New Graphics Card

Elnino

Elnino

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2008

In a house

Proof Of A Nets Laziness[HB]

A/W

Hey,

I've been thinking of getting a new graphics card to increase my fps but I'm not sure which would be the best to get. My fps sits at around 20 usually in-game .

I own a Compaq Presario SR5340AN Desktop PC. I haven't changed it at all since I bought it and I am currently using Windows Vista. What graphics card would be the best to get so that no problems will occur?

Thanks for your help!

Bob_ftw

Academy Page

Join Date: Nov 2007

any ati or nvidia graphics card within the last 3 years that are *600 or better should be able to easily max out guild wars

End

End

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2008

Rubbing Potassium on water fountains.

LF guild that teaches MTSC (did it long ago before gw2 came out and I quit...but I barely remember)

N/A

Just because they can max out GW...dosent mean his computer can handle it. A bunch of companies only put in the bare minimum in terms of PSU. So you may need a new one as well to put in any dedicated graphics card :\

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

That computer has a PCIex16 slot for a graphics card, but you need to find out the wattage of the power supply so we can get an idea of what range of video card it can accept without replacing the power supply. If it doesn't tell you in the manual, you will need to open the machine up and take a look at the label on the power supply.

Elnino

Elnino

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2008

In a house

Proof Of A Nets Laziness[HB]

A/W

well, my power supply states that it's "300W MAX"

Thanks for all your input so far

End

End

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2008

Rubbing Potassium on water fountains.

LF guild that teaches MTSC (did it long ago before gw2 came out and I quit...but I barely remember)

N/A

I really don't think anything modern will run with that. I think as far back as at least 9800's they recommend a 400w psu...

KZaske

KZaske

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jun 2006

Boise Idaho

Druids Of Old (DOO)

R/Mo

Elnino, I am afarid that End is correct you are going to need to be very careful about how much power your video card uses.
Power supplies from that time period were well known to be over rated. I have seen PSUs rated at 500W fail with a power draw of only 350W.

If possible consider a card that does not require an addational power connector and is compatible with your PCI-E x16 slot. Some of the newer video cards require a 2.0 or higher slot, yours appears to comply with the PCI-E v1.0 specification.

Good luck.

Beomagi

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2005

Perhaps a 9600gt. Extremely efficient card for the performance it delivers.

Elder III

Elder III

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jan 2007

Ohio

I Will Never Join Your Guild (NTY)

R/

What resolution do you play GW at and do you play any other games? You may need to upgrade your PSU as well. However, as long as a standard ATX PSU will fit in your case, that's not going to cost you very much. You could get a nice little video card and PSU to handle GW1 maxed out and be playable for GW2 as well for around $100 total...

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elnino View Post
well, my power supply states that it's "300W MAX"
Looking at the AMD/ATI site, all of the 5xxx series cards recommend at least 400watts under "system requirements", but when you look at the power draw of a 5550, it's only 39watts (and a 5450 is even less) - and they don't require a separate power connector. I think an average system with a 300watt power supply should be able to handle them no problem, provided that the power supply can actually meet it's max power.

Looking at the system, btw, it appears to take a standard ATX power supply (PSU), so you could consider getting a new PSU and a video card.

Pinkie-Pie

Pinkie-Pie

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2010

Colorado

Celestial Phoenix [CP]

Hmm...I wonder if GW 2 will require a higher end game card

Jayemji

Jayemji

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2009

W/D

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkie-Pie View Post
Hmm...I wonder if GW 2 will require a higher end game card
Compared to GW1, it will. Considering that GW can run on DX 8 cards (DX 11 is currently the "hot new item"), that isn't saying a whole lot.

cebalrai

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2007

Mature Gaming Association

Me/E

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkie-Pie View Post
Hmm...I wonder if GW 2 will require a higher end game card

They've already said it will run well on midrange machines. As long as you're not gaming on a 1920x1200 resolution monitor, a Radeon 5550 (get the DDR3 or GDDR5 model) will probably run it adequately on medium settings.

You'll want a Core 2 Duo or better/Athlon II X2 or better processor.

2 GB of RAM would be the bare minimum but you should have 4 GB in 2010...

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkie-Pie View Post
Hmm...I wonder if GW 2 will require a higher end game card
Require? No.

DEsire? Yes! Looking at the videos from Gamescon, if you want all those neat spell affects and graphics goodies, you are definitely going to need a high end card.
But the game will no doubt "run" with a lot less.

Elektraaa

Academy Page

Join Date: Aug 2010

Eathwatts 380 will power high spec cards. I'd get a low current ATI model if I wasn't going to upgrade PSU. I'm not a fanboy, I'm just being practical about current draw.