Graphics Card advice

[[R-DEV]Pride]

Hey, i need a bit of technical advice here.

My problem is this: i own a 3 year old Dell (yes, i know, bad choice), and its getting to the point where i wanna upgrade. Specs are this:

3.2Ghz P4
2 Gb Ram
7300 LE


...which can play PR on medium.

Im not really looking to buy a whole new PC right now, as that'd cost a lot of money...that i don't have atm

So i was thinking about just upgrading the GFX card.

However, i've read alot of bad stuff about Dells, and the chances are my PSU is a load of shite and won't be able to handle anything really powerful. I've also read that i won't be able to change the PSU as Dell makes the cases so only Dell PSUs fit (the b*******s).


So, i was wondering if there would be any card that would deliver a significant performance increase without too much of an increase in power consumption.


Any thoughts appreciated!

Thanks,

/Pride

[[R-COM]Darkpowder]

Budget? I would try a 7900GS for budget secondhand option or 7950GTX - as a top of the range DX9 card. v fast for BF2.

If you must go for the 8 series, compare the gfx engines/pipelines carefully with the 7 series cards as DX 9 stuff runs like a dream on them.

8800GTX are also cheap secondhand at the moment as people are upgrading, but with a tight budget you need to think about £50-100 rather than £100-150 i think

[[R-DEV]Pride]

Cheers, my budgets probably around 150 quid.


However, how much more power hungry would those cards be than my current 7300?

[jOHNNYdOUBE]

Always remember to check the physical dimensions of the new card to make sure it fits in the case.
And also so it does not hit the powersupply, or harddrive area or just plain fit.
Check power consumption also.

[spacemanc]

These cards are nice and only cost £40 :

MSI 8600GTS Heatpipe Edition 256MB DVI HDTV PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

Review:
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/g.../msi-8600gt/1/

I run PR with everything on high at 1280*1024 8xAA. Plus its fanless ( silent ) so it draws less power. It should tide you over till you can upgrade your whole system.

I've got one going second hand very soon if you're interested.

EDIT - I tell a lie, I have shadows and dynamic lighting on med.

[[R-COM]VoXiNaTiOn]

You can do PR at medium with a 7300LE?

I've got the same specs but with a 3.4Ghz HT P4 and I can only just handle everything low with the odd tweak.

I'd advise the same card as spacemanc as the 9 series is basically the 8 series but more expensive. The only criticism with that card is that it only has 256MB of RAM, although it is GDDR3.

[spacemanc]

Yours for £30 second hand - free delivery. Leaves you with £120 for hookers and blow

[hiberNative]

i brough a 3850 512mb really cheap and it works great with bf2. maybe you could get a 3870 1gb cheap somewhere?

[spacemanc]

Originally Posted by hiberNative

i brough a 3850 512mb really cheap and it works great with bf2. maybe you could get a 3870 1gb cheap somewhere?

AMD ATI Radeon 3850 & 3870 review
Theyre probably too hungry for his comp.
The guru3d site gives power consumption details on all their reviews, so you can check most cards there.

[[R-DEV]Pride]

Originally Posted by spacemanc

Yours for £30 second hand - free delivery. Leaves you with £120 for hookers and blow

I might be interested in this preposition.




I'll catch you on xfire sometime.