512MB GeForce 9600 GT (EVGA) 50 °C

The Game Room
1

This is my graphics card, guys. If I were to upgrade from this (and this one is very adequate for my needs) what improvements might I expect? I’d like to stay with NVidia and I saw the GTX 480 at BestBuy.

Thanks

Q

2

A GTX 480 is roughly five items more GPU power than a 9600GT. I suspect you’d blow out your PSU though, since it’s triple-ish the power requirement. You’d also almost certainly be CPU bound before utilizing all of the GTX 480’s power, which makes it a waste. The GTX 480 was a flagship card, which means it carried a substantial price premium. Newer and cheaper cards surpass it now though, so it wouldn’t be worth the price unless it was down around $240 or so.

3

Which means buying a higher-power computer, if I understand you correctly, Palooka, or a new motherboard? Sorry for the ignorance, but thank you for letting me know that! Is there one you would recommend?

Here are my stats:

Operating System
MS Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit SP2
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 56 °C
Brisbane 65nm Technology
RAM
4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (5-5-5-18)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2A-VM (Socket AM2 ) 40 °C
Graphics
LCD TV (1360x768@60Hz)
512MB GeForce 9600 GT (EVGA) 52 °C
Hard Drives
488GB Hitachi Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 ATA Device (SATA) 40 °C
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S202H ATA Device
Audio
High Definition Audio Device

Thanks, my friend!

Quasi

4

A 9600GT uses a single 6pin PCIe power connector. Assuming that’s the best you have to work with, the best card nvidia card is a GTS 450. It’d be a bit more than double the GPU power of the 9600GT. The pricier AMD Radeon HD6850 also only uses a single 6pin PCIe power connector and it’s about triple the GPU power of a 9600GT.

I’d rather have a 6850 than a GTS 450, but I’m indifferent between AMD and Nvidia. One of those is going to be your best choice.

5

The Nvidia sweet spot today is something like the Geforce 560Ti. You’ll be able to upgrade your monitor to a 1080p and enable anti-aliasing. We just need to know if your PSU can power it.

Which games do you play?

6

At the resolution you are currently playing at, a 6850 will run most games on high at over 30 FPS. So the difference in graphics will be substantial going from a 9600 GT.

We need to know:

  • Your power supply specs
  • Are you considering upgrading your TV?
  • Would you consider upgrading your powersupply?

Also, DO NOT purchase a video card at Best buy, unless you’ve checked new egg or your local microcenter for a price. Very occasionally BestBuy is competitive, but most of the time, they have a several HUNDRED dollar markup.

7

Hey Guys

First off, MANY THANKS for answering me with such great advice!

  1. I play mainly Warcraft, but have Flight Sim ready to go (once I get a joystick)

  2. How do I find out how to give you my power supply specs?

  3. Yes!

  4. Yes!

And no Best Buy! Got it!

And I found a new "Q-Bro’! Hey, Quartz!:wink:

Thanks again, guys!

Quasi

8

I’ve read that WoW takes special advantage of DX11 for computation rather than effects, so you should see a performance boost simply by moving to a DX11 card.

Microsoft Flight Simulator? Civilian rather than combat? You’ll likely be better off with a yoke and rudder pedals.

You open the PC and read the label.

9

DX11 = DirectX11, Quartz? I just upgraded to that if so. If not, I’ll check into it.

Yeh, civilian, not combat. Not interested in shooting, just transport, but don’t know if I can afford the pedals. Maybe some used ones?

My computer is an IBuyPower gaming one, so instead of opening it up, I’ll send the relevant info to them and they can advise me. I get a little “antsy” when it comes to anything

Again, thank you for taking an interest. It means a lot to me, and this site has saved me hundreds of dollars ever since I signed on 11 years ago.

Thanks

Quasi

10

Well you may have upgraded your Windows software but I don’t think the 9600GT supports DX11 in hardware anyway. (So you wouldn’t get a speed up.) Of course other things to consider is power usage(which tends to favor AMD) and Phys-x.(Nvidia only.) Actually you may want to check on Tom’s Hardware about this. (Oh, and I’ll second on don’t buy at BestBuy. I couldn’t believe their prices on video cards. They really are about $100 more than NewEgg or buy.com)