Numpty graphics related questions........
Discussion
How the hell do I compare specs on graphics cards ? Apart from looking at onboard memory I dont begin to understand the spec.
Also, if I put a higher spec card in, how do I know if my monitor is capable of running at the same or better level than the card ?
Just trying to make my games look a bit prettier without spending loads.Ive seen some cards as much as £450
Current graphic card is Radeon X300 and screen is boggo Dell 17" TFT.
TIA
F
Also, if I put a higher spec card in, how do I know if my monitor is capable of running at the same or better level than the card ?
Just trying to make my games look a bit prettier without spending loads.Ive seen some cards as much as £450
Current graphic card is Radeon X300 and screen is boggo Dell 17" TFT.
TIA
F
have a look here for performance comparison:
www.tomshardware.co.uk/graphics/charts.html
and here for £/performance ratio
www.tomshardware.co.uk/2006/11/07/the_best_video_cards_for_your_money_uk/
First you need to know what physical standard you have - is it AGP or PCI-E?
The - what resolution do you want to play in ? - a 17" monitor should do 1280 x 1024 easy enough so no need for a real high end card (which will play games at 1600 x 1200 or higher)
Then what games do you play? - generally the latest RTS and FPS games require the most poke
What CPU and RAM do you have in your PC - no point in having a £500 graphics card, if you have an old processor and 512Mb RAM etc
Memory wise then 256MB may be enough right now...but there are a few games that really need 512MB so Id go 512MB if you can afford it for future proofing.
You want to be looking at the the series of card, and (generally) the clock speed of its GPU and memory - generally the faster the better....Id say you want to be spending £150+ ish for decent modern gaming ...the higher the resolution you want to play at = more expense on graphics cards .....
www.tomshardware.co.uk/graphics/charts.html
and here for £/performance ratio
www.tomshardware.co.uk/2006/11/07/the_best_video_cards_for_your_money_uk/
First you need to know what physical standard you have - is it AGP or PCI-E?
The - what resolution do you want to play in ? - a 17" monitor should do 1280 x 1024 easy enough so no need for a real high end card (which will play games at 1600 x 1200 or higher)
Then what games do you play? - generally the latest RTS and FPS games require the most poke
What CPU and RAM do you have in your PC - no point in having a £500 graphics card, if you have an old processor and 512Mb RAM etc
Memory wise then 256MB may be enough right now...but there are a few games that really need 512MB so Id go 512MB if you can afford it for future proofing.
You want to be looking at the the series of card, and (generally) the clock speed of its GPU and memory - generally the faster the better....Id say you want to be spending £150+ ish for decent modern gaming ...the higher the resolution you want to play at = more expense on graphics cards .....
PC Spec is P4 3.0 Gb with 1.5gb Ram.
Dont have huge expectations because I think most modern games look good anyway.
Played Fear and Halflife,both looked stunning.Just started to play rfactor, looks good to.
I guess Im just trying to a) understand the whole graphics thing and b)upgrade in case Im missing something....if that makes sense.
Ive seen some cards at £70ish that appear to be better than I have, but would there be a noticeable improvement ?
F
Dont have huge expectations because I think most modern games look good anyway.
Played Fear and Halflife,both looked stunning.Just started to play rfactor, looks good to.
I guess Im just trying to a) understand the whole graphics thing and b)upgrade in case Im missing something....if that makes sense.
Ive seen some cards at £70ish that appear to be better than I have, but would there be a noticeable improvement ?
F
A lot depends on which resolution you game at, the faster cards are designed to run at high resolutions so if you are happy playing at 640x480 or 800x600 then an uber graphics card wont offer much over a cheaper model. However some of the £80-120 ish cards could offer a considerable performance upgrade over an X300.
It's a complete mine field out there, with different chips (even from the same manufactuers) offering the same features and overlapping performance at different price points.
The best thing to do is look at online reviews at hardware sites like already mentioned as this will give an idea of the difference in speed between cards. Also don't get hung up on 512Mb RAM. Entry level and Midrange cards rarely have the power to utilise the high res textures that require the extra RAM. To compound things if there are two similar cards; one with 256Mb and the other with 512Mb the 256Mb card will often have faster RAM and therefore actually be faster
In fact one of the hardware sites recently did a comparision between 256Mb and 512Mb RAM and even on top end cards in the latest games (oblivian/ FEAR/ etc.) the differences were minimal
Cards to consider would be ATI X1650XT/ Pro, ATI X1950Pro, nVidia 7600GT and nVidia 7900GS based cards
It's a complete mine field out there, with different chips (even from the same manufactuers) offering the same features and overlapping performance at different price points.
The best thing to do is look at online reviews at hardware sites like already mentioned as this will give an idea of the difference in speed between cards. Also don't get hung up on 512Mb RAM. Entry level and Midrange cards rarely have the power to utilise the high res textures that require the extra RAM. To compound things if there are two similar cards; one with 256Mb and the other with 512Mb the 256Mb card will often have faster RAM and therefore actually be faster
In fact one of the hardware sites recently did a comparision between 256Mb and 512Mb RAM and even on top end cards in the latest games (oblivian/ FEAR/ etc.) the differences were minimal
Cards to consider would be ATI X1650XT/ Pro, ATI X1950Pro, nVidia 7600GT and nVidia 7900GS based cards
no - you wont notice anything with a £70 card - you want something like this as a minimum to notice a good difference:
www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=480125
Nvidia 7900 GS etc
..you will be able to switch on a lot more detail in FEAR etc then...which is one of the most demanding games out there.
www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=480125
Nvidia 7900 GS etc
..you will be able to switch on a lot more detail in FEAR etc then...which is one of the most demanding games out there.
bogie said:
you want something like this as a minimum to notice a good difference:
www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=480125
Nvidia 7900 GS etc
www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=480125
Nvidia 7900 GS etc
That is a very good card for the price
Furyous: Your X300 is PCi Express isn't it?
One thing to bear in mind is what Direct X version the card supports. Direct X is a software API used for graphics on PC's. Each new iteration of DX will have new features - perhaps some new way of doing water effects, or particles etc. As a new DX is released so the graphics cards makers will release hardware that will support all the new features & games makers release software that uses the new API & its features. For example, I've got an nvidia card with the 7800 chipset. It has support for DX 9. DX10 is just coming out & the latest expensive cards will have support for the new graphics effects of DX10. I think the new MS Flight Sim supports DX10 & I should imagine most topline games coming out in the future will too.
Now, if I were to buy a game that uses new effects of DX10 but my card only supported DX9 that would most likely still be fine. I would just not be able to see these new effects. Eventually your card gets so far behind that there isn't many settings you can turn off in new games before it they become unusable & you have to upgrade. So, if there is some software you are specifically looking to upgrade to be able to use, check its recommended specs - ensure that you get a card that it supports.
Now, if I were to buy a game that uses new effects of DX10 but my card only supported DX9 that would most likely still be fine. I would just not be able to see these new effects. Eventually your card gets so far behind that there isn't many settings you can turn off in new games before it they become unusable & you have to upgrade. So, if there is some software you are specifically looking to upgrade to be able to use, check its recommended specs - ensure that you get a card that it supports.
if it's a 17" DEll it'll be either 1024x768 more more likely 1280x1024. As for PSU this could be more problematic. The lower power GPU's (X1650/ 7600) shouldn't be a problem but you may need a more powerful PSU for the X1950/ 7900 class GPU's. If you open your case the PSU should have a sticker on it with the maximum power in watts (as a general guide) and (more importantly) the maximum current, check these specs with the GPU manufactuers (via their web sites), to see if it's enough.
mr_yogi said:
DX10 is Vista only so unlike before when anybody who buys a new generation of DX card will be able to take advantage of it, only those who have a DX 10 card AND Vista will be able to play games using the DX10 code path 
Which is funny because the Nvidia drivers for Vista don't currently support the 8000 series... which are DX10 compat. units. God, gotta love that
ThePassenger said:
mr_yogi said:
DX10 is Vista only so unlike before when anybody who buys a new generation of DX card will be able to take advantage of it, only those who have a DX 10 card AND Vista will be able to play games using the DX10 code path
Which is funny because the Nvidia drivers for Vista don't currently support the 8000 series... which are DX10 compat. units. God, gotta love that
Argh don't get me started on that. I didn't even bother to check on that when I did my PC upgrade a couple of weeks ago. Just assumed directx 10 card plus directx 10 O/S would work like a dream. I've had to retrograde back to XP
FWIW My new system:
Core Duo 6600
nForce 680sli M/b
2GB Corsair DD2 PC 6400 Dominator RAM
nVidia 8800GTX
S/B Fata1ity Pro
650W Silverstone PSU
20" Widescreen Monitor
Just need the G25 wheel and I'll be happy
Ak not funny, sure they'll have some vista g80 drivers soon.
You can use a DX10 card in XP etc, and the g80 cards aer stonkingly quick in DX9. Just remember you need a huge power supply to give them enough juice.
Total overkill for your average PC gamer though, go for a 7xxx series instead.
You can use a DX10 card in XP etc, and the g80 cards aer stonkingly quick in DX9. Just remember you need a huge power supply to give them enough juice.
Total overkill for your average PC gamer though, go for a 7xxx series instead.
RobDickinson said:
Ak not funny, sure they'll have some vista g80 drivers soon.
You can use a DX10 card in XP etc, and the g80 cards aer stonkingly quick in DX9. Just remember you need a huge power supply to give them enough juice.
Total overkill for your average PC gamer though, go for a 7xxx series instead.
You can use a DX10 card in XP etc, and the g80 cards aer stonkingly quick in DX9. Just remember you need a huge power supply to give them enough juice.
Total overkill for your average PC gamer though, go for a 7xxx series instead.
Give it 6 months or so for the whole range of 8xxxGX, GTX, TDi, cards to be established and some of them will be quite affordable.
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