you have Vista or 7 you can use DX10.
 
i'd go with another gig of ram and an 8600. should do you fine, and yes, you can play dx9.
 
bam23 said:
i'd go with another gig of ram and an 8600. should do you fine, and yes, you can play dx9.
Click to expand...

This, though I'd see if you could get 4GB of ram in your machine (find the MB manual and check out what it will take). Rams cheap atm, so if you intend to max your system so it lasts a while longer as a gaming platform you might as well do the ram as well.
 
^What Kadayi said. I suspect you have no clue what your mobo is though, Taco, so try using Everest Home Edition to check what model it is. Everest Home is unsupported nowadays but should still be good enough to tell you the specs for your system.

Once you know, check out the manufacturer's website and find the mobo model there. It'll have all the specs, including the maximum supported amount of RAM.
 
For WoW though even a 6800 should run it pretty well. If that's the main game you want to play an 8600 is more than enough for sure.
 
It doesn't matter how powerful your rig is. You will get frameloss when in Dalaran.
 
Edit: Never mind about the 8500 gt, but I did some research on the 8600gt, and I do need a power supply. Luckily, I have a 400w down stairs. My brother said it would work.
 
Do you know what PSU you have atm? I read in those newegg comments that people had the 8600GT work fine with the PSUs of cheaper pre-built machines, of 280W and possibly lower... You might get lucky and not have to swap it out. Keep dibs on the 400W just in case.
 
I entered the name of my computer, and it said it had a 300W on this one site.
Power: 300 Watt
Power Supply Type: 115/230 Volt, 50/60Hz
 
Tacoeaterguy said:
Edit: Never mind about the 8500 gt, but I did some research on the 8600gt, and I do need a power supply. Luckily, I have a 400w down stairs. My brother said it would work.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? Because my 8600GT when into my old PC and it had a 300Watt PSU. The 8600GT doesn't require additional power from the PSU like gaming cards it takes it's power from the PCI slot only.
 
About to buy it, but before I do, I must know that it will work for sure, and that it won't screw up my computer.
 
We've been lying. It won't work. It will assplode your PC.

-SORRY GUYS! I couldn't lie to him any longer... God forgive me, I'M WEAK
 
Alright. Nevermind. My brothers computer just got fixed. He has a freaking awesome 9800 gtx or whatever, and I get his lame, 8500. Gay.
 
Still better than my current 6600.
 
I have a 6200 on my dell actually. Played WoW a little below average. The card actually died about 2 months ago. I need to stop being such a little bitch, and start appreciating what I have.
 
I don't understand. Now instead of the constant 11 fps, I am getting 20-40 in alot of areas. But the second I come anywhere near a city like Stormwind, Ironforge, etc, I go back down to 11 fps. In one area, I even got down to 3 fps. It was pretty bad. What could be the cause of this? My brother says its the motherboard.


Any solutions? My brother might let me play on his computer, but he is trying his hardest to make sure he trys every possible thing that we can do to make it work, JUST so I don't go on his computer. Selfish bastard.
 
Don't cry emo, I get 5FPS average with WoW on my laptop.
 
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