What should I do about increasing graphics performance?

Forums › Desktop computing › What should I do about increasing graphics performance?

rscole86

4975 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#14396 1-Jul-2007 23:04

Part two of Mini series...

As a recap

I have this setup at the moment.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
Gigabyte Motherboard GA-M55SLI-S4 AFAIK its V1.0
Gigabyte Geforce 7600GT PCI-E 256MB (gv-nx76t256d-rh)

What would be the best idea for upgrading here?

Again money is a big object. I have seen some benchmarks that show I can buy another 7600GT and set it up in SLI and get better performance than a more expensive card used on its own.

bradstewart

4335 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#76531 1-Jul-2007 23:16

Although it sounds like a good idea, I think you will have a lot of trouble finding a 7600GT. The 7 series GT's have all been end of life'd a while ago.

Trademe would be the best option there. What brand is yours?

You could also try getting a 7900 GS, it would give you a decent increase. You should be able to pick one up for around $300 or less

bradstewart

4335 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#76532 1-Jul-2007 23:23

Check this one out... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=106547576 just what you need

rscole86

4975 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#76533 1-Jul-2007 23:27

Cool, thanks Brad.

It is a Gigabyte.

I am not a big fan of Trademe, especially with PC hardware. But I will look around :D

pando

235 posts

Master Geek

#76555 2-Jul-2007 10:28

Personally you're better to upgrade to a better GFX card than go SLI with what you've got especially since the M55 M/B doesn't do SLI as good as the M57 or M59 boards.

The new 8600GT cards are quite cheap and would offer a much better results than getting a second card in a SLI configuration, Dove has them for < $200 (dealer prices) at the moment, a steal really.

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#76562 2-Jul-2007 11:21

Yeah go with the 8600GT, Pretty awesome card, My mate has one, plays most games on really high settings, plus its HDCP compliant(for future BLU-RAY or HDDVD drives) and is DX10 and All Nvidia X600GT's seem to have the best value for money

bradstewart

4335 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#76574 2-Jul-2007 12:07

The 8600GT does NOT support HDCP, the 8500GT and 8600GTS do.

Several manufacturers have released HDCP supporting 8600GT's but they are very limited and more expensive.

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#76578 2-Jul-2007 12:40

WTF? thats lame...Thought all 8 series cards did...

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

rscole86

4975 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#76579 2-Jul-2007 12:41

Thanks guys :)

So a decent one to go for would be..

GV-NX86S256H

As this is directx 10 compliant, has HDCP support and has got silentpipe cooling.

Which retails around $400?

pando

235 posts

Master Geek

#76587 2-Jul-2007 13:37

Dove was selling both the GV-NX86S256H and GV-NX86S256D for $200 at dealer prices, only difference is the HDCP, which in my opinion you will never use.

rscole86

4975 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#76590 2-Jul-2007 13:48

I do not want to sound rude, but it is all well and good that Dove have them for those prices but how does that help me?

You need to be a reseller to be able to buy off Dove. And even then they do not necessarily approve of resellers buying off, for personal use, at the wholesale price.

pando

235 posts

Master Geek

#76593 2-Jul-2007 14:02

Sorry, the 8600GT (GIGABYTE NX86T256H) that has the HDCP is what i'm quoting, I say that since that's what I was looking at on my screen - no idea what you pay instore.

bradstewart

4335 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#76596 2-Jul-2007 14:25

I wouldn't touch an 8600GT and if you are going to pay over $400 for an 8600GTS why not get an 8800GTS 320MB for a little over $100 more.