Need Recommendations for Graphic Cards

hobo_man · 04-01-2008, 07:59 PM

I'm looking to buy a decent graphics card and not some high end one. (While playing Guild Wars, I get BSoD with the error 0x0000008E which I googled and basically gave me results saying my graphics card was "insufficient")

There seem to be many choices, and I want to make sure I buy something that will function with my PC in its current state. Through browsing the nVIDIA site, I didn't see any system specs required for using the graphics card (Some say they are built for Vista... but I don't know if they will work on XP). I also do not know anything whatsoever about graphics cards, except they make visuals look better.
I believe I'm looking for a PCI-Express graphics card (whatever that is). My OS is Windows XP Pro SP2 and I have a Intel Pentium 4, 3.00GHz processor.

If anyone could provide some recommendations, it would be appreciated.
Thanks.

b1gapl · 04-01-2008, 08:13 PM

What is your budget, resolution of your monitor that you'll be playing games on, and the rest of your specs? If this is a pre-built computer, theres a chance that you might have to upgrade the power supply as well.

heffer · 04-03-2008, 10:35 PM

buy the Geforce 8600GTS 512MB, it's pretty popular and I think it's a good card for you.

ricanflow · 04-03-2008, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heffer

buy the Geforce 8600GTS 512MB, it's pretty popular and I think it's a good card for you.

The 8600 GTS 512 is crap, when you can get an 8800gs for the same price.

Trotter · 04-04-2008, 07:13 AM

The 8800GTS and the 9600GT are around the same price, and the 9600 outperforms the 8800.

We really need to know the wattage of your PSU, though, as most GFX cards require minimum power levels. Just as b1gapl said, you may need a PSU upgrade to go along with a new GFX card.

jorsoft03 · 04-04-2008, 10:02 AM

Are you using a prebuilt PC (HP, Gateway, etc.)? If so just post yer model number and we can look up all the info we'd need on it.

04-01-2008, 07:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
hobo_man True Techie Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 150	Need Recommendations for Graphic Cards I'm looking to buy a decent graphics card and not some high end one. (While playing Guild Wars, I get BSoD with the error 0x0000008E which I googled and basically gave me results saying my graphics card was "insufficient") There seem to be many choices, and I want to make sure I buy something that will function with my PC in its current state. Through browsing the nVIDIA site, I didn't see any system specs required for using the graphics card (Some say they are built for Vista... but I don't know if they will work on XP). I also do not know anything whatsoever about graphics cards, except they make visuals look better. I believe I'm looking for a PCI-Express graphics card (whatever that is). My OS is Windows XP Pro SP2 and I have a Intel Pentium 4, 3.00GHz processor. If anyone could provide some recommendations, it would be appreciated. Thanks.

04-01-2008, 08:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
b1gapl Commander SMod Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 11,804	Re: Need Recommendations for Graphic Cards What is your budget, resolution of your monitor that you'll be playing games on, and the rest of your specs? If this is a pre-built computer, theres a chance that you might have to upgrade the power supply as well. __________________ Recommended PC Components Guide Potentially the longest thread in history!! Tech-Forums Official 3DMark06/05/03 Top List

04-03-2008, 10:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
heffer True Techie Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 133	Re: Need Recommendations for Graphic Cards buy the Geforce 8600GTS 512MB, it's pretty popular and I think it's a good card for you.

04-04-2008, 07:13 AM	#5 (permalink)
Trotter Tech-Forums Management Das BanHammer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The South Posts: 13,931	Re: Need Recommendations for Graphic Cards The 8800GTS and the 9600GT are around the same price, and the 9600 outperforms the 8800. We really need to know the wattage of your PSU, though, as most GFX cards require minimum power levels. Just as b1gapl said, you may need a PSU upgrade to go along with a new GFX card. __________________ Avatar created by pokernod Tech-Forums Management -Das Banhammer- CoolerMaster WaveMaster (black) - Vantec Stealth 520W DFI LanParty UT nF4 SLI-D - AMD Athlon X2 4200+ - Zalman CNPS9500 2GB (2x1 GB) G.SKILL ZS - Seagate 80GB, 250GB SATA - Razer Lachesis ATI 3850 w/Accelero S1 - NEC 19" MultiSync 1970GX RegistryBooster, SpeedUpMyPC, SpyEraser, WinTasks - Uniblue Free Software Trials

04-04-2008, 10:02 AM	#6 (permalink)
jorsoft03 Moderator Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: White Bear Lake, MN Posts: 3,142	Re: Need Recommendations for Graphic Cards Are you using a prebuilt PC (HP, Gateway, etc.)? If so just post yer model number and we can look up all the info we'd need on it. __________________ Intel Q6600 (NEW!) 2GB 667mhz Ram Intel DG965WH Mobo ATI x1950 XTX 250gb WD Sata HD 2x NEC dvd burners 600-watt Thermaltake psu Samsung 226BW LCD I Survived Mod Mania Madness '08 And All I got Was This Extra Line in My Sig

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