PC Upgrade

[TrueHazard]

All i need to do is replace the CPU and Video Card. You've told me that my CPU is actually fine and I need to replace my vid card. But what exactly does it do? And why is it so important?

[Jizzames]

All i need to do is replace the CPU and Video Card. You've told me that my CPU is actually fine and I need to replace my vid card. But what exactly does it do? And why is it so important?

What the video card does is uses an independent, dedicated processor to put out the video so that your CPU doesn't have to. That's why video card's are technically called GPU's, Graphics Processing Unit. Because of the advanced and processor intensive way that games run nowadays, its not possible for the CPU to process all the different parts of the operating system, and at the same time, attempt to render a game.

Replacing a video card is generally pretty easy. All you need to do is find out the interface your computer uses, chances are its PCI express x8 or x16. You have to take into account how much your power supply is rated to put out, and usually subtract a few watts, because a power supply will never put out peak watts. Power supply's are pretty idiot proof, and the power port on your motherboard is keyed, so that you cant plug it in the wrong way. Once you find those two things out, its a simple matter of finding one that matches your needs, and snapping it in. Newer video cards will also have 6/8 pin molex plugs so that it can draw directly from the power supply. But, newer video cards are rather large, and by that i mean there huge...so make sure before hand that the video card you choose will fit inside your case.

I also heard some mention of Windows7. If you have it, great. Its the best OS that Microsoft has put out in a loooong time. Windows7 has a neat trick of installing drivers for your video card all by itself. While useful for normal people, ensure that you go to the manufacture's site and download their client. This will give you all the bang for your buck.

[chipset35]

Never ever buy a system, build it yourself, if your gonna game you need to know how to build one anyway, and its fun.

This setup has been flawless for me in every game,LOTRO, WAR, AoC, STO, Left4Dead2:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail $167

ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $119

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail $59 x 2 = $119

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive RAID 0 $69 x 2 = $139

EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail $134 x2 = $268

"Good Ole, reliable" Windows XP

Total $812

New Egg and others have since lowered many of these prices, so its probably lower than what I cited.

[California]

I'm happy my 1gb 1.66 Core Duo with GeForce 8400 runs the game. I don't care if I have to tone down the settings a bit, I was always the type that enjoyed gameplay over graphics.

[odingrey]

All i need to do is replace the CPU and Video Card. You've told me that my CPU is actually fine and I need to replace my vid card. But what exactly does it do? And why is it so important?

What the video card does is uses an independent, dedicated processor to put out the video so that your CPU doesn't have to. That's why video card's are technically called GPU's, Graphics Processing Unit. Because of the advanced and processor intensive way that games run nowadays, its not possible for the CPU to process all the different parts of the operating system, and at the same time, attempt to render a game.

Replacing a video card is generally pretty easy. All you need to do is find out the interface your computer uses, chances are its PCI express x8 or x16. You have to take into account how much your power supply is rated to put out, and usually subtract a few watts, because a power supply will never put out peak watts. Power supply's are pretty idiot proof, and the power port on your motherboard is keyed, so that you cant plug it in the wrong way. Once you find those two things out, its a simple matter of finding one that matches your needs, and snapping it in. Newer video cards will also have 6/8 pin molex plugs so that it can draw directly from the power supply. But, newer video cards are rather large, and by that i mean there huge...so make sure before hand that the video card you choose will fit inside your case.

I also heard some mention of Windows7. If you have it, great. Its the best OS that Microsoft has put out in a loooong time. Windows7 has a neat trick of installing drivers for your video card all by itself. While useful for normal people, ensure that you go to the manufacture's site and download their client. This will give you all the bang for your buck.

What he said.

Graphic cards are the most important component when it comes to games.