Video Cards/Gaming

I currently have an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video card with approx total memory 1650mb (according to Dxdiag)

I have 4gb of Ram and the processor is Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4 ghz. OS Win 7.

Is anything letting me down, spec wise, when it comes to gaming? When I play STO my computer sounds like its going to take flight.

Any comments mucho appreciated. Cheers me dears

have you benchtested your machine

http://passmark.com/download/pt_download.htm

will prtobably tell you where your fault is. when you say nyou hear or your drive?

I just ran it for a laugh and compared it to the machines on there and beat it hands down all over. hehe

http://passmark.com/download/pt_download.htm

I posted wrong link lol

say whaaaa?

link fail

make sure to select the right operating system especialy 32 /64 bit

Deffo my graphics card lol im not much better than a laptop when I compare against the top ten lol

Is this PC any good do ya think?

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/studio-xps-7100/pd?oc=d00sx704&model_id=studio-xps-7100
i think this is better

althouth this is more money its more geared for hard gaming.


http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-8300/pd?oc=d00x8316&model_id=xps-8300

its more money but if it was me id proly go for the first one

I'd go for a custom built machine such as: http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ConfigureSystem.asp?SystemID=1164

Or:
http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ConfigureSystem.asp?SystemID=1048

Alternatively the rest of your spec seems ok is simple enough to replace a graphics card with something like:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-gigabyte-gtx-560-ti-oc-40nm-4000mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-shader-1800mhz-384-cores-dvi-mhdmi

Or slightly cheaper if you prefer AMD a similar performance card:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-gigabyte-hd-6870-oc-4200mhz-gddr5-gpu-915mhz-1120-stream-processors-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-mini-dp

you gonna come and install it for me :-P

I like Dell. Maybe I need to source something from the manufacturers website PC World is a bit of a rip off

Ouch! Hell no don't buy anything from PCWorld! I tend to recommend eBuyer, Overclockers or Dabs. And *if* you go for a full upgrade, it's worth the bother of building it yourself for the cash you save doing so. The hardest bits are seating the CPU/heatsink properly, and making sure you plug in all the cables into the right slots. But on the whole, it's honestly pretty easy when you take it one step at a time.

I'm running a GTX 460 at 1080p atm and never have any problems with anything, so anything above that and you'll be fine. Check out PCGamer for some good recommendations. x

Don't buy a ready made machine, unless it's a pre-built from scan.co.uk

My Sister (Caephyn) is right, Dell and certainly PCWorld are rip offs for what you get.

Alternatively, buy a new GFX card from Scan or Aria, they're the cheapest sites in the UK I've found. Installing stuff is a helluva lot easier than you'd think. I built my machine recently and I've enver even owned a PC, let alone upgraded one before. If ya need tips let me know ;)

dudes I wouldnt know where to start building a PC lol

have you lined the scan machine up next to the dell machine? the scan is more pricey and the components are not even close to the dell one in my opinion. like i said tyo him hes beetter to custom build but make sure who ever builds it knows exactly what they are doing. With dell at least you have a real good cust service to fall back on. my parters lap top went funny and they just replaced it and my mum's machine had a problem (which i think definatly was her fault) 3 weeks out of servide and theyy just fixed it foc. yes youy pay a bit more but no where near as much as others. I prioced the components of a few respectable sites and all in told if you built it yourself youd save just over 140 quid which when its peace of mind build delivered to your door........ End of the day capt its down to what you want personaly. The other alternative is parts on ebay.

thnx for the advice guys :-)

thnk I'll stick to what I got til it actually breaks, it still plays STO quite well. I'll just make sure my files are backed up incase it dies.

I can just about install mroe ram, i dont wanna mess with the graphics card myself incase I fuck it up.

Respect to you guys who can just buy components and put em together lol

graphics cards are simple to instal. it like click it in put one screw in and away you go. its the same as putting a new memory stick in and in fact you dont have to be as delicate as you do with memory.

The scan machine may seem worse spec to you but it really would be better for gaming (the higher speced one vs the dell):

1 i5(unlocked + overclocked) vs i7(locked), an overclocked i5 will outperform a baseclocked i7 for pretty much any game/most day to day tasks

2 ram: 6GB is a bad idea, cannot be matched pairs which will actually slow the machine down (Ram with sandybridge i7/i5 is dual channel so best installed in pairs)

3 gfx card: a SC (factory over clocked) 460 will outperform a base clock Hd 6770.

Rest of the components are of a similar spec.

ok everyone i've decided to try and upgrade the graphics card over the summer. The way I see it if im going to fork out £800 for a new PC i might as well spend £100 on a graphics card instead and if it dont work out well its a risk worth takin.

Worst case scenario I mess it up and end up having to buy a new pc anyway...

The saga continues...

I opened up my PC to have a look around and the power supply is only 350w.
Also the single slot card I have in now is very snug against the serial ATA drive connector so wouldnt accomodate a double slot card.



Is it possible to get any graphics cards that are better than the ATI Radeon 2600 card that dont require their own power supply and fit in a single slot?

I know some manufacturers specifically arrange their boards so you cant custom upgrade and so have to buy new. :(

What is connected to SATA ports 1 and 2? Surely you don't need all four connections? I have 8 SATA connections and only use 2, for my Hard drive and DVDRW.

Doesn't matter about covering them up if you're not using them, and the only PCI-Ex1 port I use is for USB3, which I have 2 of without the expansion card...

These days most graphics cards do require around 5-700w power supplies though :(

There are several single slot cards available that would be faster than your current ones, unfortunately they are all rated for 400W+ supplies so looks like you are out of luck on that score.

I have a custom built comp and every benchmark I've run, they have all said my computer should be able to run STO and most games with ease and at times even mine sounds if its about to grow wings and take off.

My old computer used to do the same, but with a much older card and I was told, as long as the screen still looks ok, the computer still runs it without crashing, it should be ok. That was with my Nvidia 9800GT, the same graphics card Cryptic themselves used for the game.

From what I was told, I wouldn't worry too much about the card as long as it runs the computer still, I was originally told to upgrade the cooling system with a larger and faster fan set.