Getting a new computer - advice needed!
witch:
When I research new equipment, I start by going to good sources, like credible online magazines and websites, and reading comparisons and reviews.
Sivany:
Hmm I think perhaps I phrased my last post a little strongly. I do understand a lot of the jargon and if there's anything I don't understand my brother tends to poke fun at me until I find out. Perhaps a better way of putting it would be that I find a lot of the advice on graphics cards comes from what I would probably term "hardcore gamers" who want graphics cards which will run their first person shooters at ultra high speed and resolutions in real time so they can play over the internet.
What I want is a card that will let me play the Sims 3 on high settings. I'm assuming that this requires a graphics card way below what the type of game described above would require (correct me if I'm wrong!) and I don't want to have to spend any more than required (I can't afford it for a start). I find it difficult to get advice on this, especially on UK sites where Sims doesn't appear to be as acknowledged by the gaming community as it is in America (which I know sometimes isn't much acknowledgement as it is). Very few people who offer advice relevant to the UK seem to play Sims 3, therefore they can't actually offer any first hand comment or review about whether said graphics card is any good with the game. Since this is all I want the card for this would seem to be a good thing to actually have before making a final decision. Maybe I'm just being over cautious but I don't have money to waste on a graphics card that sounds good in theory but just doesn't cut it with Sims 3. I know many people who had problems with supposedly "good" cards when it came to Sims 2 and I don't want to end up with similar problems.
witch:
Some points to consider:
Nvidia cards have historical problems with sims 2, I'm not so sure about sims 3. I would advise sticking to ATI Radeon as these tend to be more compatible with the game on the whole.
Sims 2 was quite a processor heavy game, I don't know if sims 3 is similar, but there's no point in getting a high end graphics card if you have a medium to low level processor. A better video card is not always a magic bullet.
My research last xmas led me to the HD 4870, it did well in comparison tests and was reasonably priced for a slightly high end card. It's done very well for me but I have had to get a larger power supply and install extra cooling, so be aware of issues like that if you get a grunty card.
Sivany:
Thank you Witch that's very helpful. My current card is a Radeon, albeit an old one, but I've always been happy with its performance up until it became too low spec to cope with the new Sims game, so sticking to the same make seems like a good idea.
I'm actually getting a whole new system, but I feel much more confident when it comes to processors, hard drives, RAM etc. Graphics cards are the component I find most difficult to choose because there's so many different things to consider and people want such different things from them.
Useful tip about the cooling though, I'll have to look into that a bit more; I was assuming the standard cooling system would be enough since I wasn't going for the top of the high end cards, but if you needed extra for a slightly high end one then I probably should consider it. I do have a fan on my current graphics card that my brother added for me after my even older card overheated and died; I'll have to ask him if it would still be suitable for a newer card.
witch:
We live in a sub-tropical climate and so have greater ambient heat to contend with much of the year. The HD4870 came with two fans which seemed to be fine at its own cooling, my problem was that air was not moving freely through my case. I now have an extra fan on the front sucking air in, a fan in between my two fast hard drives and a fan that fits in the slots on the board to send exhaust air out, this fan is adjustable. None of the fans are too loud, I checked the decibel ratings before purchasing. It cost me under $NZ200 for all three fans, so for the UK or US it's likely to be far cheaper. You can also get a gadget to test the temperature in various parts of the case while the machine is running.
Heh, all three of the fans came with blue LEDs and, along with my green/orange/red light strips on the RAM, my machine's as purty as a picture. I have a 750w power supply driving this xmas tree.
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